Vintage with Love
This month, we're thrilled to welcome our new partner, Vintage with Love to the Workshop17 family. Born from the shared dream of fashion-forward visionaries Leigh Ord and Jacquie Myburgh Chemaly, Vintage with Love, where high-end style meets deep social impact. They've turned the act of "clearing out your cupboard" into a powerful engine for literacy and education, proving that a gently worn blazer or a forgotten silk scarf can literally rewrite a child's future.
By joining forces with organisations like Vintage with Love, we can unlock both transformative and positive change that extends far beyond our individual reach, where the ripple effects of collaboration and kindness extends into the wider community, and hopefully into more cupboards.
Fashion with a Soul: The Barrington Story
Back row: Tracey Butler, Debbie Smuts, Lizzy Erwee
Front row: Diante Tablai, Tessa Manning, Taylea du Toit
Chatting with the team, it became clear that while the clothes are beautiful, it’s the human stories that truly shimmer. Take Barrington, for example. Eight years ago, Barrington was homeless, helping the team with the heavy lifting of boxes. Over time, he became part of the furniture, and then part of the family.
When life took a difficult turn, the Vintage with Love team stood by him, encouraging him through a journey of rehabilitation. Today, Barrington isn’t just sober; he has his own apartment, is mastering literacy and writing, and is working toward his driver’s license.
"Anyone who interacts with Vintage with Love experiences positive change," Taylea told us.
It’s a reminder that when we shop with purpose, we aren't just buying a garment; we are investing in a human being’s dignity.
The magic of the "second-hand" secret
There is a specific kind of magic in the circular economy. Sometimes, it’s a high-fashion windfall, like the time someone donated three genuine Issey Miyake dresses (a rare, 2015 miracle). Other times, the magic is far more personal.
One volunteer donated a collection of her own shirts, only to discover that Lizzy, Vintage with Love’s Head of Operations, had unknowingly bought them all.
"Oh, that’s my shirt!" is a phrase heard often in these circles; it’s a beautiful, literal thread connecting one woman’s past to another’s present.
But beyond the "finds," there is a mission to slow down. In a world of fast fashion and instant gratification, Vintage with Love asks us to rethink our waste. Did you know a single R200 t-shirt can keep a child in a reading program for an entire week? That’s the kind of math we can get behind.
Workshop17 with Love
So, why this partnership? Because the synergy was impossible to ignore. Workshop17 is built on the power of the collective, and Vintage with Love is built on "Purchase with Purpose."
We are thrilled to provide a home for this energy. Whether you’re donating your "loved-but-no-longer-worn" pieces or hunting for that one-of-a-kind vintage gem, you are participating in a cycle of kindness that ripples far beyond our office walls.
How to Get Involved
The beauty of this collaboration is its simplicity.
You don't need to reinvent the wheel to make a difference.
1.Shop the Collection:
Every purchase is a direct donation to literacy.
2.Declutter for Good:
Your donations are the lifeblood of the organisation.
3.Volunteer:
Give your time to a cause that dresses up the world in more ways than one.
The very first Workshop17 x Vintage with Love collaboration is officially on the horizon, a curated thrift market pop-up hosted at our Kloof Street location.
But you don’t have to wait for the event to start making a difference. Donation bins are already waiting for you at all of our Cape Town locations. It’s the perfect excuse to declutter your wardrobe and give your pre-loved pieces a second life. Then, join us at the pop-up to find some new-to-you treasures that carry a story of their own.
If you are a Workshop17 Member and want to share your story, we’d love to hear it!
marketing@workshop17.com
