Watch Our Other Space!

We want you to read this blog, of course, but we hope you are checking out our web site. We are posting new entries there nearly every day. Some are new arrivals, such as our stunning collections of Rwandan baskets and Nepalese beaded bracelets. Others are best sellers, such as the molas we ship all over the world.

Our web site is now completely searchable, both the titles and the text. Type in "Guatemala wallet" and you'll get all our selections, in two sizes and from four regions, each with its own distinctive motif.

We'll continue to keep you posted about new arrivals via this blog, but you don't have to wait for us. Just type in your search items and see what we've got!

Be a Fair-Trade Wedding Guest

We're delighted to be featured in the Fair Trade Federation's Fair Trade Wedding Guide, which is full of ideas how wedding planners and wedding guests can add joy to the day. As the introduction to the guide says, "Fair

Trade is an economic partnership based on dialogue, transparency, and respect. What better way to start your new life together than choosing items for your wedding that represent these values?"

We have lots of ideas for fair-trade wedding gifts. As featured on page 31 in the FTF guide, our wedding mola would make a spectacular gift. Handmade by the Kuna women of the San Blas Islands of Panama, this mola uses reverse appliqué. The women layer fabric and cut intricate patterns that expose colors in the underlying layers. This one-of-a-kind piece is collector quality with fine, even lines, invisible sewing and lovely composition. Our molas look beautiful framed (we recommend a framer who specializes in textiles), or fashioned into a sumptuous cushion cover.

Those who like to give tableware should check our our offerings from Bulgaria. Traditional designs have been incorporated into ceramic tableware that is food-safe, ovenproof, and microwaveable. Crossroads Trade carries plates, individual and serving bowls, mugs, and steins in a variety of colors and patterns.

Our telephone-wire baskets from South Africa are part of a story of local entrepreneurship. The first telephone wire baskets were made from multi-colored plastic-coated telephone-wire scraps, which had been carefully saved by basket weavers.After much experimentation, the artisans devised a technique of weaving over a form a fantastic multi-color bowl from the top down. As the baskets became more popular, telephone lines were raided to provide more raw materials. Our suppliers now use specially-purchased telephone wire for their works. 

Our Rwandan baskets are part of the story of Rwanda's rebirth following the 1994 genocide. The thousands of widows and orphans who were left alone after the slaughter are rebuilding their lives through their own talents, including the hand crafting of these baskets. Our baskets are not only beautiful and useful, but contribute to that rebuilding process.

We have lots more items on our Crossroads Trade web site and our pages on World of Good. We ship all over the world, either to you or to the happy couple. Bring extra-meaningful congratulations and best wishes this wedding season.

Having a Mother's Day Dilemma?

Our last porch sale was a great success -- so great we're going to do it again! This time, our focus will be on items made by mothers, perfect for Mother's Day.

Back in the day of our brick-and-mortar store, we would get all kinds of husbands into the shop. Some would know exactly what they were looking for. Some would walk in, look around, exhale, and look for help. And help we would, asking questions about what the wife in question usually wore (earrings? necklaces? scarves? big or small? colors?), holding up approximately-sized fingers for ring sizing, modeling necklaces and shawls.

For those worried Mother's Day shoppers, we can still help.We're offering our personalized service again: Thursday and Friday evenings, May 5 and 6, from 6 to 9 p.m., at 24 Ottawa Rd., Arlington, MA. We're also holding a sale traditional yard-sale items and scarves, accessories, and gifts from the home Sat., May 7, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.at the same location.

We'll have our new, show-stopping jewelry from Nepal that received rave reviews at our booth at a recent show. It can be brought separately or in sets.

 

 We still have some of the popular Guatemalan beaded jewelry from the store.

 

For those mothers who like to focus on the home, we have cushion covers and hangings from Bolvia, Palestine, and South Africa.

We've got striking new baskets from Rwanda. Rwandan women began weaving baskets for sale after the genocide, when so many were left to support their families by themselves.

And for kids on a budget, we have soapstone hearts and critters from Kenya, handmade paper flowers and baskets from Guatemala.

So come by! And you can't, check out our offerings on our web site and on EBay's World of Good.

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.