Stephanie has lived in Africa for much of her life. She was raised in Ethiopia, spent her teenage years in Kenya before her father’s work sent the family to Sierra Leone. Understandably she had always had Africa in her blood and has always been driven to work in Africa.

She strongly believes ethical fashion and fairtrade can play a major role in erasing poverty.

NearFar began as a family thing, sisters and mother having dresses made from different African prints. Her mother Nikki started by making beautiful necklaces with antique beads. This gave Stephanie great inspiration. It became clear that these products were exceptional and the Sierra Leone tailoring second to none. A year later Stephanie and her boyfriend Charlie returned to Sierra Leone to establish a proper relationship with tailors in Freetown. They were not only looking for exceptional tailors but also those who were helping the community by sharing their skills with youths whose lives had been changed forever by Civil War. It was here where they met and began working with the three incredible organisations described in detail in the tabs above, and so NearFar was born…