Brooklyn Navy Yard handbag business helps female artisans around the world

A female-owned business at the Brooklyn Navy Yard is creating handbags while supporting woman artisans around the world.

News 12 Staff

Apr 6, 2021, 11:48 AM

Updated 1,344 days ago

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A female-owned business at the Brooklyn Navy Yard is creating handbags while supporting woman artisans around the world.
Ashley Stone's business "Poolside" puts pop culture phrases on straw bags and exploded in popularity.
Celebrities like Emma Roberts and Gigi Hadid even posted photos of their bags on Instagram.
Stone says the bags are handmade in India, the Philippines and Morocco.
"To really create financial independence for women who are supporting their families and learning the craft and creating a future," Stone says.
Poolside created a co-op in Morocco that employs over 100 female artisans.
Stone says women there are fed meals, and their children are given a place to go to school.
The bags are also sustainable.
"Our materials are all natural materials coming from the Earth," Stone says. "So we use palm straw, we use wicker."
Stone says she finds that the women who make the products and those that buy the products are all connected.
Poolside is also selling beauty products soon, and will be launching a clothing line.