Our Story

 The clothes you choose to wear can become a voice for the world you want to live in

The ANJELMS Project aims to create collections ethically produced through sustainable and socially responsible practices while using fashion as a vehicle to protect and empower disadvantaged communities in India.

The ANJELMS Project (pronounced "angel-emz)" is a creative project founded by Gaelle Beech in 2008 with her Balinese friend Luh Ariadi “Arik”. In 2012, they took the project to Kathmandu, Nepal where basics, knitwear and accessories were made with the collaboration of the Himalayan Nepal Export Group. In 2014, The ANJELMS Project moved to start a collaboration with The Stitching Project in Pushkar, India, and has been thriving in the partnership ever since. Fiona and Praveen of The Stitching Project and their team in Pushkar, India, provide local community members with a space to create and work safely. With a passion for social empowerment, the project focusses on providing consistent work for the community, especially women, and being able to pay them a fair living wage.

The ANJELMS Project & The Stitching Project team

With a strong connection to ethics in the process of garment making, The ANJELMS Project values and continuously supports the 3 C’s of craft practice - Community, Craftsmanship and Culture - and our brand was founded on these values.

We work entirely in traditional processes local to the region of Pushkar, Rajasthan including sourcing our hand spun, hand loomed khadi cotton and slow machine loomed silk cotton from families in the village, hand cut wood blockprints designed in Fremantle, Western Australia, to be hand cut, sewn, stitched, patchworked, packed, and shipped back to Western Australia. All of our garments are signed on our tags by every person who has come in contact with it during it’s production. We have a strong connection to traditional processes, as we believe in the power and personality of hand made garment production.

The ANJELMS Project seeks to create strong community ties through collaboration and creativity. We continue to dedicate ourselves to the process of ethical fair trade production through worn art.

Stitching Ladies at The Stitching Project for The Anjelms Project

Our friend, Antonia Taylor, with whom Gaëlle has shared a decade long friendship through their volunteer work for the WA Fairtrade Collective including the Fairly Fashionable challenges that ran for 4 years in Perth to highlight the pressures garments workers are under, had also interviewed Gaëlle on her commitment to ethical fashion and the changes in fashion since the Rana Plaza disaster. Watch Gaelle's interview below.
 
 

OUR VALUES

Blockprint maker for The Anjelms Project

Socially responsible

The ANJELMS Project uses locally sourced textiles focusing on traditional hand looms, natural fibres, dyes and block printing. We celebrate cultural heritage and traditional skills. All our makers leaving their mark on the garments they have proudly created by signing our tags. Our collections strive to tick all the boxes of the 10 fair-trade principles and to be unique and transparent. We provide a safe and fair working environment for all our team members and collaborators.

Plant Dye Fabric Drying at The Stitching Project

Sustainable practices

At The ANJELMS Project, we have the upmost respect for our environment and we nurture it by using natural, plant dyes and handloom organic fabric while minimising waste through the optimisation of garment production.

Local Perth Designers design unique prints for The Anjelms Project

Uniqueness

The ANJELMS Project collaborates with emerging Australian fashion and visual designers to create socially and sustainably responsible collections that are unique, vibrant and innovative.  This allows us to grow a network of creatives who care and provide our customers with an affordable, individual, versatile and comfortable wardrobe.

The Anjelms Project owner Gaelle Beech at community events

Community

Advocacy of our values is important to The ANJELMS Project and creating a community that respects and cares about each other as well as their environment. Our community includes local schools, community groups and we are part of the Western Australian Fair Trade Collective. Through our community we are able to link emerging designers with producer groups.

Workers at The Stitching Project for The Anjelms Project

Quality

The ANJELMS Project works directly with our producer groups to ensure a transparent production supply chain. This direct relationship allows us to offer our customers quality garments with a reasonable price tag by cutting out the middle-man. Our garments are timeless, durable and versatile which gives our customers the maximum wear out of our clothes. Our collaborator, The Stitching Project, is Craftmark certified. The Craftmark is a symbol of quality and craft, linking the diverse hand skills and products of India.