Thistle Farms (Nashville, Tennessee)

 store / shop, non-profit organization, health and beauty shop

Established in 2001 by Rev. Becca Stevens, an Episcopal priest and writer who is chaplain at Vanderbilt University's St. Augustine's Chapel in Nashville. The business started as a cottage industry and initial products were made in the kitchen of St. Augustine's Chapel using recipes found in the Old Testament. As the business grew, Thistle Farms was relocated to this 11,000 sq. ft. facility on Charlotte Avenue on July 23, 2010 and opened on August 11, 2010 around 4pm. And on May 24, 2013 the subsidiary Thistle Stop Café was opened, located next door from this building.

The abandoned building which used to house a business consultant's office Lacy Lee & Morgan as well as a shoe shop back in the 1960's and 1970's, was demolished in early 2010 and converted into a garden/walkway area for Thistle Farms. The business consultant Lacy Lee & Morgan has left this location in the mid-2000's, they are now based in Houston, Texas.

Thistle Farms is a sanctuary for healing for women survivors of abuse, addiction, trafficking and prostitution. We are a community of survivors, advocates, employees, interns, volunteers, and friends from all across the world. We are young and old, women and men. We want to change a culture that still allows human beings to be bought and sold. We believe that in the end, love is the strongest force for change in the world.

Thistle Farms Social Enterprises
Thistle Farms' social enterprises employs residents and graduates of the residential program, Magdalene. We operate a natural bath and body product line, the Thistle Stop Cafe, the paper and sewing studios workshop, and Shared Trade Global Marketplace. Housed in an 11,000 sq. ft. facility in Nashville, Thistle Farms is a supportive workplace where women acquire the skills they need to earn a living wage. We employ 45-50 residents or graduates, and through our Shared Trade partners, another 1,000 women are employed. Over half of the leadership team of Thistle Farms are residents and graduates of the program.

Thistle Farms Bath & Body
By hand, the women of Thistle Farms make natural bath and body products that are good for the earth and for the body. Our bath and body products are handmade, environmentally friendly and naturally awesome. We use premium, natural ingredients to create products that offer healing to ourselves and the world. The women of Thistle Farms become specialists in the areas of manufacturing, inventory, book keeping, sales and office administration. Our products are available at our online store as well as over 450 stores across the country and even in Canada.

Thistle Farms Global: Shared Trade
Thistle Farms’ global marketplace, called Shared Trade, increases the share of profit margin for women survivors of addiction, trafficking, violence and poverty in 10 countries. Purchasing items from Shared Trade’s 18 social enterprise partners offers women a space to experience economic opportunity and healing community. In collaboration with Shared Trade, partner enterprises can hire more women and increase wages. As Thistle Farms founder Becca Stevens says, “We are acting globally so women experience freedom locally.”

Thistle Farms Studios
Employees and volunteers of the Studios, working side by side, share skill, training and hospitality to create beautiful handcrafted products. We make paper from thistle fibers and flowers, donated T-shirts, and recycled paper. We screen print original art on paper and fabric. We use our own paper to craft hand-bound journals, greeting cards, bookmarks, and more. We use our screen printed fabric and batiks to sew coasters, tote bags, hot pads and more. At Thistle Farms, we believe that women heal together when they work together.

Thistle Stop Café
We invite you to come to Thistle Stop Café whenever you are thirsty for tea, coffee, and a good story. With barn wood floors laid through the dedication of volunteers and cabinets handmade by inmates, Thistle Stop Café was built by and for the community. Staffed by graduates of Thistle Farms and volunteers from the community, the Café is a home to anyone who walks through the doors, whether for a cup of coffee or to join the movement.

5122 Charlotte Avenue
Nashville, TN 37209-3347
Phone: (615) 298-1140
Web: thistlefarms.org/

Open Monday-Friday, from 8am-4pm

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