OUR STORY

Deb with anti-poaching unit, Botswana

Close up of Earthly Treasures print

Rabeya, Artisan Sewing Coop, Queens NYC

After Hours artist, Caty Wooley

How Tembo NYC started

Tembo NYC founder, Deb Chusid, has spent over a decade volunteering around the globe for elephants and wildlife conservation. When she wasn’t in the wild enjoying nature’s beauty and saving God’s creatures, she was creating campaigns for Fortune 500 companies at large New York ad agencies. Living 2 very different lives, she spent years wondering how she could bring these opposite sides of her life together. The answer came to her in a supermarket checkout line. Frustrated that she forgot to BYO-bag, she thought if she created a bag that was fashionable and functional, a bag you would want to carry, you would be less inclined to forget it. Tembo NYC opened for business selling our fabulous tote in 2019.

 Wear artful activism

Positive action is easier to attain through positive reinforcement. A lesson our founder, Deb Chusid learned over many years working in the Ad world. Following that formula as our business model, all our products are created with purpose using original and artfully designed prints and styles with a positive message to create a positive impact on the world around you.

5% of our profits go to the non-profit organizations that work to serve the causes highlighted by our beautiful scarves. Our cotton goods are printed in the USA, 100% cotton and are hand sewn in Queens NYC by women seamstresses earning New York City Fair Wages.

Wear Economic Opportunity

Empowering women in our local community by creating access to economic opportunities and fair wages, Tembo partners with the Artisan Sewing Co-op located in Queens, NYC. Headed up by Zahida Begum and Rabeya Akter, Bangladeshi-born Asylees. The Artisan Sewing Co-op expert seamstresses are immigrant women looking for a way to earn income but cannot work outside the home because of language barriers, cultural norms and/or childcare costs. By bringing the work to them, our partnership provides a way for these women to make their own money resulting in a newfound sense of confidence and independence. Producing over 20,000 masks for Tembo NYC when NYC was hit hard by the Covid pandemic, the cooperative has employed up to 17 women and has allowed for seamstresses to provide for their families during a time of economic hardship. These women are continuing to earn a living due to Tembo NYC’s growth and accomplishments; our growth is their growth.

1/3 of the sales of our cotton goods goes directly to the women who sew our products.

Wear Equality in the Arts

From the world of fine art, commercial art and present day street art, female artists have sorely been underrepresented. As a former creative director, founder Deb Chusid was fortunate enough to be a part of the 2% club (2% of all creative directors in advertising are women.) That’s why Tembo NYC collaborates with female artists around the globe, to turn our passion for causes into statement pieces. Each artist is carefully selected for her extraordinary talent and unique style that enriches our storytelling and mission.

Wear Women’s Empowerment

At Tembo NYC we believe we all rise together. So whether it’s empowering women, saving our planet and wildlife or helping our neighbors put food on their table, these interconnected values and visions will always be reflected in the products we sell. As we grow our collaborations with female artists, nonprofits, and women cooperatives, we also plan to develop new products that will use fashion and home accessories to inspire sustainable habits and support issues that will make our world a better place.

Notable mentions we’re proud of

Tembo NYC has been featured in People Magazine’s style section “9 Face Masks We Love” and Crain’s NY, “Champions in manufacturing: Delivering PPE to those on the Covid front lines”, NPR Marketplace and various local publications.

You can find our products at the Guggenheim Store, The American Museum of Natural History, Duty Free Shops and other fine travel retailers.

Feel free to reach out to us if you’d like to share the Tembo NYC story, carry our products or collaborate with us.
tembonyc@gmail.com

FUN FACT:

Tembo means elephant in Swahili.
Elephant females live together with their young in tight-knit family groups led by a warrior and protector matriarch. Males may come and go, but females always stick together and work cooperatively. They know instinctively that creating a tight herd will make them and each succeeding generation stronger