Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Julie Colombino-billingham. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Julie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

Deux Mains was created in a time of disaster, when a catastrophic earthquake decimated Haiti in 2010. It was my first time being in Haiti and I was definitely experiencing a country at its worst. As a disaster responder, I was first doing really basic things like handing out bottles of water and tarps. About 2 months into the recovery, I met a woman in a tent camp who told me, she didnt want a bottle of water, but needed a job. Her words changed my life forever.

Listening to the women of Haiti and witnessing the desperate need for dignified employment became the catalyst and greatest inspiration behind the brand. I saw that people needed everything post earthquake but I didn’t have any experience in building a business or creating jobs. Then I remembered living in Africa many years earlier and seeing people make sandals from tires they found on the streets. There were random tires dumped all over Haiti and many people lost everything in the earthquake, including shoes so I started to think we could replicate the African sandal business. I pondered on this idea for weeks then I met another woman named Jolina. She was just as passionate about job creation as I was. We became friends and then business partners. I learned how to make recycled tire sandals from watching youtube videos, while Jolina rallied women in the neighborhood. We ended up employed a few women in the camp to make these sandals. 15 years later we became a Fair Trade fashion business that now employ 50 people to make luxury handbags and school shoes for Haitian children. With each collection, we honor the ancestral wisdom, talent, and perseverance I found in the people of Haiti.

We built our business to create empowering jobs in Haiti and share the island’s incredible craftsmanship with the world. “Deux Mains” means “two hands” in French—because behind every piece we produce, there is an artisan who is professionally trained to handcraft beautiful leather handbags, sandals, and jewelry from responsibly sourced materials.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a second-generation Italian American with a diverse background ranging from professional dancer and aerialist to MBA trained in international disaster. I met my husband in Haiti and we have spent the last 15 years working to sustain a business that is providing great jobs for craftspeople in Haiti. I found my inspiration for fashion is rooted in the beauty and extremities of Haiti, where I learned my first lesson from the women I encountered there: “I don’t need water, I need a job.” In response, I wanted to create a different kind of fashion business that focused on creating great careers for people in Haiti and beautiful, sustainable leather goods that are better for both people and the planet.

Fueled by the strength of the Haitian people, Deux Mains evolved into a job creation hub where artisans are valued, and each collection is intelligently designed, made, and manufactured in our solar-powered Port-au-Prince factory. I always dream of balancing the present reality with the possibilities of an economically free and healthy Haiti by offering the world beautifully crafted bags with multifunctional uses, shoes made from honest materials found on the island, and fashion accessories made from luxurious leathers.

I always find new things to be proud of, because I am part of a team of people who sacrifice everything, work harder and love deeper than any other experience I have ever had. Our latest accomplishment is manufacturing leather school shoes for local children. We are fighting the traditionally accepted charity method of giving Haitian children used sneakers from a shoe drive and expecting them to just make it work. We hand make durable shoes specifically for each child so they fit perfectly and are appropriate to accompany their school uniform.

I would love people to know how much power they have as consumers. By buying less and better quality – from Fair Trade Brand we are not only protecting the environment, but the millions of people who are taken advantage of in the fashion industry.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I have always been a “doer”. Especially when I would see something that was unjust. I would be the first person to jump in and act. Many times I would act without thinking first – very much like my entry into post earthquake Haiti. Instead of waiting to connect with an organized disaster relief team, I went to Haiti by myself 10 days after the disaster hit, but hat happened in the subsequent months was very different than what I expected.

I learned so much from living with the extremely poor and experiencing the impacts of poverty on families and communities. It was in Haiti that I learned a new way to connect with the developing world. I stopped doing what I thought would help like distribute bottles of water and tents, to be honest I just stopped “doing” and I started to listened. Being still was not easy for me, but I learned by truly listening to the local people we were able to find other solutions. Solutions that they wanted. Solutions that were long term. The people of Haiti did not want to be given things – they wanted opportunities to build their lives and to attain financial freedom…something that is only possible when you have a job. The is the most beautiful thing I found about my internal transformation – it’s really a gift I gave myself that led to a more fulfilling life than I ever thought possible. For me, the greatest gift exists in the experiences I have had building our fashion business with my colleagues in Haiti.  It has taught me that we can change our life story. 

Have you ever had to pivot?

Things are always very challenging in Haiti and we must always be on our feet, stay limber and adaptable, this is how we have maintained and grew our business all these years. For more than a decade we were a sandal company first and a handbag company second. Then a few years ago we found our bag and small leather goods business really start to take off. So we focused a lot of the types of products we made. A lot of Fair Trade company’s produce more standard, everyday products and we wanted to challenge that notion to show people the true artistry of Haiti. We started producing really high end bags that would tell a different story about Haiti…..and then COVID hit. Like many other businesses, it really hurt us. However, we survived that. The next big blow Haiti would undergo is a presidential assassination that throw the country into complete turmoil. With a giant void in leadership, gangs have taken over the country and to this day we suffer from violence, instability and political uncertainty. Gangs control the petrol distribution, the streets and the ports. This meant for a lot of missions and organizations that ship in used goods – like shoes for the kids they support – were no longer available. We used horrible and scary situation this as an opportunity to make something that organizations would need – and this was the beginning of our school shoes operation. It has turned into the most produced product line Deux Mains offers and just this quarter alone we have hired more than a dozen new craftspeople.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://deuxmains.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deuxmains_official/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeuxMainsDesigns
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliecolombino/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@deuxmains_official