OUR TEAM
Katie O’Neill, Co-founder and Creative Director
Katie O’Neill, co-founder and creative director, has a BFA in Crafts from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She started her career as a visual merchandiser for H&M and Ibiza Boutique in New York City. Katie has a strong interest in anthropology and designs fashion and accessories inspired by ancient techniques. She has a love of travel and uses her sense of humor to interpret nostalgia, culture and spiritual essence in her work. After returning from a trip to Mali and Morocco, Katie decided she wanted to start a fashion brand with integrity creating a "feel good" emotional reaction for the wearer. Katie feels a connection to global artisanal craft and believes that there is energy inherent in products that are handmade. With 18 years of experience in the retail industry, Katie serves as Mushmina's creative and retail visionary. Katie calls West Philadelphia home but is envisioning a home in the south of Spain in her near future.
Contact: katie@mushmina.com
Heather O’Neill, Co-founder and CEO
Heather is a designer and social entrepreneur. She has a BFA from the School of Visual Arts and a Masters Degree in Global Affairs and International Business from New York University. She started her career working as a materials and design specialist for Material ConneXion in NYC and then served as a volunteer small business adviser with the United States Peace Corps in Morocco. She lived in a rural region of Morocco and helped women diversify their line of products for the export market. Since her experience in the Peace Corps, it was her dream to start a company to employ women both in the US and in Morocco. Heather is fluent in Arabic and lives in a rural region outside of Casablanca with her husband, son Youssef, and daughter Hiba, whose name means 'gift' in Arabic. In their free time they enjoy country drives, beach picnics, and spending time in fields of wildflowers.
Contact: heather@mushmina.com
Tara Fraiture, Mushmina Blogger & Director of Social Engagement
Tara, an American-British national, is perhaps not your typical ho-hum writer. She has a passion for food (especially if someone else is cooking and cleaning up) and is even more fervent when it comes to guacamole, her favorite pastime. Yes, it can be a pastime. As a mother of three young girls (ages 8, 11, and 13), this is, however, wishful thinking. Throw in a blasé orange cat, plus one husband and this is even more delusional dreaming. As you may be able to see, Tara uses humor in her words. Her go-to mantra is, ‘Writing is cheaper than therapy.” Combining humor with a touch of poignancy is what drew Tara to writing in the first place. After all, she believes if one can laugh, one can survive. Tara and her intrepid family have lived all over the globe from Egypt, Senegal, El Salvador to Qatar. They now call beautiful Morocco their home. She and her husband met as Peace Corps Volunteers in rural Cameroon, Central Africa. Tara leans towards writing about women, particularly stories of empowering those who might not typically be able to tell their tale. She finds inspiration in real stories of real people. In her free time, Tara can be found dancing with her girls, telling bad jokes (the cat thinks she’s funny) and having a Belgian beer with her husband. She is honored to be a part of the Mushmina Team. For PR Inquiries Contact: tfraiture@yahoo.com
Mushmina's Team of Artisans in Morocco
We are committed to employing and empowering global artisans. We currently collaborate with more then 125 artisans in 5 different regions of Morocco. Many of the artisans work at home individually as part of Morocco's cottage industry, allowing them to work on new collections on their own time and often in between household duties and raising children. Many others are part of Morocco's network of artisan cooperatives. While we primarily employ women, we also collaborate with amazing male 'mallums' mastercraftsmen....metalsmiths who produce our Mushmina custom jewelry, weavers who work on our custom woven cotton scarves, and our team of skilled leatherworkers who do our finishing work.
