Crossroads Trade

Our Holiday Open Houses: Save the Dates!

2011-11-25T23:41:00.001-05:00

This holiday season, our mantra is shop relaxed. Kate is opening her home for four open houses. Join us for unhurried shopping with free parking and hot cider. We'll be featuring our glorious new alebrijes, whimsical, carved, painted critters from Kate's scouting in Oaxaca.

We have some fine new turquoise and silver jewelry from Tibetan artisans in Nepal. Our seasonal sparkle forecast: outstanding. Shimmery,
subtle hues of cranberry, cinnamon, silver and gold, in your choice of chunky, slinky, ropy, loopy...even understated!

Our vivid basketry from Rwanda has a sweet scent of grass. The colors pop in bold geometrics. We'll have the world's finest, one-of-a-kind Wounaan baskets from Panama, plus your favorite South African telephone wire baskets.

We'll have fabulous bargains as well. We're closing out several lines, including our Bulgarian mugs, Indian and Egyptian boxes, Egyptian recycled glass vases, Vietnamese ceramic vases, and soapstone critters and candleholders.. If it's bulky or heavy, we're motivated!

We'll also be discounting our scarves, as we narrow out focus to one-of-a-kind and small production. We've plenty of sumptuous Indian silks in rich palettes and elegant drape.

We're looking forward to seeing friends old and new!

The open house schedule is as follows:

Saturday, December 3rd, 11 - 7

Sunday, December 4th, 11 - 6

Saturday, December 10th, 11 - 7

Sunday, December 11th, 11 - 6

The address: 24 Ottawa Road in Arlington. Easy access from Route 2 and Mass Ave.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Our Inuit art prints are up!

2011-10-04T17:20:00.002-04:00

We are delighted that many of our limited-edition Inuit art prints are now on our web site. These are prints Kate bought from the famed Holman Eskimo Cooperative and the artist's collective at Cape Dorset -- both within the Arctic Circle of Canada.

Our prints are all numbered -- most from an edition of 50, some from an edition of 25 -- and signed, some with Inuit symbols in addition to the artist's name in English. Collectors will recognize the names Mary Okheena, Mabel Nigiyok, Mayureak Ashoona, and others. Our web site is completely searchable, so feel free to type in a name or a theme.

Some prints are easy to interpret, such as "Hunter's Dream" above. Others, such as "Asking for Help" on the right, recall Inuit legends and stories and shamanistic beliefs that are not entirely suppressed even in the late 20th and early 21st century.

Our prints are all shrinkwrapped on foam core, and are priced to ship in an oversized art box. If you'd like to discuss shipping prices with Kate, e-mail her at info@crossroadstrade.com.

We still have some more prints to post. Keep checking back!

-- Lisa Deeley Smith

Getting ready for Town Day!

2011-09-14T11:44:00.001-04:00

Town Day in Arlington, MA is a splendid aggregation of merchants, community organizations, food vendors, and musicians. The center of town is closed off and more than 200 booths line that section of Massachusetts Avenue. This year, Town Day is on Saturday, September 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's been a while since we've had a booth there, and we're eager to go back and see old friends and be part of the local business community in Arlington.

We'll have lots of charming things for sale: the ever-popular Kenyan soapstone hearts and critters, all sorts of earrings, wallets, handbags, and scarves; dream catchers and worry dolls; little Egyptian and Indian boxes and Guatemalan baskets. And more; be sure to look in the $5 bins! We will have amazing buys on items we're closing out. If you're paying cash, we'll pay the sales tax.

We hope to be near our old storefront location at 669 Mass. Ave, but one never knows where one's booth will be until the morning of set-up. Nevertheless, you'll be sure to find us as you walk up and down the Avenue, debating whether to have fried dough or a slice of pie, a sausage or a plate of Thai food, and what community e-mail lists to sign up for. It's always satisfying to contemplate what you've brought home after Town Day. Your bag should include something special from Crossroads Trade.

