California-based Known Supply is humanizing fashion by introducing consumers to the makers of their clothes.
It all started with a summer spent in Uganda during college. Stewart Ramsey met a community of people who had been living in government camps for over 20 years because the rebel army had ravaged the northern part of the country where they lived. The camps were the only home some of these Ugandans had ever known, and they had grown tired of relying upon the government and aid organizations to fulfill their needs. They wanted to work and provide for their families, so when Ramsey returned home and told his two best friends the story, they instantly knew they had an opportunity to use their fashion experience to create jobs that could economically empower the Ugandan community to rise above poverty.
Originally from Spokane, Washington, the trio of friends had picked up a unique hobby in high school-crocheting. They used their uncommon skills to create unique headwear for snow sports popular in their area and quickly garnered a customer base. Ramsey, Kohl Crecelius and Travis Hartanov were dubbed the “Krochet Kids” by a local newspaper and while they reveled in the novelty of it, they ultimately went on to different colleges to explore new opportunities like traveling and surfing.
Over summer breaks, the young men would spend time volunteering in developing nations, seeking a better understanding of the global community in which they lived. Their experiences abroad quickly made it apparent how blessed they had been growing up and they made a conscious decision to give back in some way, to make a difference.
Friends and family encouraged them to teach the individuals they met to crochet and give them a skill they could use to break the cycle of poverty. And then Ramsey returned from Uganda and shared his story.
Ugandan woman crocheting a bag for Krochet Kids
Halfway into college at this point, Krochet Kids (KK) was formally incorporated as a nonprofit in 2007 and the budding entrepreneurs gathered a group of friends dedicated to transforming northern Uganda by hook and yarn. The next summer, they found themselves sitting in a hut, alongside Ugandan women mastering the art of crochet.
Over the next ten years, they established a program that trained and employed women to create products that were sold on their website. They also developed a program model that taught the women to launch their own businesses within 3-5 years, and since inception, more than 150 women have graduated into locally sustainable careers.
To dive deeper into social impact, the team decided to create separate entities that could achieve greater scalability. The KK nonprofit arm was rebranded as Capable, the organization responsible for recruiting the women and managing implementation on the ground.
Basic women’s raglan t-shirt by Known Supply
Launched in the fall of 2017, Known Supply is the new benefit corporation that is now the umbrella brand that runs KK and Capable. Producing a basic line of apparel, the ultimate goal is to humanize fashion by connecting consumers to the makers of their clothing. Each piece is hand signed and customers are invited to learn more about their maker, who comes from either Lima, Peru or Gulu, Uganda.
“If it’s about connecting as many consumers as possible to the people who made their products, and if it’s about doing that at a larger scale, then we can do that under one brand,” said Crecelius, who serves as CEO of Known Supply. “We set up a new model that can do that and serve as a guide for other brands so they can have access to this type of production and see the impact of it on their business and on their communication with their audience.”
Known Supply is an open-source model for anyone who believes in the importance of knowing who made your product and celebrating those people. Makers are profiled on the website, so for example, if Lamunu Faith from Uganda made an item, customers would learn that during the war, she was abducted and forced to march long distances with the rebel army. This job has enabled Faith to support herself and put her child through school. She hopes to start a small business with the money that she saves through the crochet program.
Lamunu Faith, a Known Supply maker who is now earning a living to provide for her family.
Customers are able to send a thank you directly to their maker through the website and after learning about Faith, one customer sent her a note of thanks, saying, “You are a beautiful woman inside and out. I am happy to know you through KK. You are amazing and going to do
wonderful things in life!”
In this new chapter, Crecelius says they are transitioning to a long-term employment model, examining the positive impact on women living in poverty. According to The World Bank, economically empowering women strengthens whole communities as they tend to invest money in their children’s education and wellbeing.
When asked why this is important to him and his fellow cofounders, Crecelius said, “We were meeting women who were formally living in poverty, who didn’t mirror the perception of what we were led to believe people living in poverty were supposed to look like. They weren’t sad, they weren’t downtrodden, they weren’t hopeless. They were actually the opposite of all of those things-they were beautiful, capable and credible people.”
A Known Supply maker and her family who is now living a better life in Peru thanks to her new income and skills
Through Known Supply, Crecelius wants to change the narrative when it comes to the perception of poverty and break down the societal barriers that separate people living in different cultures. “That is who we are,” said Crecelius, “and we want to show consumers how they can support other people through simple things like their clothing purchases.” By leveraging mobile tech to connect makers and customers, Known Supply strives to be the most human brand, reminding us how we’re all connected on a daily basis.
