Olive & Annie at One Sky

Visionary Jacqueline Villeneuve, founder of Olive & Annie will be in shop to discuss her initiative and offer her gorgeous and ethical line of jewelry and clothing.

ABOUT OLIVE & ANNIE

Behind every Olive & Annie product design is the story of a woman or child in Nairobi, Kenya. Following ethical practices, every piece of Olive & Annie jewelry is handcrafted in Ngong Hills by our lead artisan Sammy and his team.

Sammy takes our designs and brings them to life – incorporating in some of his own creations with our unique twist. As a proud father of 3, husband, and community leader, Sammy was a natural fit to complete the Olive & Annie team.

Founded by a single mother / survivor and an American veteran, Olive & Annie began with humble beginnings and the vision to create affordable ethical products while supporting charitable initiatives. With every Olive & Annie sale, 100% of profits directly support She Matters Tribe and ZLT Hope Homes.

Meaningful Design, Supporting Women and Children through Every Purchase.

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Jacqueline Villeneuve began volunteering in Kenya at the age of 15 in 2009. Having interest in African politics from a young age, Jacqueline was inspired to learn more about the beautiful cultures and history that existed in Kenya. Her first trip was all it took — she left Kenya with the desire to learn more, explore, and design. Jacqueline returned to Kenya at 16 years old and volunteered in a children’s home. Unfortunately, she was exposed early on to the corruption that existed within the orphan care community. This led to a burning passion for child protection, and the desire to work alongside Kenyan partners to provide children with the opportunity to experience quality education, safe shelter, and holistic care in a loving family environment. She began the plans to create a children’s home to provide care to children with no living relatives able to provide full time care. While many children in Kenya live in vulnerable situations, the majority do have living relatives capable of caring for them. This however is not the case for all children.

In March 2013 ZLT Hope Homes opened, providing a home to 20 orphaned and abandoned children. Through teamwork led by a female 5 member Kenyan team, and Jacqueline’s guidance and support in fundraising from North America (and at times in country), ZLT flourished to provide a loving home and scholarships to 27 children, while successfully rehabilitating and supporting 4 children with living relatives.

Through her own experiences as a survivor of sexual violence, and her life as a single mother, Jacqueline dreamed of creating a social enterprise to support her family at ZLT while creating opportunity for survivors and men who serve as positive male role models. In partnership with Lindsay Woodhouse, a US Marine who she met in Kenya, Jacqueline’s dream to create an ethical fashion brand that told the stories of women and children through every design came to life.

What began as a 30% give back quickly became 100% give back — making Olive & Annie a truly ethical brand with a mission to give the gift of hope.