-- Lisa Deeley Smith

Oaxacan alebrijes come to life

2011-08-17T10:33:00.004-04:00

Alebrijes, fantastically shaped and colored animal figures, were born of a fever dream of a Mexico City artist in the 1930s. Sick and hallucinating about these figures, he recovered and fashioned these figures he had seen from cardboard and papier-mache. These figures are now a firmly established folk-art form in the southern Mexico state of Oaxaca. Artisans there incorporated these new motifs into the local tradition of carving in copal wood. We are always interested how an art form evolves from a copy of another form into its own authentic style; wooden Oaxacan figures are a perfect example of this.

Kate visited some Oaxacan artists on her recent trip. Oaxacan pieces are made by artisan families. Here Narcisso and Ruby work take turns painting a dog.

Kate writes: "Painting this alebrije is trully collaborative. Where Narcisso leaves off, Ruby begins. Back and forth they went, as they went about their afternoon tasks."

You can see the unpainted copal carvings on Ruby's table in the photo below. To the left, you can see the levels of detail the artists add to their painting. The pieces are signed, and with experience one can identify a particular family's work by sight. The dog Ruby and Narcisso are working on is a piece Kate is bringing home to sell. When it was finished, Kate said, from a distance it looked so chihuahua-like that only the blue color told you it was not a real dog.

Here Julio is at work on the back of a spectacular owl. And here is the owl itself, among some other alebrijes.

We sell Oaxacan figures in all sizes. We have a wide range of price points, although we look for originality and energy in the carving and the painting, and so do not stock the cheaper, tired-looking works. You'll see more Oaxacan creatures on our web site on Kate's return.

-- Lisa Deeley Smith

Kate's in Mexico!

2011-08-01T16:10:00.003-04:00

Kate's in Mexico busy with several things: taking an intensive Spanish-language course, doing some scouting (she 's found one spectacular Oaxacan sculpture on a collector's special-request list), and seeing the sights.

She spent some time at a Guelaguetza.

She writes: "The Guelaguetza is an annual Oaxacan celebration of the ethnic traditions of its seven distinct regions and cultures. Combining ancient traditions with mestizo culture and Catholic ritual, the Guelaguetza takes place on the last two Mondays in July in several towns. This Guelaguetza took place in the town of San Juan Chilateca."

She went to a museum and solved the mystery of putting on armor. Note the buckles and straps in the second photo.

And contemplated the differences in ironing among the socio-economic classes:

More to come about Kate's adventures in Mexico.

-- Lisa Deeley Smith

Watch Our Other Space!

2011-07-22T10:58:00.000-04:00

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!

The Fair-Trader's Dilemma and the Republic of South Sudan

2011-07-07T16:25:00.000-04:00


In January, Southern Sudanese cast their votes for independence; the day has come!

We join the rest of the world in welcoming the Republic of South Sudan, whose flag will be raised as the 193rd nation on July 9 (locally, at 11 a.m. over Boston City Hall). We've followed the fortunes of this newborn country, especially through the Lost Boys of Sudan (all men now, and many married and with children), some of whom we had hired for jobs around the store.

As this new nation grows, it highlights one of the dilemmas of bringing fair-trade goods to market. We had a choice of carrying pure shea butter from two fair-trade sources -- one from Ghana, and one from South Sudan. The shea butter from South Sudan was triple the price of the shea butter from Ghana. The major reason for the cost difference was the cost of transportation. Ghana is on the west coast of Africa with access to the Atlantic Ocean. South Sudan is landlocked; most of its roads are packed dirt, many unusable at some point of the rainy season. The nearest airports with flights to America are in Kenya and Uganda. The nearest port is Mombasa, Kenya. There was no option of getting shipments through northern Sudan: Americans are allowed to do business with the South, but the government of Khartoum is still listed as a terrorist state.

There are many efforts to improve and promote commerce in South Sudan; transportation costs are being addressed. We still can get that very expensive shea butter for those who would like to support this new nation. We'll also be writing more about the other barriers of bringing fair-trade items to market, and how these barriers can be overcome.

Ethnic-looking, but not Fair Trade

2011-06-29T15:13:00.001-04:00

A beaded fair-trade lizard from Crossroads Trade

I was in a Christmas Tree Shop recently, and saw some familiar things -- colorful metal geckos hanging on the walls, and beaded lizards walking across a table.

