Back from the New York Gift Show

The New York Gift Show, the biggest retail trade show of the year, took place last week. It's essentially a giant show-and-tell; thousands of producers and wholesalers, fair traders among them, set up booths to display their wares and pitch them to retail stores.

It's also a place to take the industry pulse. At this show, the calculus shifted. The pain we felt last fall at the retail level hit the suppliers this year; they received many fewer orders from stores and catalogues. They lacked funds to develop new products. These, combined with internet growth and the huge, high-risk expense of trade show space, led many vendors to sit this one out. The waiting list for show space used to be around 7 years. This time, many new vendors got in easily. The convention center wasn't filled.

Some of the changes I spotted were these:

Most South African vendors were gone. Whereas I might have had 12 sources in the past, I only found three who met my criteria. I suspect that government subsidies have decreased. Most Russian vendors were gone, too. I talked to a Russian supplier about what was going on there. He reported that the artisans had become unwilling to produce work for the lower end of the market. Getting goods out of Russia had become a huge problem. He had no new products.

My dilemma: carry the same merchandise as in the past, or find other vendors with new products?

Often, a country's trade commission or US AID will sponsor vendors to showcase their wares and jump-start their orders. This only works if it's done right. I saw wonderful wares from Kenyan and Afghan cooperatives at this show, but there was a giant missing link in the artist-to-shopper chain. The retailer (that would be me) had to arrange shipping from the country of origin and shepherd the merchandise through US customs. Most retailers aren't set up for this; it's expensive and time-consuming, and the risk of running afoul of customs regulations is high.

Changes in recycled wares were striking. Much more was available; it's becoming mainstream. But inevitably, as larger companies take it on, the small groups that spent years developing the products ad markets are getting pushed out. That is always sad to witness.

When Bulgaria joined the EU, the price for pottery testing (all our Bulgarian pottery is food-safe) went up. When the euro rose against the dollar, the price of raw materials went up for artisan groups in the Middle East, and the wholesale prices quickly followed suit. On the other hand, when Poland joined the Economic Union, finding the provenance of the jewelry became easier. Gratifyingly, the Fair Trade Federation has been working on behalf of its members to negotiate prices and increase member visibility. At this show, the fair-trade presence was evident. Retailers were introduced to the concept of fair trade, and vendors learned that fair trade matters to retailers.

There were far fewer Christmas ornaments to choose from. There was far more jewelry. I'm not sure of the takeaway; are ornaments non-essential in a slumping economy, whereas jewelry is a necessity?As always, lots of food for thought. I'm always amazed at how many issues converge in this industry.

Equal Exchange now has a café!

The only bad news about the opening of the Equal Exchange Café near Boston's North Station, is that it's too far from our Coolidge Corner shop for a coffee run. Otherwise, we're delighted to read the good reviews the newly-opened cafe has received. The spot features coffee, tea, chocolate, sandwiches and pastries from local vendors, and free wireless.

Of course, the main attraction is fairly traded, sustainably grown coffee, tea, and chocolate. My daughter spent a week on an Ugandan coffee plantation last year, and learned that the difference between a fair price and an exploitative price for a farmer's coffee crop can mean the difference in school fees and mosquito nets for a rural family.

The café has been open for a while, and its the official grand opening is Feb. 10 through 12. The festivities will feature Pedro Rojas, coffee farmer and member of Tierra Nueva Co-op in Nicaragua. The café has plans for visits from more farmers, special cuppings, and other events.

So do stop by. And if you want to bring us some coffee, take the Green Line, Cleveland Circle branch, from North Station and get off at Coolidge Corner!

-- Lisa

Crossroads Trade has its first-ever store-wide sale!

First-ever store-wide sale! And deeper discounts on ornaments, nativities, and clearance!

Saturday through Tuesday, January 10 through 13, enjoy 20 percent off store-wide at Crossroads Trade. That necklace you’ve been eyeing … the handbag that needs replacing … those boxes and baskets that could help organize your life … this is the time to stop in!

