Today we’d like to introduce you to Jess Burgoyne.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Fie and I co-founded The Rode after years of both having our businesses in the heart of Downtown, seeing women experience homelessness on a daily basis. In 2019, Fie, an impressive Danish-born jewelry designer with a background in trend & business development, began working with women living on Skid Row and felt there was a bigger mission behind it. As I come from an extensive fashion wholesale background, working with some of the world’s leading brands and manufacturers, we saw a unique opportunity to help support local women by creating job opportunities and producing goods locally here in Los Angeles.
We are dedicated to working through social responsibility efforts to create local, ethically made products that empower the women making it and the women wearing it. It has been such a beautiful journey working with these women and hearing their stories! They are hungry for creative, inspiring work and are eager for any chance they can get to improve their lives. Each purchase supports women transitioning out of homelessness & hardship, giving them the financial stability and confidence to be creators and champions of their own futures. Collectively, we feel honored to create local sustainable products and to be a part of their journey!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Both owning separate businesses prior to The Rode, we are well conditioned to embrace the bumps and obstacles along the way – that’s part of the ride, right? 😉 COVID-19 was one obstacle for the books, as it was for many. We launched The Rode in 2019 as a B2B business model but when COVID hit in March, we made the decision to shift gears and launch an online shop and haven’t looked back! These women rely on us for work and there was no stopping us. It was an adjustment at first reorganizing the workshop to allow for social distancing and sterilization but we are all adjusting in this new work environment.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
26% of homeless women in LA are actively looking for work – that’s 4,766 jobs*. At The Rode, we create creative job opportunities for women transitioning out of their circumstances — from homelessness to young parenting to domestic and sexual abuse — and empower them to be creators and champions of their own futures. We believe everyone deserves a space to feel safe, to heal, learn, grow, and to create and we make it our mission to help them transition out of hardship and strive for a better future. One of our core values at The Rode is equal opportunity and fair wage. We do not discriminate against those who apply, regardless of their education, past work experience, or history, we welcome all women who are looking for a new ‘rode’ in life.
We encourage and empower our women to learn new skills within the workshop and find their niche within a position they will enjoy and feel comfortable in. We all know the world needs a better future in terms of equal opportunity, sustainability, and social responsibility. These ethical issues require us to come together as a whole and do our part in order to make a positive impact within our own communities. We hope our contribution to the local communities in Los Angeles will lead the way to create a better future. Furthermore, we hope our work will inspire other communities to take charge and utilize the resources in their own backyards! *2019 stats
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Be flexible and embrace change! Things don’t always go as planned, so take it one day at a time and know things will work out, sometimes for the better!
Pricing:
- Apothecary $38
- Fine Jewelry $105-$495
- Tees $42
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.therodela.com
- Instagram: @the_rode_la
- Facebook: @therodela
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9FXXDrBIk_JvrAw0Yseo0g
Image Credits
Photo Rights of The Rode
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