A house on Detroit’s Northend is deemed the “Butterfly House” and there’s a metamorphosis happening inside, but not the kind you may think.
“I love it here, it’s a lot to me, it means so much me being here,” Brenda Austin, lead designer for “Bags to Butterflies,” told “Live In The D’s” April Morton. Austin has been making purses and jewelry at the house, which serves as a production space for the business, for about 8 months, but creating beautiful designs is not just a job for her, it’s a path to a new life.
“I did a lot of time in prison, didn’t think I was getting out, but once I made it out, I had to transition into being a whole me, and a better me, so I had to start life basically over,” Austin said. She says, the program at “Bags to Butterflies,=” has given her that chance.
“Bags to Butterflies is a fashion brand with a social mission. We create beautiful products that are created using wood that is re-purposed and they’re made by some amazing women who are also re-purposing their lives. They’re formally incarcerated women,” said Michelle Smart, founder of “Bags to Butterflies”.
Smart was inspired to start the organization in 2015 when the daughter of a close friend was sent to prison. “When she went away my thought was life for her was never going to be the same, and what opportunities were going to be available not just for her, but for the other women coming home,” Smart said.
Needing to do something, she says she started “Bags to Butterflies,” and provided employment for the ladies. Since that time she’s trained dozens to create the one-of-a-kind purses, and accessories, all made from re-purposed wood. She also provides the women with food, financial, and housing resources.
To view the entire interview and learn more about the designs, click the video above.