Inside the Thrive Virtual VIP Event

This year’s Virtual VIP Event will have something special for everyone, whether you scored a view-only ticket, general admission ticket, or an all-inclusive package. Talented Master Artisans will be teaching eight different classes and demos from four countries! 

All ticket holders will have the opportunity to learn from the Artisans and follow along with their event booklet. All-inclusive packages come with special kits that can be completed alongside the Artisans during each class. Each class will also include special shopping opportunities for everyone! 

If you haven't gotten a ticket yet, reserve your spot here!

Event Schedule

All of the class shopping experiences will begin at 40 minutes after the hour and end on the next hour, when the following class begins. Each shopping experience will be a maximum of 20 minutes.

At the end of each night, you can enjoy a special Last Chance shopping event. During this time, take advantage of deep discounts on some of our most-loved products.

Friday, Sept 25th

2pm - 5:30pm PST

Welcome to Thrive: Ali - 2:00 PST

Classes and Demos

Morocco: Leather Weaving - 2:15 PM PST

Mexico: Dyeing with Natural Materials - 3:00 PM PST

Kenya: Beaded Womanhood Charm - 4:00 PM PST

David: Social Impact - 5:00 PM PST

Last Chance Shopping 6:30-7:30 PM PST

Saturday, Sept 26th

9am - 3:30pm PST

Welcome to Guatemala Classes: Ali - 9:00 AM PST

Guatemala Classes and Demos 

Pom: with Mariely - 9:15 AM PST

Jaspe: with Maribel - 10:00 AM PST

Footloom Falseria: with House of Lopez - 11:00 AM PST

Lunch Break 12:00 PM PST

Backstrap: with Yolanda - 1:00 PM PST

Embroidery: with Manuela - 2:00 PM PST

Social Impact: David - 3:00 PM PST

Last Chance Shopping: 4:30-5:30 PM PST

Morocco

Leather Weaving

The Moroccan Master Artisans will share their special skill in leather weaving. With a kit, you can follow along and weave a leather charm for your bag or keys! The Artisans will also teach you how they sustainably use a “farm to loom” process to produce the naturally sourced color and wool in the panels from our Morocco Collection. We’re looking forward to showing you more about who makes the rugs, how the materials and color are made, and the symbolism in the designs!

Mexico

Natural Dyeing

Our Mexican Artisans will welcome you into their workspace and teach you how they naturally and sustainably dye the wool used in bags. They use all-natural ingredients that are found near their homes in Oaxaca, Mexico. After the wool is dyed, they’ll show you how they use it to loom the textiles used in our collection. These rugs are then trimmed and shaped into the panels on the Mexico Collection bags. Kits will include a sample of natural dye, so you can see firsthand how the rich colors are made!

Kenya

Beadwork

We’re excited to learn from Master Artisans Christine and Pamela as they welcome you into the fields of Kenya and teach you about the traditional beadwork process used to create our beautiful bag straps and accessories. Christine learned beadwork as a young girl, and now she has the opportunity to use that skill to provide for her family! With a kit, you can make your own beaded bag charm alongside these talented women.

Guatemala

Five of the eight classes and demos will be taught by Guatemalan Artisans. They are excited to share the traditional techniques used to create some of your most-loved bags and accessories!

Pom

Our most skilled Master Pom Artisan, Mariely, will be teaching this class. When she first came to us, she was helping produce bags. Soon after she started, we were forced to reduce our staff and she was going to be phased out. Instead, we launched the Pom of the Month Club and she had the opportunity to learn Pom making! She is a talented Artisan and loves what she does. She is now our fastest pom maker!

During the class, she will show you how she creates a Pom. Those with kits will receive an untrimmed Pom, and they can follow along with Mariely as she trims and finishes her Pom!

Jaspe

A Jaspe rope is created with raw cotton that is bundled together and tied off in sections based on the design that is being created. The color is mixed, heated and then injected into the individual sections to create the Jaspe design. After the design is dried and combed through, the rope is then mounted onto a footloom to be woven into fabric. 

During the demo, you can watch as Master Artisan Maribel prepares the Jaspe to be mounted on the footloom and woven into beautiful artisan fabric. If you scored an all-inclusive ticket, you’ll receive a Jaspe sample in your kit.

Falseria and Footloom

You can learn how Don Octaviano Lopez, the 2019 customer choice Artisan contest winner, looms Falseria, our most technical artisan fabric. He will show you how he plans his design with a plotted pattern, mounts the threads to the loom, and looms it into intricate Falseria fabric! The kit will include a sample of Falseria.

Even if you can’t attend the event, you can still be part of it with Don Octaviano’s special Thrive fabric! At last year’s event, you chose his designs to be the winner of the Artisan contest. Throughout the year, his fabric has been crafted into the beautiful Thrive Collection! 

Backstrap

Yolanda is Nena Royalty! She has met many of our previous VIP attendees and has been with us since we started creating newly woven products. Yolanda is our Master Artisan specializing in backstrap weaving.  She leads The House of Calgua, her women's cooperative that produces the majority of our Heritage & Society and Womanhood panels. During the demo, she will show you the different parts of the loom, how it works, and her process for looming from her own home. Those with kits will receive their own mini backstrap loom and fabric made by The House of Calgua!

Embroidery

In this class, you will get to follow Master Artisan Manuela. She mentors her daughters and women in her community and enables them to work from home, earning fair wages as they embroider. She will demonstrate how she embroiders a flower on denim fabric. She will explain the process she uses to embroider the panels on some of your favorite bags. The kits will include a “paint by numbers” guide for you to embroider your own flower with her. When it’s finished, it can be turned into a patch!

Join Us at the Event

 We’re excited to bring this year’s event to you in your own home! You will have access to each of the classes and special shopping experiences with a view-only ticket.