Meet the women behind Birdsong who sell products made by women’s organisations hit by funding cuts
Two friends whose website sells products made by women’s organisations hit by funding cuts have launched a fashion range to support the groups.
Sarah Beckett, 26, and Sophie Slater, 25, are behind Birdsong, which sells wares from 17 groups across the country and gives them much of the proceeds.
Ms Beckett, who lives in Twickenham, said: “Most of our groups have been hit by funding and are struggling.
“They make amazing products which they can earn good money from, but often they don’t have the time or the manpower to set up a website or go to lots of markets to sell their goods.”
The duo work with five London groups including the Heba Women’s Project, which sells jackets on the site and has been commissioned to make the fashion range. It has been teaching migrant women to make clothes on Brick Lane for 25 years but last year its rent was tripled and local authority funding cut.
Birdsong also works with two elderly knitting groups in Enfield and Kingston, Mohila, a group of migrant women selling clothes in Tower Hamlets, and Sweet Cavanagh, a team of ex-addicts who make jewellery in west London.
The founders realised the need for the site in 2014 while taking the Year Here social work qualification.
Ms Beckett said: “I worked with the knitting group we now support in Kingston via Age Concern. They were making these jumpers and selling them for next to nothing. Knitwear is so valuable and fashionable. But they don’t know how to make a website. That’s where the idea came from.”
She and Ms Slater got several projects on board and launched the site within a week. They have now raised £100,000 via crowdfunding which will be used for their expansion. They have made £12,000 directly from sales for the groups, which has been used to fund Living Wage employment, IT and English classes, counselling, new furniture, facilities and volunteer expenses.
Ms Slater said: “Everything has been done on a shoestring, so it is nice to have a bit of breathing space and make some decisions about the future.”
Supporters of women’s groups have fashion line sewn upBirdsongEnfieldTower HamletsThe duo work with five London groups including two elderly knitting groups