July 17, Friday, 11 am – 5 pm Free Admission
July 18, Saturday 11 am – 5 pm Free Admission
July 19, Sunday 11 am – 4 pm Free Admission

Belle Chapel
231 Avenue “B”
Snohomish, WA 98290

Stop by for amazing deals on some gorgeous gowns and, if you’re around on Sunday afternoon, say hi to me, Angel.

I first heard about this program from Bee at Weddingbee. Daughters Cambodia, a local organization in Phnom Penh, is a day center for girls working in brothels. They provide access to life’s basics like showers and hygiene. They also help with vocational training in hopes that the girls can get out of the brothel life. At last count, 24 girls had left the sex industry all together.

Rebecca Sokoloff, one of the creative minds behind White Aisle, was planning a visit to Cambodia in the fall and asked the readers of Weddingbee what they thought about the idea of teaching the girls to create shawls or sashes out of silk as a source of income. The response was great, so armed with sewing machines, supplies and an air conditioner, Rebecca and Ruth Elliot, founder of Daughters Cambodia, went to work. Read more about the experience here.

Rebecca came back from her trip with silk sashes, silk flowers and silk ring pillows. I knew I wanted one of the roses, but couldn’t figure out what I was going to use it for. I didn’t want to have it just sit somewhere…these things have a story to tell. One of the pictures on the site shows a silk rose pinned to one of the sashes, so I emailed Rebecca and asked if she thought they would work as a blouse brooch. She said all I needed was a pin, so I excitedly placed my order and waited.

Then on Friday, it came! (I love getting mail in December. It makes everything I receive feel like Christmas present.) When I opened up the box, there was a smaller cardboard gift box inside and inside that, the rose. Not only was it beautiful, but wearing it reminded me of the buddy poppies my grandpa used to give out.

So here’s the idea: I’m going to wear it at every wedding related event – bridal shows, weddings, rehearsals, ABC member meetings and anything else for all of 2008. Who knows; maybe I can start a trend.

Here’s a few pictures I took of it (man I love my new camera) using the packing materials as a backdrop.

The first picture is how it looked when I got it, the second and third pictures are close-ups of the fabulous stitching detail on the back, and the fourth is how it looks opened up a bit for my brooch.

The rose was $10, the shipping was $6. I ordered it on December 9th and received it on December 14th. Oh and most importantly, 100% of the profits go to Cambodia.