business savvy, fashion forward

Tonight at Lambert's: Nisolo showcases fashionable leather shoes that give newlife to impoverished entrepreneurs in Peru

NIsolo creates handmade leather shoes in Trujillo, Peru, to provide impoverishedentrepreneurs in communities around the world with access to new markets.
The Bolivar Wedge.
The Mendez Flat.
The Delicias Sandal.
The Chavito Chukka
The Emilio Chukka
Group photo in the Mendez family shoe shop.
William measuring a leather cut for one Nisolo's men's Chavitos.
The Nisolo shoe workshop.

Nisolo calls into question the way we give to impoverished countries, communities and individuals.

Theirs is a charitable shoe company who doesn't just donate its proceeds, but empowers impoverished individuals in Trujillo, Peru by giving them a job — the job of handcrafting gorgeous shoes that hold their own in the U.S. contemporary fashion market.

But alongside job creation also comes a pledge to education. Nisolo donates 10% of their profits to education programs in the Trujillo neighborhoods where their products are made.

"The greatest need of all in the developing world is for empowerment. Whether through providing capital, training, or a new market to sell quality goods, Nisolo’s cause is to honor the passion and potential that is so prevalent in the developing world. Our hope is to do so in a way that offers individuals opportunity and the tools necessary to help themselves," says the Nisolo mission statement.

Tonight, Nisolo will present a trunkshow at Lambert's downtown — the 12th stop on a 15 city North American tour. Learn about the products, buy some good-looking, high-quality leather shoes (the sandals are particularly perfect for Texas' Spring and Summer) and talk to founder Patrick Woodyard, 25, about how his company is creating opportunity and capital for those who desperately need it.

There couldn't be a better time than now to improve another's life simply by buying a handcrafted gift for yourself or someone else.

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Lambert's will host Nisolo's trunk show tonight from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

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Concert News

Austin icon Gary Clark Jr. to play free show launching wife's maternity pop-up

Photo courtesy of Bumpsuit

Bumpsuit is now open at the Domain Northside.

Austin icon Gary Clark Jr. is playing a free hometown show on Friday, December 13, to celebrate the opening of his wife, Nicole Trunfio's trendy maternity store, Bumpsuit. It's open now, and will be in Austin for six months.

Clark will be playing with his band: King Zapata and Elijah Ford on guitar, JJ Johnson on drums, and Dayne Reliford on backup vocals and keyboard.

They're fresh off the announcement that Clark will receive a Texas Medal of Arts, one of the highest honors a Texas artist can receive. He's known for modernizing the blues — not overwriting past traditions, but bringing the established sound into popular music people love whether they're conscious of the genre or not.

The new store's neighbor Grimaldi's Pizzeria is bringing a pop-up bar to the event, and there will also be yard games, photo opportunities, and more, according to a release.

Bumpsuit is filling an auspicious space for minimalist fashion at Domain Northside. It'll spend its tenure at 11700 Domain Blvd. Suite 120, the former site of Austin's first Skims Workshop, which has since moved on to a permanent location in the same shopping center.

The two stores are very similar in aesthetic, with Trunfio's focusing on maternity and postpartum wear. Styles are generally made in neutrals or jewel tones, and cut in extremely simple shapes.

“After spending our summer on tour as a family with Gary and his band, we are excited to end the year at Domain Northside to coincide with the opening of our Bumpsuit store,” said Trunfio in the release.

"Doors" for the (presumably outdoor) concert next to Bumpsuit neighbor Vuori (11701 Domain Blvd. Suite 154) are at 7 pm; the show starts at 8:30 pm.

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