The Elefair Story
Elefair is so called because ELE Corriette is the founder of our fabulous company and we employ FAIR trading practises with all of the wonderful people who make and sell our products. Ele is passionate about sustainability and loves travelling the world to find new products made from recycled or sustainable materials. The world of Ele and her Elefairies is full of fun and we want to share it with you!
Where It All Started
In 1998 Ele headed to Nepal on a Gap year to work as a teacher in the mountain village of Baaraha, Gorkha. After being thrown in at the deep end, teaching 17 classes a week at a local school, she grew to love the Himalayan kingdom, moved by the hospitality, relentless determination and positive outlook of the Nepalese people.
Ele was also struck by how people in the village lived their lives so much in harmony with their environment. Life was slower with most people living in houses constructed from natural materials and working the land, and there was such a feeling of community spirit. Ele still remembers watching with amazement as women sat together weaving beautiful bowls and plates from leaves and tiny sticks for a wedding - the ultimate eco-friendly disposable tableware!
In 2000, motivated by the entrepreneurial spirit of the Nepalese, Ele started bringing back beautiful handmade cards fashioned from tree bark paper (known as ‘Lokta’) to sell to raise money to sponsor children in Nepal. She sold these door to door with every penny going to her charitable venture, they proved extremely popular and she slowly increased the range of products she offered.
After finishing her degree and taking a postgraduate in journalism everything was set for Ele to enter the world of the media... BUT she couldn't face the prospect of Nepal not being a big part of her life so she reassessed, enrolled on a business start up course and Elefair was born!
Giving Back
Ele and her family have been involved with numerous sponsorships and fundraisers over the years to help children in Nepal with their studies as well as grants to a number of women in need. Nowadays we focus mainly on one wonderful charity, Tri Netra, a home in Kathmandu which oversees the welfare of blind and orphaned kids.
Ele has been to Nepal around 40 times over the last 22 years and considers it her second home. She has also travelled extensively to places such as Bali, Madagascar and the Caribbean in search of exciting new products. Our aim is to keep our store stocked with great quality, sustainable gifts for you to purchase at a fair price.
You will notice Ele's aversion to plastic when it comes to our products and how we package them. Our products and packaging are all made from sustainable materials unless no alternative is available.
We've now been trading for 13 years. We started out as a market stall and now we're blessed to have a shop in the heart of Sherwood, a fab website and pitches at some of the UK's most coveted events (including Glastonbury!). We absolutely LOVE what we do and we hope you enjoy browsing, and hopefully purchasing, some of our lovely products.
See how our products are made