History

Rivanna Natural Designs was started in 2001 with a simple objective: to provide safe, meaningful, and rewarding employment for recently-arrived refugees and others in our community who need a second start or an opportunity to learn new skills.

Creating Jobs For Those Who Most Need Them

Before our company had a name, product, or business plan, our founder, Crystal Mario, met with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Charlottesville to discuss the workplace needs of IRC's refugee clients. At work in 25 countries, the IRC is committed to helping people uprooted by war, civil conflict, and oppression. In Charlottesville and around the world, the IRC helps thousands of refugees resettle legally and rebuild their lives.

Based on input from the IRC and months of research, Crystal determined that the most viable business to support a largely non-English speaking workforce in central Virginia would be a small manufacturing company. She chose wood products manufacturing because wood is a renewable resource and certification schemes for sustainably forestry were already well established.

Checking Our Environmental Footprint

One of our first priorities was to make certain that the wood we used was sustainably harvested. We received our chain-of-custody certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in January 2002, months before we shipped our first product.

Without the burden of legacy products or practices, we have been free to define our work and our outputs according to our own sense of what is best for clients and right for the environment. We started with FSC-certified wood and, as time went on, have added other environmentally friendly materials to our portfolio.

Building Our Team

In February 2002, we hired our first IRC client, Admir Hasanovic, a Bosnian refugee who had just arrived in Charlottesville with his wife and daughter. Admir is still with us today and continues to be our superhero in the woodshop. In 2004, he and his family purchased their first home in the United States.

Later that year, we opened our California sales office in San Jose. Gretchen Wirth, our Vice President of Sales and master of many time zones, manages this office, takes phone calls at uncivil hours, and looks after our clients in more than 35 states. When Earth Day rolls around, we know that we can count on Gretchen to fly in to work the third shift (and sometimes first and second shifts too).

In 2003 and 2004, at the prompting of our clients, our focus shifted from corporate gifts to awards and plaques. We began experimenting with new materials, such as agriboards and other bio-based boards, bamboo, recycled glass, plastic, and rubber.

In 2004, Kristina Mkrtumova, another IRC client, joined us as Principal Designer. Kristina, an Armenian refugee who studied design in Moscow for six years, has been instrumental in redefining the look and feel of our products. Now fluent in English, Kristina is currently attending Parsons School of Design in New York City. We miss having her with us in our Charlottesville office every day, but we are continuing our work together (yes, Tom Friedman, the world is flat!). We look forward to introducing more distinctive and original designs in the years to come.

We happily welcome Anelya Mrktumova to the Rivanna Team. Anelya moved to Charlottesville in 2004 when she and her family were resettled by IRC. Like most refugees, she spoke no English when she arrived. Today, her English is vastly improved. At 19, she has become an advocate for ESOL students in our community and a bit of a local celebrity. We are proud to have Anelya on our team.

Our work would not be possible (or anywhere near as much fun) without the many talented interns, part-timers, contractors, volunteers, well-wishers, neighbors, friends, and family members who pitch in when we need advice, assistance, moral support, or someone to help sand plaques. We are especially grateful to Douglas Whitelaw, Juliette Napo-Tchapoo, Danae Marshall, Fred Williamson, Susan Donovan, Grant Wasch, Tanja Milanovic, Nancy Dodge, Jeff Rosensweig, Donna Dunn, Binasa Hasanovic, Tom Wirth, Pete Sisti, and Eleanor Mario. We dedicate our work this year to the memory of Tony Mario (1930-2006), father and friend, who taught us well and was Rivanna's greatest fan.

Moving Forward

We rang in 2007 with the renewal by the Forest Stewardship Council of our 5-year Chain-of-Custody certification. Our new certificate expires in January, 2012. We look forward to bringing you many new FSC-Certified and FSC-Certified recycled products over the next five years.

We are especially pleased to announce our partnership with CPAR Tanzania, a group that is doing critical community development in the Karatu District of Tanzania. Please check out our new Plaques Plus collection and learn how you can help support projects that include tree planting, energy-conserving stoves, safe water for schools, and support for women living with HIV and Aids.

Over the past five years, we've done our best to introduce fresh thinking and elegant award designs while upholding our commitment to our planet and community. As we look ahead, we plan to create more beautiful and innovative products, deliver the best service imaginable, create more jobs, give back to our local and global communities, work in our own green building, tend to our families and gardens, and have as much fun as we can.

A Word About our New Website

We hope that you enjoy the fresh new look of our website. More changes are forthcoming, so please stay tuned! And please be sure to contact us if there is anything that you'd like us to add or change. We appreciate your input.

Many thanks to our website team, a talented group of young professionals to whom we owe a great deal:

Goran Kajan is a student at Parsons School of Design in New York City. He and his family were among the first refugee families to be resettled in Virginia by the IRC. A struggling artist and struggling musician, Goran spends his time playing with his band, GunShy.

Ashley Sisti is a student at the University of Virginia in our fair city, Charlottesville. An English major and Italian minor, Ash is actively involved in the Rhapsody Ballet Ensemble at UVA, a performance group that gives accomplished dancers a chance to do something they love while pursuing their academic careers. We're looking to her to open our office in Siena after she graduates.

Renat Alyaudinov lives and works in Moscow. Many of the nature photos on our site are from his collection. If you're wondering about the names of some of those Russian birds, let us know and we'll put you in touch with him. Renat loves the natural world and has been taking photos since he was a child.