Sola Biu has always known two things: She wants to help kids, and she loves repurposing vintage items. Oynx Feather, the jewelry company she began in 2009 and runs out of her Union Station apartment, combines both of these passions.

Wanting to contribute a portion of her proceeds to a cause she believes in, she donates 15 percent of every Onyx Feather purchase to the Invisible Children Legacy Scholarship Fund, which Biu says she picked for its use of creative methods to improve the lives of impoverished children in Uganda.

“They address not only a child’s immediate physical needs, but also his or her long-term needs,” she says of the education-based program for an article in the Washingtonian. “That is how you change a community and help it to rebuild.”

Inspired by jewlery designers such as Vintage Givenchy and Fallon [by Dana Lorenz], she makes one-of-a-kind necklaces that are all based on different international capital cities. So far? Rio, Cairo, Cyprus, St. Petersburg, and Paris.

Her vintage-clad necklaces are both extremely creative and benefit Ugandan children – our favorite combination. Visit her socially responsible modern-vintage jewelry line here and get an awesome necklace while making a difference in the life of a child. No-brainer.

-Krista

(Photo credit: Kelci House)