About Us

Sam & Nala travels the globe to create connections between artisan-entrepreneurs and you, your furry friend, and your home. Together we design and deliver intentional and inviting global handmade goods.

Like you, we believe in doing good while doing well. Each piece you purchase elevates traditional weaving and textile crafts (what’s long been considered “women’s work”) to its rightful place in art and design. Your taste in spirited style, along with our respectful relationships with artisans worldwide, coexist to uplift the other.

We collaborate with our artisan partners abroad to co-create plans for financial sustainability. Our partners, customers, and vendors are all part of the Sam & Nala family as we come together to create meaningful change and prosperity in the artisans’ communities.

Whether it’s your beachy bonfire throw, a tiny worry doll you bought for your niece, or your pup’s vibrant bandana, you’re helping to generate a fair and sustainable income for one of our partner artisans. These vendor partnerships focus on empowering women to not only feed their families, but also educate their daughters and sons. Together, we’re promoting an inspiring and prosperous future for talented artisans, their families and their communities.

Each of our finds has its own story to tell before it becomes part of your story. As part of our commitment to transparency, you can always learn about your new dog poop bag holder, bowtie, or dog bandana’s background and history. You’ll find this info in “The Goods” section of each product listing. Along with product descriptions and fair trade practices, you can also learn about our artist-partner arrangement.

About Sam & Nala:

A tapestry of experiences led Sam & Nala founder, Jen Melton, to create a fair trade company that focuses on intentional style and collaborative relationships with international artisan-partners.

Her vision: To curate a collection of high quality and beautiful items found in her travels while being mindful in her interactions with makers by paying these makers fair prices and empowering them to invest in their own communities.

What started as a line of dog beds has expanded into the full Sam & Nala collection, including a variety of products and partners based on Jen’s travels and inspiring customer feedback.

Are you ready to join the Sam & Nala family? Hang out with us on Instagram, find design inspirations on our curated Pinterest boards, or join our mailing list to hear about special product drops and collaborations.

Featured collections

Featured collection

These handmade canvas totes were thoughtfully created for Sam & Nala by the women of Creamos in Guatemala City, using premium upcycled denim from the New Denim Project. Each bag is printed with words we feel are worth sharing.

Bag dimensions-

Width- 17 ½”
Height- 16 ½”
Bottom Gusset- 5 ½”
Handle- Hangs 16 ½” from shoulder to top of bag
Overall handle length- 33”

“The Goods”

Aside from a fun saying, each bag has a story and requires various skill sets for its construction before it lands in your hands.

To begin this project, we teamed up with the Guatemalan textile group, The New Denim Project, to use their premium upcycled denim from pre-consumer scraps.

Once the material arrives at Creamos, the pattern is made. Fabric is marked and the Cutting Team cuts the necessary fabric. Next, a seamstress on the Sewing Team makes the straps while another makes the body of the tote. A third seamstress sews the straps onto the bag. After that, the bag takes a trip across the room to the screenprinting area where another group of women work their magic. The bag then goes to “Mama Celia,” who is in charge of Quality Control.

When Jen visited Creamos for the first time she was in awe. The location shares a property line with the Guatemala City garbage dump and is run by women with amazing stories of strength and resilience. Creamos’ services foster self-esteem, wellness, leadership and financial independence for women who have historically relied on collecting, recycling, reusing and reselling items scavenged in the garbage dump to make a living.

Since its inception, Creamos' primary goal has been to provide an alternative form of income, resulting in a safer and healthier family environment. Today, Creamos creates opportunities for dignified employment, offers emotional support services, and promotes a community of ongoing education. Creamos continues to open doors for new participants while continuing to support and nurture the 150 active participants in our organization. The women and mothers have become leaders and change-agents within their community and families.