Welcome to Bauble Stockings! My name is Kate Stice Stewart, I'm from Atlanta, and I have a special tradition I want to share with you. I hope you make this annual memory your own- everyone does it a little bit different- but the outcome is always the same, a special ending to a wonderful holiday that leaves you with memories for a lifetime. So "save the best for last" with your loved ones, and join the Bauble Stockings tradition.
A Bauble Stocking contains, or has a clue to, the final present of Christmas, a grand finale to the holiday. Growing up, my mom always received the last gift of Christmas as a thank you for all she'd done that year, and it, or a clue to it, was found in her needlepoint stocking that hung on our tree. My dad called it her "Bauble Stocking" because on a good year it was a bauble, a piece of jewelry. The tradition of brainstorming for this gift with my dad and older brothers was always my favorite part of Christmas- seeing mom's face was an added bonus! When we got engaged, I asked Peter, "So when do I get my Bauble Stocking?" and he said "Your what?" and I said "You know, what the good gifts come in!" He looked at me like I was crazy. Immediately, I got on Google to show him and I couldn't find anything! Every year it's different: be it jewelry, concert tickets, even art lessons! We've done scavenger hunts, hobby lessons, love notes, riddles, trips, heirlooms, puppies, meal delivery services, you name it. The fun thing is hearing how different families make this tradition their own. I've met newlyweds in Raleigh who planned to switch years planning a trip and the other would find out where they were going, a set of parents who planned to get a new experience membership for their kids each year, and grandparents who love it as a classy envelope for handwritten checks. Each stocking is 100% hand-stitched and finished. In 2018, we moved our production to a community of single moms in Haiti. This organization, Good Threads Needlepoint, has since become a registered BCorp. The women are paid the equivalent of school teachers and nurses. They originally began stitching needlepoint belts to provide stability in their homes so their children could attend school. Since most jobs available were manual labor, these women were unable to find work so their boys kept having to drop out to make money for the family. Since beginning in 2013, not one child has had to drop out, and the community has grown to over 100 women stitchers. The community has built a school for over 120 children, many of whom will be the first person in their family to be able to complete high school. It is an honor to be able to provide good jobs in a country where jobs are hard to come by.
5% profit of each sale goes to the Atlanta Children's Shelter, a day shelter for homeless children so their moms are able to go to work knowing their kids are safe and receiving quality care. This cause is personal to me because I always thought childcare would be something you just easily figured out once you have kids. It is not! Even with an incredible support system, it's still a challenge, and sometimes an expensive one. The women and families who use ACS have very little to no support system, and are often trying to leave toxic relationships. ACS helps them to find housing, job training and securing jobs, a full year of follow up, as well as child support systems. It is an amazing organization and I am proud to have made this donation since we sold our very first Bauble Stocking. The artwork is by Sarah Watson, a SCAD graduate and Alabama native. We also have guest artists, who in exchange for their work choose a charity for which to donate an additional 10% of profit from the sale of their design. Since launching in 2018, we've donated over $30,000 to organizations making the world a better place. It is our mission to create wonderful traditions to be cherished for generations to come, employ those who need it most in Haiti, and give back to our community through ACS and other charities. None of this would be possible without orders like yours, so THANK YOU for ordering. You are creating a wonderful tradition in your home while supporting families in several others.
