Julie Colombino-Billingham | Founder & CEO Deux Mains
Available for Speaking Engagements on Ethical Fashion, Social Impact,
and Purpose-Driven Business
Cracking the Code on Doing Business in Haiti
Julie Colombino-Billingham is a social entrepreneur and founder of Deux Mains, a Haitian fair trade fashion house that has built a successful manufacturing business in a country often defined by economic instability. By employing skilled artisans and developing a sustainable factory from the ground up, she has grown Deux Mains into a global brand producing luxury leather goods for partners including Kenneth Cole, Nordstrom, and the United Nations. Her mission is to prove that ethical enterprise and real job creation can thrive anywhere. Her memoir From Loss to Legacy shares the story behind this journey and the model it continues to build.
Meet Julie
Julie Colombino-Billingham is the founder and CEO of Deux Mains, a social enterprise proving that world class craftsmanship and sustainable business can thrive even in the most fragile economies. In the heart of Haiti where most see a failed system Julie and her team have built a fully functioning factory that employs and empowers Haitian artisans, delivering luxury leather goods to global markets. While many international efforts in Haiti have struggled with corruption, dependence, and instability, Deux Mains has created a profitable and dignified business model that works.
By blending ethical manufacturing, local ownership, and environmental design, the company produces handbags and smalll leather goods for export and school shoes for local Haitian children. Through economic disruption and natural disasters, Julie’s leadership has sustained every job created. Her newly released memoir, From Loss to Legacy reveals how she turned chaos into creation and built a blueprint for doing business where the world said it could not be done.
"If we are relentless in our belief that dignity through work is one of the greatest human rights, we will change the world."
- Julie
Watch TEDx Talk
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
From Loss to Legacy: How a Fashion Business Rose From Haiti’s Rubble
By Julie Colombino-Billingham Inspired to help Haiti recover from the devastating earthquake of 2010, aid worker Julie Colombino-Billingham flew there intending to stay for a few weeks but remained for years. Falling in love with the Haitian people, she soon realized their greatest need was a long term solution to widespread poverty and lack of opportunity. Through trial and error, she and her team of volunteers and Haitian artisans built Deux Mains, a fair trade fashion brand that grew from nothing into a thriving employee owned and operated global business.
The United Nations, Kenneth Cole, Eileen Fisher, USAID, and the Clinton Foundation are among the partners she has worked with over the years. Her revolutionary approach to disaster recovery offers a model for ending poverty, supporting education, and empowering communities to succeed. This memoir tells the story of her years in Haiti and the strength, beauty, and resilience she discovered there.
Hire Julie to Speak
Julie Colombino-Billingham shares powerful, real world insights on ethical business, social impact, and building sustainable enterprises in challenging environments. Her talks inspire organisations to think differently about purpose, leadership, and long term impact.
Invite Julie to speak at your event, panel, or organisation.
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