Turning a profit for progress: How a local business owner is helping other female entrepreneurs

ROANOKE, Va. – Turning a profit for progress, a local entrepreneur is starting a business to help women in Latin American communities by bringing a piece of Ecuador to Roanoke.

Woven Artisan Gallery is an online collection of artisan products for your home handcrafted by women in Ecuador. It’s a passion project for Roanoke architect Josephine Arbaugh, originally from Ecuador, who’s starting the business with the help of the Gauntlet Business Program and Competition.

Arbaugh’s mission is to partner with artisans and designers to help them overcome barriers to success that female entrepreneurs face in developing countries.

“It’s very empowering to be able to bring something new to the area. Something that people may not experience otherwise, products that have a lot of stories and impacts,” Arbaugh said. “Within the gallery website, we will be sharing the story of the artisans that create the product as well as the processes that go into creating each piece.”

Not only does Arbaugh’s online gallery have a significant social impact for female business owners in developing countries, it also helps promote more environmentally sustainable products.

Arbaugh said the products she curates from Ecuador are made with more natural processes that are more environmentally friendly, and not as common in the United States.

Arbaugh plans to fully launch the business in the next few months. Learn more and keep up to date on the business opening through the Woven Artisan Gallery Facebook page.