They looked familiar because I have carried both. The metal geckos I've carried are steel-drum art, hammered and shaped and painted by a men's co-op in Haiti (recently back in business after the devastating earthquake). The beaded lizards are from a South African organization that provides school and support to children of AIDS victims.

But the geckos and lizards I was looking at were not quite right. They weren't striking. They had no vitality. I couldn't figure it out. They just didn't look jaunty, just lifeless.

Then I turned them over, and I saw a clue to their lifelessness. I also noticed that they wouldn't be providing any of the social and economic benefits of the ones I've carried. These were factory-made in China.

They were, of course, less expensive. And everyone is on a budget. But when you spend your money on ethnic-looking home decor, think about where that money will go. Do you want the artisans to receive a fair living wage? Do you want to support a region's economic recovery, and causes that rely on enterprise to fund their operations?

Think, too, whether you are supporting a vital artisanry or mechanical knock-offs. Those knock-offs lacked an artistic vitality because there were no vital artists at work.

Look for the country of origin when you shop. Or ask. Or buy your home decor from a member of the Fair Trade Federation. Like us!

Wedding planning the fair-trade way

2011-06-16T09:00:00.003-04:00

We've posted a separate blog entry with ideas for fair-trade gifts for wedding guests to bring. Wedding planners (whether professional, or members of the wedding party) can continue the theme of a fair-trade wedding by providing gifts and accessories for the bride's attendants that reflect the couple's commitment to cooperation and justice.

Bridesmaids can adorn themselves with tagua-nut bracelets as part of the wedding's color scheme, at the reception, or later as a memory of the big event. We carry a variety of colors and styles on our World of Good website. Tagua is made from the nut of a Colombian palm tree that is dried and dyed. Farmers who sell tagua now earn enough to stop growing coca leaf for the cocaine trade. Brides should know their gifts to the wedding party not only commemorate their day, but bring economic freedom to Colombian families.

Our Nepali beaded bracelet also comes in a variety of palettes, should the bride wish to coordinate accessories with her attendants' gowns. Brought to market by a fair-trade wholesaler who is a former Peace Corps member, these bracelets are fashioned by women who are earning money to send their daughters to school.
Our World of Good earring selection features price points ranging from under $20 (Kenyan recycled metals) to over $40 (intricate Guatemalan beadwork). Our web site features an even greater selection.

At the reception, your guests find their table strewn with a variety of our Kenyan hearts. These hearts are carved out of soapstone from the Kissi district of western Kenya. Dyed and batiked in Nairobi, they are a cheerful and affordable table favor.

The bride's attendants will look extra-spectacular. The guests will be charmed by their favors. The wedding will be part of the fair-trade movement. And the day will be even more meaningful than before.

Be a Fair-Trade Wedding Guest

2011-06-14T18:07:00.003-04:00

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?

2011-05-03T14:34:00.004-04:00

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.

Buying molas on the islands

2011-04-12T18:19:00.000-04:00

Kuna Yala, the homeland of the Kuna Indians (San Blas Islands) is an archipelago of 350 islands, give or take, on the Caribbean coast of Panama. The Kuna are famous for their molas, reverse-applique fabric art panels, worn in their blouses. This art form ranges from simple pieces sold to cruise-ship tourists to museum-quality works, stunning in their design and execution.

I've been going the San Blas Islands to buy molas since 1999. I've visited about 10 of the most traditional islands, extending almost to the Colombian border. Each trip, I base myself in a little bamboo hut, with my delightful Kuna hosts, whom I've now known for many years. I eat a lot of seafood and coconuts. Each day, I focus on one island.

Over the years, I've explored different islands with different results. Three of the ones I went to have been reliably good, the other two only sometimes yield fruit. I also know some Kuna artisans from these same islands, who are in Panama City for a few years, so that their children can go to school.

The buying rituals were, shall we say, energetic. On any buying trip, I'm trying to balance what I'm seeing with customers' interests. I look at more than 1,000 pieces, of which I'll buy 100-200. I buy the entire blouses that molas are sewn into. The first few days are the most challenging, as I figure out the trends and issues. Is the image I'm seeing one I'll see again? Is it limited to just one island? (I posted earlier on the trends and motifs I found on this trip.)

