Friendships and Decorating

Friendships and Decorating are powerful for many reasons and today I chose to share with you a story about two friends who came together to New York City to serve the homeless.  

We met through our hearts of service and compassion and found that our lives were brought together with more than 10 years of serving, but also the inspiration behind our hearts to create places of comfort, beauty, and renewing not only the space of design but also renewing lives.  

Today, I introduce you to my dear friend Julie Ramaine, from Brooklyn, New York. She is the creator and founder for Not Discarded. The name shares something so profound that it only comes from a journey of service to many lives on the city streets of New York City.  

Julie shared with me a piece of her heart. Here is what she said… “I have worked in a nonprofit all my life. First on the mission field in South Africa right after apartheid. After that in various churches and now a homeless shelter. The one thread that has woven its way through all these jobs is my dream to open a nonprofit that would bring jobs to the disadvantaged.  

One day that organization will be called Not Discarded. Every day I am inspired by the artisans that I help daily, who are homeless but still creative.  

My designs are made from not discarded textiles redesigned and repurposed to be eventually sold online.  

My mission is for Not Discarded to open a reimagined thrift store that will hire the disadvantaged giving them a living wage, repurpose garments into redesigned clothing lines and accessories that will be sold. All in time!  

I hope you enjoy my dream about the beginning, and I thank Eden for the opportunity for hope not discarded.”  

As we both pursue our second acts, our journeys of service have truly brought us to this point… So today, I share with you the amazing talents and work of my dearest friends from the North whose precious lives impact this big and beautiful world.  

Decorating Tip: Find a friend who loves to decorate as much as you! The world is your canvas, they will be there for you, as you marinate, design, destroy, reconstruct, renew, and bring forth a masterpiece. 

xo 

Eden 

Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”