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California-based Known Supply is humanizing fashion by introducing consumers to the makers of their clothes.
It all started with a summer spent in Uganda during college. Stewart Ramsey met a community of people who had been living in government camps for over 20 years because the rebel army had ravaged the northern part of the country where they lived. The camps were the only home some of these Ugandans had ever known, and they had grown tired of relying upon the government and aid organizations to fulfill their needs. They wanted to work and provide for their families, so when Ramsey returned home and told his two best friends the story, they instantly knew they had an opportunity to use their fashion experience to create jobs that could economically empower the Ugandan community to rise above poverty.
Originally from Spokane, Washington, the trio of friends had picked up a unique hobby in high school-crocheting. They used their uncommon skills to create unique headwear for snow sports popular in their area and quickly garnered a customer base. Ramsey, Kohl Crecelius and Travis Hartanov were dubbed the “Krochet Kids” by a local newspaper and while they reveled in the novelty of it, they ultimately went on to different colleges to explore new opportunities like traveling and surfing.
Over summer breaks, the young men would spend time volunteering in developing nations, seeking a better understanding of the global community in which they lived. Their experiences abroad quickly made it apparent how blessed they had been growing up and they made a conscious decision to give back in some way, to make a difference.
Friends and family encouraged them to teach the individuals they met to crochet and give them a skill they could use to break the cycle of poverty. And then Ramsey returned from Uganda and shared his story.
Ugandan woman crocheting a bag for Krochet Kids
Halfway into college at this point, Krochet Kids (KK) was formally incorporated as a nonprofit in 2007 and the budding entrepreneurs gathered a group of friends dedicated to transforming northern Uganda by hook and yarn. The next summer, they found themselves sitting in a hut, alongside Ugandan women mastering the art of crochet.
Over the next ten years, they established a program that trained and employed women to create products that were sold on their website. They also developed a program model that taught the women to launch their own businesses within 3-5 years, and since inception, more than 150 women have graduated into locally sustainable careers.
To dive deeper into social impact, the team decided to create separate entities that could achieve greater scalability. The KK nonprofit arm was rebranded as Capable, the organization responsible for recruiting the women and managing implementation on the ground.
Basic women’s raglan t-shirt by Known Supply
Launched in the fall of 2017, Known Supply is the new benefit corporation that is now the umbrella brand that runs KK and Capable. Producing a basic line of apparel, the ultimate goal is to humanize fashion by connecting consumers to the makers of their clothing. Each piece is hand signed and customers are invited to learn more about their maker, who comes from either Lima, Peru or Gulu, Uganda.
“If it’s about connecting as many consumers as possible to the people who made their products, and if it’s about doing that at a larger scale, then we can do that under one brand,” said Crecelius, who serves as CEO of Known Supply. “We set up a new model that can do that and serve as a guide for other brands so they can have access to this type of production and see the impact of it on their business and on their communication with their audience.”
Known Supply is an open-source model for anyone who believes in the importance of knowing who made your product and celebrating those people. Makers are profiled on the website, so for example, if Lamunu Faith from Uganda made an item, customers would learn that during the war, she was abducted and forced to march long distances with the rebel army. This job has enabled Faith to support herself and put her child through school. She hopes to start a small business with the money that she saves through the crochet program.
Lamunu Faith, a Known Supply maker who is now earning a living to provide for her family.
Customers are able to send a thank you directly to their maker through the website and after learning about Faith, one customer sent her a note of thanks, saying, “You are a beautiful woman inside and out. I am happy to know you through KK. You are amazing and going to do
wonderful things in life!”
In this new chapter, Crecelius says they are transitioning to a long-term employment model, examining the positive impact on women living in poverty. According to The World Bank, economically empowering women strengthens whole communities as they tend to invest money in their children’s education and wellbeing.
When asked why this is important to him and his fellow cofounders, Crecelius said, “We were meeting women who were formally living in poverty, who didn’t mirror the perception of what we were led to believe people living in poverty were supposed to look like. They weren’t sad, they weren’t downtrodden, they weren’t hopeless. They were actually the opposite of all of those things-they were beautiful, capable and credible people.”
A Known Supply maker and her family who is now living a better life in Peru thanks to her new income and skills
Through Known Supply, Crecelius wants to change the narrative when it comes to the perception of poverty and break down the societal barriers that separate people living in different cultures. “That is who we are,” said Crecelius, “and we want to show consumers how they can support other people through simple things like their clothing purchases.” By leveraging mobile tech to connect makers and customers, Known Supply strives to be the most human brand, reminding us how we’re all connected on a daily basis.
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