Yasmine El-Mehairy the brains behind SuperMama, one of the best family platforms in the Middle East surprises us again with another successful start-up that is totally going to fluff up our living rooms. Coushies is a local online designer cushion online store that offers simple styles for every modern contemporary home.
Yasmine wanted to reach and help underprivileged women by providing them with a creative space to utilise their embroidery and needlework skills, while earning an income. “You don’t have to wait until you are a huge corporation to start working on CSR, social responsibility is something that should be built in your business from the beginning” she explains.
“Tawasol for Development, helps children in the Establ Antar area learn a craft so their parents will keep them in school and not send them to sweatshops”
Coushies is built on the work of these talented underprivileged female crafters, by shining a spotlight on their work to empower them financially and encourage them to pass on their talents. “It was a key decision for us to work with NGOs and entities like Tawasol for Development and Rommana to shed a light on these incredible talents, at the end you’re giving them a job, it’s not charity and that in itself has a great meaning,” she says.
Coushies collaborates with different NGOs like, Tawasol for Development, that helps children in the Establ Antar area learn a craft so their parents will keep them in school and not send them to sweatshops and Rommana an NGO that trains and employs women in crafts such as embroidery to provide them with a sustainable income. “Each one of these women has an amazing and impressive story, they have made a good living and a good standard for themselves and their families,” she adds.
Switching careers and starting Coushies wasn’t an easy decision for Yasmine, “It was crazy in the sense that I jumped first and thought later. Along the way I started getting the fears and the shaking knees and thought what the hell have I done to myself,” she tells. Yasmine was up for the challenge and turns out it wasn’t that scary “It’s new, challenging and fun,” she says.
We definitely can’t wait for Coushies’ new collection that will launch beginning of this year, “It is new, bold and very non-couchies it is not floral it is a bit shocking and a high risk” she warns us.
Check out @coushies