The items that aren’t 20 percent off are 30 percent off. That includes our Christmas ornaments and nativities from around the world. Our clearance section features selected ceramic tableware from Bulgaria. Our remaining stock of Gaza ceramics is now discounted at 30 percent. We don’t know when we’ll be able to receive another order of products from Gaza. There’s a small selection of jewelry at 30 percent off. We have seconds (we’re very picky when we unpack) of ceramic tableware from Tunisia and dolls from India. And this is definitely the weather to buy our snuggly wool Andean blankets.

The discount is taken at the register. Only one discount per item. (There’s no additional 20 percent discount on an item that’s already 30 percent off.) All sales are final – no returns. No layaways. The store-wide sale ends Tuesday, January 13. Nativities and ornaments remain on sale until January 31.

-- Kate Harris

Setting up the Nativities

Gentle Mary laid her child lowly in a manger ...

So the Christmas carol goes. Ever since the days of St. Francis, nativities -- creches, naciamentos, pesebres -- have been a hands-on tool for teaching the Christmas story. Our selection of nativities is a delight to the collector, and culturally fascinating as different countries express the story in different media and with different iconographies.

Our Krygystan nativity is made from 100 percent wool, and the yurt is also the storage container for Mary, Jesus, and Joseph. The sheep here is a horned ram, and the characters are dressed in the clothes of Krygystan.

Our painted wooden nativity from El Salvador has magi of extremely interesting iconography. It's common for Latin American nacimentos to have three kings ("los reyes") representing different ethnic groups, a tradition that started when Europeans began exploring the globe. But these wise men represent different classes of people: an earthly king, a monk, and a worker. Whether the wise men are coming from different countries or from different social positions, the use of them to teach the message of the world-wide reach of the Christmas story is both charming and profound.

These two nativities are some of many that we carry that are suitable for children -- fun to play and learn with and unbreakable. Collectors appreciate them, too, but they may also have their eyes on something like our $520 Santa Clara Pueblo nativity, made by ceramic artists Andy and Marcia Padilla. This northern New Mexico pueblo, registered in the National Register of Historic Places, is famous for its blackware pottery, most especially its vases. Here at Crossroads you will find the a rare, elegant rendering of the Christmas story.

There are many more: Kenyan nativities of banana fiber with wise men bringing gifts of fish and grain and beer, wooden Russian fixed-based nativities (each member has a peg that fits into the base) painted in a subtle and sophisticated style, and jolly round ceramic figures from Colombia. All contribute to the storytelling that is a wondrous part of Christmas.

The Friendly Beasts

We carry so many animals in so many media from so many countries that "critters" is a category in our store database. This time of year, new shipments come every week. Here are the new arrivals.

This porcupine is a wonderful example of the many South African beaded animals we import. (This was part of a shipment that led a customs agent to leave a message, "We have your wire items from South Africa here." As Kate posted previously, getting items from artisan to the market is not always easy.)

From the same South African source we have a great collection of recycled-plastic dogs. These dogs are made with the discarded remains of parade floats.
The porcupine is made by Johannesburg wire artist, and the dog by one of several employment projects around Cape Town. As our supplier notes, "There is so much more to African crafts than African carvings and tribal objects!" Here we have artists using traditional media in new ways, discovering ways to use 21st-century media, and creating new African art forms.

If you go to East Africa without a pair of flip-flops (I learned), your hosts will make sure you have some. For many people, flip-flops are the only footwear they have. People with shoes need flip-flops when they come home and take off those dust-caked shoes. (In Kampala, for example, only the major roads are paved.) Everyone uses them in the bathroom (whether you have full plumbing or a latrine for a toilet and a basin for bathing). With many flip-flops come many flip-flop scraps; Kenyan artisans have turned these scraps into delightful hippos, elephants, and warthogs.

