by Lauren Carpenter
February 08, 2021
We want to share some heavy news with you, our beloved patrons and fellow abolitionists. After nearly nine years of growth, we have made the tough decision to close our business.
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by Emily Mahoney
July 20, 2020
It started with a tackle box, a little gray fishing tackle box. In 2015, Lauren Carpenter and I walked into the End Slavery offices with a tackle box of metal blanks and a few hammers. That’s the day we met K and B, the first survivors we hired to make jewelry.
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by Lauren Carpenter
May 04, 2020
Being a mom, having a great mom, or grieving the lack of a great mom, have been important parts of all our BRANDED employees’ lives. Most of the survivor artisans we’ve had the privilege to work with are mothers themselves.
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by Emily Mahoney
May 06, 2019
One of the greatest pleasures we’ve had here at BRANDED is the opportunity to work with artisan PB for almost two years now. She is one of the longest hires we’ve had, and this woman is not only an amazing artisan but also an unspeakably impressive individual.
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by Emily Mahoney
January 23, 2019
This Valentine’s Day we are introducing a new BRANDED piece which we could not be more excited about! We’d like to share with you a little bit about how these new earrings came to be.
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by Emily Mahoney
August 14, 2018
Sometimes, when working so closely with young women who have lived on the streets, experienced gross physical and emotional abuse, and lived in abject poverty, I can feel guilty for all the circumstantial blessings around me. I can also feel quite inadequate to actually help anyone.
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by Emily Mahoney
June 07, 2018
Life has taken much from RO. She is not yet 25 and has already experienced more loss and abuse than most of us do in a lifetime. And yet, she shows up to work every day with one of the most sincere smiles and truest laughter I’ve ever witnessed.
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by Emily Mahoney
December 22, 2017
So, the holidays can be really hard! It seems to be the busiest time of year professionally and personally. Stress and anxiety can feel as abundant as Christmas twinkle lights. It's easy to focus on all the to-do's and have-to's...
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by Emily Mahoney
October 10, 2017
There are so many times while we’re working in the studio with our amazing employees that we think to ourselves, “I wish our patrons could see this!” We want so badly for you to see the good your support and purchases does
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by Lauren Carpenter
June 29, 2017
We could not be more thrilled to tell you about our new product collaboration with Mission Lazarus: the Freedom Collection. The metal part of these leather cuffs is hand-stamped by survivors of trafficking here in Nashville who are now free from their oppressors.
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by Lauren Carpenter
April 27, 2017
We just stamped our 20,000th product! We are continually grateful to each of you for your support of our mission to empower and employ survivors of trafficking in middle Tennessee.
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by Emily Mahoney
March 01, 2017
Each cuff made here at the BRANDED Collective has been hand-stamped by a survivor. What an honor it is to employ them and watch them learn the craft of jewelry making. They are driven, capable, kind employees and we are beyond proud of their work.
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by Lauren Carpenter
June 24, 2016
For seven weeks in April and May, we worked tirelessly to fulfill our biggest order yet. We employed seven extraordinary survivors up to three days a week and worked with 14 incredible volunteers to create over 4,500 cuffs.
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by Lauren Carpenter
June 03, 2016
One of our favorite BRANDED stories is the story of our origin. It is quite complex and one day we’ll tell you the whole thing in detail. For this blog post, we’ll keep to the highlights.
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by Lauren Carpenter
May 04, 2016
For those of you who have followed our
survivor stories page, you've probably noticed they are each very different. If there is one thing we've learned through this process it is that each of these dear women is unique; they simply beam with individuality.
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by Emily Mahoney
March 11, 2016
One of the more difficult parts of the work we do is saying goodbye. Working with the incredible women at
End Slavery Tennessee (EST) is a rollercoaster ride of high highs and low lows.
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by Emily Mahoney
February 22, 2016
Meeting R is like meeting a sunbeam. You cannot encounter her without leaving brighter. She is among the most gentle souls you will ever meet. Her work with BRANDED is excellent.
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by Lauren Carpenter
May 08, 2015
In April we began an exciting new venture: we now employ two survivors of human trafficking! Through our partnership with
End Slavery Tennessee, we not only give 25% of our profits to their clients, we also provide them with needed work.
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by Lauren Carpenter
April 01, 2015
Three years ago, Lauren Carpenter and her best friend Emily Landham started
t-615, a fashion company that sought to raise funds and awareness for survivors of human trafficking.
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by Lauren Carpenter
March 16, 2015
We're thrilled to have recently been featured on the
Good Goods blog created by fellow Nashvillian, Cayla Mackey. The
site is a great place to find a PETA-approved catalogue of ethical goods that are vegan, fair trade and sustainable (including yours truly!).
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by Lauren Carpenter
October 07, 2014
The time has finally come: our new line of fair trade, organic, American-made tops are now available for purchase
online! We are thrilled to unveil these two new tops because they truly represent our values and evolution as a company.
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by Ande Truman
September 10, 2014
Welcome to the new t-615 blog. You might notice our site looks a little bit different these days, and there's a good reason for that. Big changes are underway for t-615.
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