E-MOI

The literal translation of the French word "Emoi" is "an event that causes great excitement, or a stir amongst people". And so it will be when you first see the E-MOI bags in this really exciting collection.

"BEAUTY FROM WASTE"

Thu Nguyen Merer is the designer and founder of E-Moi. Thu had been working in the Vietnam communication and marketing industry before relocating to Paris in 2006 for a MBA program. It was on a visit back to S.E Asia in 2009 that the EMOI story began.

The E-Moi story started with Thu's first collaboration with a women cooperative in a marginalised area in Manila, Philippines. A few recycled handbag designs received great feedback from French customers. This encouraged the E-MOI team to expand their social enterprise project to other S.E Asian countries.

Thu tells the story here:

I love Paris for its beauty and its culture diversity. Everything inspired me a lot. Growing in Vietnam just after the war, I had lived over 15 years of my childhood in a “self-supply” life. We had very little means for living and we had to do mostly everything by ourselves: my mom made clothes for us from left-over fabric that she made for her clients, my dad recycled old bicycle tires to make our shoes, we did embroideries, tricot, knit products in our free time after school to sell to an export company in town… All these experiences allow me to learn many manual skills and reinforce my love for the handmade products.

It is during my time study in Paris that I felt this passion is growing irresistibly.
I realised that so many handmade techniques that I have learned during my childhood are mostly disappeared in developed countries. So many wasted in modern life consumption, handmade things in rich countries become something very expensive meanwhile in another side of the earth, so many poor people who master many handmade skills but have so little means for living. While developed countries raise more and more concern about environment, the poor countries live over tons of wastes.

– My dream of creating “BEAUTY FROM WASTE” come true in 2009 after a trip to the Philippines to help victims of the Ondoy typhoon. The catastrophic scene of flood everywhere and the extreme poverty touched until bottom of my heart… I wanted to help more than just a few days trip"

E-MOI's mission is to raise awareness of the environmental condition of local communities, to educate locals to reduce waste, and to to recycle and transform waste materials into beautiful design-led accessories. They now collaborate with several cooperatives/ associations in different areas, and the artisans use traditional crafts to create designer bags and accessories. The co-operatives provide their employees, especially women, fair work and fair pay empowering them to enjoy a brighter future for both themselves and their families.

E-MOI Fair Trade Statement "Fair Trade products guarantee! Absolutely no child labor! We are committed to paying decent wages, providing regular training, and creating a good working environment to our workers"

In this collection you'll find designer bags and jewellery handcrafted using soda pop can pull tabs.