Artisans in the Philippines have transformed the fiber of the Buri palm tree into a delightful series of animals. The palm fibers are shreeded, twisted around a wire frame, and trimmed by hand to make the brush-like texture. Eyes and ears and other details are made from seed pods, carved wood, or rope. We have these critters as stand-alone animals (our possum mother and babies is about nine inches long) and as small ornaments.

These are just four of our critters, but they represent our commitment to recycled materials, to artisans exploring new forms, to employment projects all over the world, and to delight all our animals bring.

-- Lisa

Fair-Trade Thoughts

We’ve just about wrapped up our buying for the holiday season at Crossroads Trade, and, as always, it’s highlighted emerging, complicated ethical issues in fair trade.

We do our buying in several ways. We buy directly from artisans and producer groups in some countries, and we buy through fair-trade wholesalers in others. Many factors go into deciding whether to buy directly. What quality control measures are in place? Can we get an order to port? What export hurdles exist? What trade agreement is in place between a given country and the US? How expensive and time-consuming is reliable shipping? What does it take to get our order out of US Customs? When significant obstacles exist, wholesalers play an invaluable role.

The linchpin of wholesaling is the trade shows. The New York International Gift Fair (NYIGF) is the biggest venue. Five thousand vendors showcase their wares to the retail industry, and, each year, the fair-trade presence at the show increases.

But not only retailers see the products. Industry scouts, wholesalers, and producer groups all have the opportunity to see what each other is producing. At this past show, I saw two wholesalers who were devastated to find that others had copied and were touting as their own products the wholesalers had spent years developing. In other cases, signature products of certain countries were being copied by producer groups from other countries. Telephone-wire and other recycled-basket styles that originated in South Africa are now being produced in Vietnam. They can be produced more cheaply, in part, because the hard work of product development had already been done.

Fair traders have differing perspectives on these dilemmas. Some view anything as fair game; if producing a Russian nesting doll in India will lead to employment in a destitute community, they’re all for it. Others believe it’s cultural theft to produce South African necklaces in Guatemala.

Still others take a nuanced view, as I do. I used to view production of South African style beadwork in Guatemala with horror. But after doing this work for ten years, I’ve seen that Guatemalan beadwork is becoming an art form in its own right. I was upset by Vietnamese production of South African and Brazilian recycled products, until I realized that it was better to have Vietnamese trash put to use than not.

Over the years, I’ve seen many wholesalers come and go. I’ve seen products I’ve designed exclusively for our use sold by others. The decreased value of the US dollar has sunk many a supplier.

It is a rough business. It’s a lot bigger than any one of us. Our ethical compasses may give us guidance, but we’re still working in constantly shifting terrain. As the internet continues to reduce the degrees of separation between producer and consumer, and between producers from country to country, fair-trade terrain will continue to shift. We will always be a work in progress.

A Small, Beautiful Way To Help Tibet

At Crossroads Trade we carry beautiful things not only for their beauty, but as a way to provide support and to uphold the dignity of refugees and exiles. Many oppressed people flee with their talents and their work ethic intact, and seek to express them and to provide income for their families. Kate made that commitment to help again when this morning she bought jewelry from Jewels of Tibet, headquartered in far northern India. Many Tibetan exiles are living and working in northern India, and we provide the connection from you to them.

The new finds range from the classically beautiful to the fun. The pendants feature the highly symbolic double dorjee motif. Known in Sanskirt as vajra, it represents both a diamond and thunderbolt, with all the attendant associations of power and strength. The well-known symbol of the lotus glows on the rings.
The scrap-metal necklaces are remarkable. Made of dozens of tiny cups, these necklaces hold their shape when twisted. They can be worn as necklaces, knotted or unknotted, but they're also striking when wrapped around your wrist.

As I write, the Bejing Olympics are in full force. Even as the athletes are competing, awareness of the fate of Tibet, of protestors suppressed and web sites shut down, is always present. The symbols on our jewelry are not only religious and cultural symbols, but symbols of a people who will not go away. How can you help the people of Tibet? One way is right here.

-- Lisa