Creations of Hope and DwellSmart team up to help Haiti through art sales

Carved Bowl from Haiti

In 2009, after a number of visits to Haiti, Dottie Kelley and Dan Edwards of Summerville, together with two Haitians started Creations of Hope to help the Haitian people improve the quality of their life.  Dottie and her partners wanted to reduce poverty in Haiti by offering the Haitian people an opportunity to sell their unique crafts.

I met Dottie in December after the live nativity at Sunrise Presbyterian Church and saw the beautiful Haitian art.  With DwellSmart’s interest in the use of natural and reclaimed materials and focus on supporting fair trade, I was interested in supporting Creations of Hope. 

Poverty usually requires frugality with nature’s gifts so most of the Haitian art is made with reclaimed materials.  Used oil drums are re-crafted into metal sculptures.  Discarded upholstery becomes the canvas for a painting.

In November, Dottie had a container of hundreds of pieces of beautiful Haitian works of art delivered to Charleston.  This artwork is available for sale at DwellSmart in the Plaza at East Cooper shopping center at 615 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. in Mount Pleasant. Prices start at just $6.  All money raised from the sale of the art will benefit the Haitian artists and two orphanages in Haiti that are in dire need after the earthquake.

The art includes carved wooden bowls, brightly painted bowls, metal wall decor, paintings, and more.

The villages where the artisans live have not been terribly affected by the earthquake. However, with Port au Prince a disaster area, their sources of income have stopped. Sale of the products at DwellSmart will provide Creations of Hope with the money to purchase more products immediately, and it will provide badly needed funds to the orphanages.