Artisan Global Founders: Lauren Shipley, Ketty Promise and Devon Feldmeth
While recognizing the power of cross-cultural collaboration - Lauren Shipley, Ketty Promise and Devon Feldmeth founded Artisan Global together as they re-imagined fashion and other creative sectors as a vehicle for societal change in Northern Uganda, a region that was heavily impacted by decades of conflict.
This dream started with one seamstress, one sewing machine, in one small hut and evolved into a reality. Years later after building a strong united team of talented artisans, together they launched the co-working space, the Artisan Center, in 2020. The Artisan Center is an inclusive co-working space for the community to access trainings, shared creative equipment, WiFi, mentorship, and market opportunities. As a defining value of their model, they are committed to building capacity within the community in order for the center to be entirely led by locals.
Personal Bios
- Lauren supports women by using fashion as a pathway towards revitalizing economic opportunities and celebrating cultural heritage in communities impacted by conflict. As the co-founder of Artisan Global, she is driven by a passion to integrate sustainable practices into the fashion sector and revive traditional techniques such as East African batik. Lauren leads the team in building regional collaborations and hosting trainings with industry experts. She has also provided pro-bono consulting for sustainable fashion brands such as the MOO brand - featured in Elle magazine - connecting them with master artisans in Uganda and together launching the first luxury handbag made entirely of upcycled cowhorn. In addition to her work with Artisan Global, Lauren is also a consultant for the World Fair Trade Organization, supporting field coordination for MADE51 - an initiative of the UN Refugee Agency that brings refugee-made products, such as jewelry and accessories, to the global market.
- While navigating living in a region heavily impacted by decades of conflict, Ketty became one of the first local entrepreneurs to reimagine fashion as a vehicle for societal change in Northern Uganda. Since 2014, she has been committed to bringing high quality training and mentorship programs to economically disadvantaged women. Her dream started with one seamstress and one sewing machine in one small hut, today she is leading a team of talented artisans that teach community courses and workshops at the co-working space, the Artisan Center, established in 2020.
- Devon Feldmeth is a designer, creative activist and social impact entrepreneur. She co-founded Artisan Global to advance creative opportunities and support young visionaries and artisans in Uganda. She’s committed to using storytelling as a call-to-action to inspire citizens and brands to partner with underserved communities and contribute to the end of extreme poverty. Her background includes redesigning a recreation center in Watts, CA, developing branding for advocacy campaigns, and launching creative spaces for youth, locally and globally.