Kuna women are quite emphatic. They have plenty to say when I don't buy. They also wait for the longest time to pull out the best work, even though I've asked for it from the outset. I always like to peruse everything before deciding. Not possible. Whenever I was told that she'd shown me the last, and we concluded our deliberations, the woman would suddenly find a new bunch. One woman told me that if she sold me any more (I'd just bought 9 blouses), she'd have to go around naked. Somehow, more suddenly became available!

Over the long term, it becomes harder to find high quality work. It also becomes harder to find women who know the meaning of the traditional motifs. On my latest trip, one Kuna man put this in perspective in a way I hadn't quite put my finger on before; the more the girls go to school, the more the traditional art suffers. This is such a dilemma. If they don't get an education, their options will be terribly limited. If they do, they will be less able to carry on their cultural traditions.

I'm almost done prepping the molas. I still have to separate several of them from the blouses, pick threads from most, clean, classify, grade, sort, photograph and code. I'll let people know when the molas are going to hit the website.

Easter tidings

2011-04-04T15:54:00.003-04:00

At this writing, the snows of April have been replaced by the rains of April, giving us hope that the new life of spring is here to stay. Here at Crossroads Trade we offer some of the most traditional symbols of new life as well as some unusual ones.

Strictly speaking, our decorated Easter eggs are not pysanky, because they're not from the Ukraine; they're from Hungary. But the Hungarians do a beautiful job with this tradition elaborately decorated eggs.

The blue one seen here is made by dyeing an entire hen's egg and etching the design.

The red-and-gold egg to the right with the tassel flourish is a handpainted white duck's egg.

And the red-and-gold egg to the left is batiked, using the same technique as fabric design, where portions are covered with wax, the item dyed, and the wax removed.

All our eggs are sent double-boxed with foam chips; they come to us intact, and we have had great success shipping them all over the world.

For something less formal, more whimiscal, we have hand-knitted Peruvian bunnies and ducklings. We call them ornaments because they have a yarn loop at the top for hanging. They can hang anywhere and are especially cheery during the Easter season. At 3.5" high by 3.5" wide, they are safe, squashy toy for children, as they admire the hand-decorated eggs that have been put out out their reach.

Visit the Easter page of our web site for more offerings. You will find new life there even as the rains fall.

-- Lisa Deeley Smith

New Mola Vision

2011-04-01T14:20:00.002-04:00

Some time ago Kate noticed that the Kuna Indian mola-makers of the San Blas Islands of Panama gave up their craft when they reached middle age, passing the responsibility to younger women. "At first I thought it was a cultural construct," she wrote. Then she put on her reading glasses to inspect a mola. Both she and the artisans had a revelation: like her, these women just needed to see better.

Now she brings reading glasses with her on every trip. This year's batch came from the denizens of the Arlington List, an on-line community of more than 4000 in (or with an interest in) Arlington, MA. As you can see in the photo, the glasses get put to use right away.

Cultural preservation takes many interesting paths. In this case, the path leads to a pair of reading glasses.

-- Lisa Deeley Smith

Mola traditions, mola changes

2011-03-29T22:18:00.000-04:00

I've been buying molas from the Kuna Indians of the San Blas Islands of Panama since 1999. I search out the best examples of this fascinating reverse-applique textile art. I've brought home many spectacular molas, and I've had the chance, in these 12 years, to observe the traditions and changes in this art.

Sea urchins or sugar cane?

People so often think of ethnic arts as unchanging. No so. With each trip, I find that the themes of the molas have undergone rapid transformation. This trip was heavy on geometrics and biblical themes. Scarcely an animal to be found! The colors change as well. I saw some yellows, an unfortunate shade of pink and quite a bit of lightish blue.

I see changes in the quality, as well. That, unfortunately, trends downward over the years, The lines are wider, the dentitions are bigger, and the sewing is more visible than it used to be. On this trip. for the first time, someone tied this devolution to the fact that girls now go to school; they have less time to practice their traditional arts in the formative years. What a dilemma! The women have little choice about their life direction without education; if they focus on their education, however, then they have less opportunity to make money from their traditional arts. Many women simply make tourist-grade molas, which eliminate the complex cutwork.

