In 2005 she visited Sri Lanka to help the women who worked in the country's lace-making industry, which had been devastated by the 2004 tsunami. She founded the Power of Hands Foundation, a charity that supports women in the lace-making profession by offering operational support and advocating for a fair wage. She has used them as a source for fabric in such productions as "Jane Eyre" and "Miss Austen Regrets".