From Hype Beast Radio, I'm Jeff Staples, and this is the business of hype, a show about creative entrepreneurs, brand builders, innovators, and the realities behind the dreams they've built.

This week's guest on the podcast hails from New York by way of Los Angeles and Canada.

But her true home for her spirit, her soul, and her business is Africa.

She first landed in Morocco in 2011, where she began relationships with local designers and artisans. It was the springboard to the foundation of her brand Brother Vellies.

The goal was at the same time simple to understand, but extremely difficult to pull off.

Preserve the shoemaking craft for local indigenous communities while creating new jobs and opportunities

for these artisans and their workshops. From Bali to South Africa to Kenya, she's expanded

her vision worldwide. And today, she travels to Africa every two to three months to work on

the ground to develop her collections. And now we have the honor of having her on the show

to talk to us about the collaborations, the traditions, and the struggles that she faces. Everyone,

please welcome founder and creative director of Brother Velley's Aurora James.

So thanks for being in the studio with us.

Of course, my pleasure.

Thanks for having me.

Yeah.

Before we begin, if you can just, for those who don't know, give an introduction of who we have in the studio and what you do. Yeah.

So my name is Aurora James.

I'm the creative director and

founder of an accessories brand called Brother Valleys that is made by different artisan groups

across the world. Cool. The second part of that description is what makes it unique because it's

made by different artists all across the world, right? Yeah. So talk a little bit about that aspect of it.

Well, you know, it was something that sort of happened naturally. I was traveling across Africa

...