Another marked change is that the women are less able to tell me about the meaning of the images. Many of them could only tell me that a motif was old, but not what it was. Then, of course, we have the standard issue; one woman says a motif represents one thing, and another says the same image represents something else entirely! This is the case, for example, with sea urchins and sugar cane.

It takes about 3 weeks to prep the molas. I still have to separate several of them from the blouses, pick threads from most, clean, classify, grade, sort, photograph and code. I'll let people know when the molas are going to hit the website.

Making the transition

2011-03-04T14:21:00.000-05:00

We’ve been hard at work repositioning Crossroads Trade as an all-web business. We have a completely redesigned, searchable web site, with new offerings added constantly. We also have a growing presence on EBay’s World of Good. Our site there is also searchable, and you can add our entries to your RSS feed.

Our Facebook page is all new, too. Here you’ll find news of our products and buying trips, and thoughts on and analysis of the complex world of fair-trade commerce.

Look for this blog and our Twitter feed to become more active. We want you to have several ports of access to our fairly traded ethnic arts of the world.

-- Lisa Deeley Smith

Extra Discount Coupon for In-Store Purchases!

2010-12-05T20:01:00.000-05:00

Big News from Crossroads Trade

2010-12-05T19:57:00.000-05:00

Dear Fair Trade Friends,

I'm writing to let you know about a mighty change at Crossroads Trade. After Christmas, we will be changing from a brick-and-mortar store to an on-line business! Our reconstructed website goes on-line next week.

We've had a storefront for eleven years, and a website for ten, both long enough for a generational turnover in shoppers. The baby boomers are beginning to downsize. Post-boomer shoppers buy very differently, namely, on-line. Our audience for our collector pieces is international, rather than local. They, too, buy on line.

I am very excited. I'll be able to spend more time scouting for new products and artisans, my favorite activity. I'm also looking forward to some special projects related to fair trade. Stay tuned!

I will miss our customers very much. It's been especially fun to watch the kid-customers grow up. Please keep in touch, via our e-mail list, Facebook and Twitter, blog and website. If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch.

For a fair trade future,

Kate Harris
Crossroads Trade

World Fair Trade Day May 8

2010-04-07T18:10:00.000-04:00

Our plan so far includes an in-store demonstration by Zimbabwe wire artist Bernard of his craft. Watch for details!

If you have an interest in social entrepreneurship, human trafficking, sustaining ecosystems, preserving ethnic craft traditions, and chocolate, you'll want to participate in our World Fair Trade Day events.

The Heart of Valentine's Day

2010-02-04T12:59:00.000-05:00

The heart of Valentine's Day is this: "you are special to me -- am I special to you?" We have many, many ways to say that.

Chocolate we have discussed earlier --our fair-trade chocolate shows how you care for the people of the earth, and the earth, as well as the recipient.

Our jewelry does that also. Our elegant, shimmery, beaded red necklaces from Nepal are made by women who are earning school fees for their daughters. Our South African recycled copper and brass heart bracelets, necklaces, and earrings, are made by women and men in a safe, clean workshop. Amber hearts from Poland, in pendants, earrings, and rings, provide economic benefit to people whose country has undergone a huge transition in recent years.

And all the jewelry is gorgeous!

Not shopping for jewelry? You can say a lot at Crossroads with a modest budget. Our art cards, all suitable for framing, are blank so you can pen a suitable sentiment. Our colorful Kenyan hearts are just $3.75, but they hold a lot of emotion.

Liz, our henna artist in residence, will offer free, heart henna tattoos on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12 and 13. Do stop by.

For Valentine's Day: Fair-Trade Chocolate!

2010-02-03T11:40:00.001-05:00

Chocolate is a $13 billion business in the United States, yet consumers seldom know its real cost; 284,000 children work in as slaves or indentured servants in West African cocoa plantations.Historically, cocoa farmers have no control over the price they are paid for their crop. Prices fluctuates dramatically. With no floorprice and an unstable market, cocoa farmers' only opportunity tomake ends meet has been exploitation of children, the world's most vulnerable workforce.

Buying fair trade chocolate ensures that farmers are paid a fair wage for their crop. Fair trade companies guarantee a floor price for cocoa production, with additional guarantees if industry prices rise above the fair trade price. Children stay in school. They are not sold into servitude to work in cocoa fields.

