Every morning I am greeted by a colourful bunch of felt flowers, lovingly handcrafted by Henry & Jayne. I particularly love my bunch of 'fuzzy fleurs' because I don't have to water them and they save me an absolute fortune as I now rarely buy fresh flowers! Another special 'Henry & Jayne' moment is whenever I tuck my little one up at night. As her daddy has been out of the country for several months now, my daughter misses him terribly and blows a kiss in his direction - his handsome photo contained inside a Henry & Jane pink recycled cotton photo frame. Every corner of our home carries an original homeware piece that "both spark conversation and invite a second glance". And while their unconventional pieces add a touching story to our home life, it's the tale behind Henry & Jayne that is heartrending in its inspiration and one we'd like to share. The GIN Lady met up with Liz, the fair trade venture's driving force, over homemade banana cake and coffee, to find out more.

Liz bounces through our front door and exuberates a 'joie de vivre' that I have grown to love via her tweets on Twitter. "I love homemade banana cake," she squeals and as mutual cake fans, we tuck in and start nattering at high speed.  Liz immediately strikes me as having a big heart, and while hugging her 'Cradle To Cradle' book, the must-read design bible, Liz shares her fair trade story between mouthfuls of cake, philosophical meanderings and a chuckle or ten. 

Henry & Jayne's story didn't start as a fair trade business in India, it started here in the UK, selling handmade goodies in 1998. Liz shared "We were trying to handmake via workshops, where our artists design and sell. We stopped as it wasn’t viable enough due to the exhorbitant cost of raw materials and labour." Liz continued "I went on holiday to India for a friend’s wedding and ended up visiting a community that had a very depressed atmosphere. They were all sitting around rolling Indian cigarettes with little hope of work."

In India, villages boast a traditional technique that they specialise in. This depressed community had 17 generations of felt carpet skills. Liz pipes up "The fact they can trace such a history is amazing!". Yet faced with the introduction of the West's cheap, synthetic carpets, this Indian community were redundant as they simply couldn't compete.

This depressing situation helped spark Liz's 'lightbulb' moment: Liz thought "So why don’t we try and make something with the felt that isn’t carpet which we can sell back in England?!".

Starting out proved really hard. "It’s not something you can magic overnight." Liz adds "Try being a girl working in India. It's really difficult as an independent woman. One of the things I find difficult to understand is that everyone’s not treated equally, particularly women. The attitude is the women traditionally stay at home. I’m frowned upon. They begged me not to tell their women about my independent lifestyle back in the UK!"

Working from this disadvantage, and having to deal with jealousy and copycats didn't dampen Liz's desire to fair trade. Liz told us "We started to make flowers from felt and I made new friends. When we brought our felt flowers back to the UK, they all sold out."

Henry & Jayne flowers are manufactured with a closed loop systemThen tragedy struck. An Indian friend, Nagar, was killed by a tragic motorbike accident. Nagar had been helping Liz align their Indian production with Henry & Jayne's Cradle to Cradle design approach. Liz shared "I was shocked by seeing my friend burned in a pire at his funeral. His young son Pankaj jumped into my arms, and two thousand faces turned to look at me, with 'what are you going to do now' written all over their faces. It was harrowing."

Liz's big heart responded in a way few of us would dare to, particularly as Liz was in the middle of the desert, 800 miles from Delhi. Liz immediately sought to protect Pankaj's financial future and secure him a good education so she bought his father's sheep.

Nagar's tragic death was a huge turning point for Liz. With determination, Liz said "I had to make it happen. This was when we started to build resources. I bought more sheep and bought the community a camel, their main mode of transport."

A few years later, Pankaj is now attending an English Medium School, similar to our grammar schools. Liz enthused "He’s almost ten now, and he’s come first in his class. I burst into tears with pride when he showed me." And it's not just Liz who is bursting with pride. Since Nagar's death, the business has grown allowing Henry & Jayne to directly employ 30 local people and up to 250 freelancers depending on demand. Liz told us "With more income, the biggest difference we are making is giving the community back its self esteem by regenerating their traditional industry."

Liz dressed in a traditional sari to show her respect for her local communityTurning our conversation back to Henry & Jayne's business which sustains the Indian community (it owns 51% of the company), Liz tells us why their flowers are so symbolic. "For me they question how things are made. They are made in a fair and good way. If more things can be made in such a sensitive way, it would have a subtle effect on our happiness. People like to give gifts, so let’s give them with a deeper message and thought behind it."

Visit Henry & Jayne to buy some of their wonderful flowers to gift to someone special or put on display in your own home. We also recommend browsing their cute notebooks, jewellery boxes and photo frames. Now that you've read the story, you'll appreciate the difference your purchase can truly make!