Our Story It started with beads. Our story begins in 2004 in Uganda. While walking through a slum, our founders Devin Hibbard, Ginny Jordan and Torkin Wakefield, stopped to talk to Millie Grace Akena. Millie was sitting outside of her mud home in the sweltering sun, rolling beads from strips of paper. Though she struggled to put food on the table, Millie found joy in creating beautiful things with her own hands, and she was determined to build a better future for her family.