SIX 4 GOOD! — Violinkit

Jul 17

Jul 17 SIX 4 GOOD!

Hmmmm.............Intriguing Title I hear you say..........But what is it?...... I hear you ask.........What's it all about?.................. Well my lovely friends let me tell you.........................

I have always been a huge fan of Oxfam here in Ireland and indeed the UK. I've grown up with it and thrifted my way stylishly through my teenage years because of it. I've experimented with different looks and collected extraordinary items of clothing both designer and vintage thanks to Oxfam.

When I became a home owner I found OxfamHome and sourced many original items of furniture and bric- a- brac that made my home authentic and allowed me to experiment and put my own stamp on it. I've bought many items from their store in Francis St. A 50's Cresent shaped glass cabinet , an old magohony sideboard and an old 70's TV unit which I completely refurbished and painted to use as a storage chest for my living room.

So last week when I received an invitation to attend the opening of their first brand- new goods shop in the Stephens Green Shopping Centre in Dublin Ireland I was more than a little excited. The shop (as you may have guessed by now) is called SIX4GOOD. This new store which is now open for business in the Stephen's Green Shopping Centre in Dublin sells a wide range of brand-new fashion accessories and jewellery for men ,women and children. This range includes hair accessories, hats , scarves , sunglasses , bags , purses , mobile phone accessories and homewares .

Colour co-ordinated tempting hues of mouth watering shades adorn the walls of SIX4GOOD!

All the items have been generously donated by European brand SIX to Oxfam Ireland with profits from the shop going to support the charity's work worldwide. These works include emergency response, long-term development and campaigning , including projects with women and girls.

SIX4GOOD Shop , Stephens Green Shopping Centre Dublin 2 Ireland.

One such project is Female Food Heroes . Launched in Tanzania in 2011 and originally under the name Mama Shujaa Wa Chakula . Female Food Heroes has blossomed into an annual nationwide reality TV show competition in Tanzania . It honours and higlights the incredible contribution of female food producers to society and is associated with Oxfam's food justice campaign. Lorna Weightman (Broadcaster , style blogger and Oxfam Ambassador) travelled to Tanzania in October 2016 to see first hand Female Food Heroes in action.

Eye-candy colour catches the light in a delightful display at SIX4GOOD.

I spoke with her on the evening of the SIX 4 GOOD shop launch and I was blown away by the amount of farming work these women and girls do. She explained how Oxfam help to equip these great women with the knowledge they require to become more efficient in their food producing methods. Skills like tool training and seed harvesting and encouragement of innovative methods of farming which in turn will help the livelihoods of their communities are all helped and encouraged by Oxfam. Oxfam also help provide the education and confidence to better enhance these women to lobby their government more effectively.

An array of jewel coloured bags from the tempting Oxfam accessory store SIX 4 GOOD.

Female Food Heroes plays a vital role in raising awareness of the plight of female farmers in Tanzania and highlights the obstacles that they encounter on a daily basis. Problems like having limited access to land , obtaining credit and being able to access training programmes are but a few of the issues that are highlighted. In a Oxfam survey of more than 4,000 women farmers in 18 regions of the country only 5% owned their own land yet more than 60% of Tanzanian women are engaged in farming...............Hmmmm.........Not a very pro-active stastistic!!!!!!!

The empowerment of women in these regions could literally save lives. If female farmers had the same access to land , credit etc they could grow enough extra food to feed more than 100 million of the world's starving people. Its quite a thought to ponder on..............

An abundance of embellished treats await you at SIX4GOOD.

SIX4GOOD store (which is located in the centre aisle section of the ground floor towards the Dunnes Stores end on the left side) is the first of its kind to open in Ireland and hopefully we will see a lot more popping up all over the country. The shop is part of an ongoing partnership with SIX which is a brand of the Beeline fashion group one of Europe's leading suppliers of accessories etc.

On the launch night I happened to treat myself to two gorgeous items of jewellery. As always with Violinkit I chose the most colourful items I could find. A beautiful 3 tiered necklace and a chunky ring to match. The necklace consists of multi-coloured beads and the ring has an array of matching hues and of course some bling thrown in.

I will be visiting this great shop again very soon and with prices that start at just €3 whats not to love. Next time your in Dublin do give it a visit and I'll be super surprised if you don't emerge from its doors laden down and with a gleeful smile on your face. You will also have the pleasure that this time your retail splurge will be doing a lot more than merely keeping you in style and up to date with all the latest accessories.............You'll be helping some hard working but suppressed female like yourself .........The only difference between your fates ......She was born in a war torn and poverty stricken country..........

My chosen jewellery items from the launch night at SIX4GOOD.

I hope this SIX4GOOD store has made a positive impression on you all and that you are suitable impressed to give it a visit........You won't be disappointed...... Let me know your thoughts on SIX4GOOD in the comments.

Talk soon XXX VIOLINKIT