“Love is brave,” reads one of the T-shirts by Bravely, a St. Louis clothing brand.
It’s a sentiment woven deep into the organization, which is an enterprise program of Magdalene St. Louis, a nonprofit residential community for survivors of addiction and sexual exploitation. Bravely was started around a year ago by the women in the program, who wanted to sell merchandise with empowering slogans. The product line includes T-shirts, tote bags, water bottles, cosmetic bags, and coffee mugs, which are adorned with one of three phrases: “Love is brave,” “Compassion is badass,” and “I am a work in progress.”
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Bravely employees are women that have reached a certain stage of the Magdalene St. Louis rehabilitation process. They must go through counseling and other healing before they can enter the job-training program. Proceeds from Bravely directly benefit the women; the profits go toward paying them a living wage.
“We are focused on our women learning marketable and transferable skills, rather than more labor-intensive skills,” says Zekita Asuquo, director of social enterprise. “That is something that makes Bravely really unique.”
At Bravely, the women receive on-the-job training to learn things like basic computer skills, marketing, sales, inventory management, book keeping, graphic design, and small business operations.
Three days a week, Asuquo conducts one-on-one training. “We work on not just hard skills but also soft skills needed to be able to succeed in the workplace,” Asuquo explains. “The women are really discovering themselves and how to reintegrate into the world. They are learning not just what it means to be working but to be professional and know that, ‘I can do this. I can live a live free of addiction, free of abuse, and free of sexual exploitation.’”
Success stories are on the horizon as Bravely approaches its first graduation of women who are exiting the program. “We employ women who are very resilient and make me proud. It adds so much to my life watching their progress,” Asuquo says, confident the women will build wonderful lives.
Bravely hopes to expand by finding more locations to sell its products. It’ll also introduce its new concept Bravely Box Parties. The Bravely team collaborates with party hosts that invite friends to their home to come together and talk about what it means to be a brave women in today’s world. Guests play games, have food, and shop Bravely products. The Bravely website says, “When you wear and use Bravely products, you are sharing those messages with the world and changing lives while you do it.”
Shop Bravely items online or at these St. Louis locations:
Ivy Hill Boutique (8835 Ladue)
Rung Boutique (9741 Manchester)
OSO Style Lab (6321 Delmar)
Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis (3750 Washington)
