HAPPY SLOW LIVING

HAPPY SLOW LIVING is a brand designed for charity & empowerment!

Katleen: I focus on EMPOWERMENT, because I believe that empowering is giving back the confidence within you. Every person has this wonderful strength and power within, but sometimes because of circumstances, it’s difficult to access and believe it’s possible.

That’s why Katleen created Happy Slow Living while living in RIO DE JANEIRO. A city where she lost her heart to its beauty, its people – the cariocas – and their energy. As much as this city is amazing, there is also a big gap between rich and poor. People that are living in the favelas are struggling every day to make a living, for safety, for education and so much more. They need help, because too often they are forgotten by the government.

When Katleen met the director of NGO Terr’Ativa, she knew, she wanted to help bring value to their mission: Allowing access to disadvantaged young people of Rio de Janeiro to a better future, a healthy environment, better living conditions, and creating access to education and jobs.

Katleen started a project in 2021 together with Terr’Ativa to help a group of women from the favela of Morro do Fubá by teaching silk screen printing. Now, they produce their own collections of silk-screened tote bags and make their own sales.

Katleen: "It’s a start, but my dream is to make it bigger so more women can be part of it and have the belief they can create and grow."

And YOU can be part of this project too!

With each purchase of a print of the HAPPY SLOW LIVING collection, you are supporting this project of Terr’Ativa. Together, we can do more. Together we are giving hope to people in need, and we can help them to BELIEVE in their capacity. Thank you for supporting these women in need.

EMPOWERMENT is the giving of power or authority to someone. It is giving them more capacity: the tools they need to provide for themselves.  It is the difference of “doing for” and “doing with.”!

THE COLLECTION

The HAPPY SLOW LIVING fine art print collection is the story of Katleen’s expat life. She takes you with her to places she once called home, where she made friendships for life, discovered new cultures and where each place created a part of the person she is today. Traveling and settling down every 4 years in different cities & countries all over the globe is challenging, and at the same time so rich in experience. Each move out of one comfort zone is an opportunity to tune in and grow closer to the person you really are.

Katleen: "My biggest lesson is not the journey to the world but the journey within me."

Featured city: Houston

Upcoming city : Rio de Janeiro