Your purchase of ethically sourced chocolate tells the chocolate industry that this matters to you. Check out our delicious chocolate treats today!

No news yet from our Haitian suppliers

2010-01-31T09:37:00.000-05:00

Crossroads Trade has bought wonderful, whimsical wares from a Haitian cooperative for eight years. Based in Port-au-Prince, the co-op provides employment to 400 artisans. (Each wage-earner in Haiti supports an average of nine people).

Over the years, the co-op has withstood embargoes, political turmoil and robberies. The artisans have regrouped every time.

We have not been able to reach the co-op since the earthquake. We do not know whether the co-op withstood the quake or how many artisans were killed or injured. We will let you know when we hear from them. We will make it a priority to place an order as soon as they regroup.
Pictured: steel-drum scrap frog, $12; steel-drum scrap gecko, $36; steel-drum rasta bus key hook, $28.

Happy New Year to all

2009-12-29T18:59:00.001-05:00

Thank you, loyal customers and fair-trade fans, for your support in 2009. Your purchases made a difference in the lives of many.

Lebanese embroiderers

We're looking forward to a new year, with new products and a new website. We're already working with prospective new suppliers on new textiles, home wares, dolls and holiday ornaments. Look for new basketry and wall art from Uganda, and for ornaments from Laos and Nepal.

These relationships take many months to come to fruition. First we discuss what we're looking for. The artisans then make samples. We look, they tweak, until we have the final product. We have to take into account seasonal issues (paint doesn't dry during the rainy season, some areas are cut off when roads wash out each year, snows make passes impassable, grasses are ready to harvest at specific times of year, etc). We also have to plan for shipping times and test the political winds for potential border closings. We're starting on Christmas stockings right now!

Peruvian weaver

One of our Bolivian suppliers has begun putting the amount of labor in creating each piece on the item tag. We'll be suggesting that to others as well. We hope this will help you, our customers, gain a deeper understanding of what goes into each item.

We welcome your ideas for products and your recommendations of fair-trade suppliers.

Kenyan beaders

Our 30%-off sale on ornaments and nativities begins next week, after the Jan. 7 Orthodox Christmas. Look for us at 271 Harvard St., in Brookline's Coolidge Corner, on our website, and our store on World of Good.

Happy New Year to all.

Kate Harris
Crossroads Trade

Holiday news

2009-12-05T13:22:00.006-05:00

Ever since October of last year, customers have come into the shop with anxious faces. “How are you doing?” they ask, worried that another unique business might be leaving Coolidge Corner.

We’re hanging in there. We have an obligation to our suppliers. Children still need school fees and mothers and fathers still need to sell their work, even in the unsteady times. And the items we’ve found this year demonstrate that creativity and courage still thrive even when the financial news is grim.

We’ve begun to carry new American Indian artisans from the Zuni, Hopi and Santo Domingo tribes. Some of the signature artists we’ve found include Mary Tafoya, a Santo Domingo Pueblo, whose work features cross-cut shells integrated into traditional mosaic work, and Ray Lalo, Hopi, maker of kachinas, who uses aguayo and paints them with pigments made from crushed rock, in a paint base of pine sap and honey. Also new is a Kenyan supplier, an organization of women who finance their daughters' education through their sales.

Colombian artisans have found new ways to cut tagua nuts, cutting production time in half and decreasing the price of the popular jewelry. Innovation continues in the use of fibers. We have bamboo scarves from Guatemala. From India we have new varieties of papers, made from roots and old clothing.

We’re brimming with textiles from the Shangaan tribe of South Africa’s Limpopo province. And we have gorgeous new scarves in rich, vibrant colors. Textures are outstanding, too, with artisans employing lots of new ways of crinkling, folding, and sewing.

Our jewelry selection continues to expand. Bracelets are the jewelry of the year. New cloth bracelets feature the hand embroidery of Santiago Atitlan, a Guatemalan village famed for its vibrant embroidered flowers and birds. We also have new beaded bracelets from India, Kenya, and South Africa, as well as shimmery beaded new necklaces. It was a wonderful year for finding new items made of recycled materials, such as our new earrings made of aluminum and brass cans.

Of course, we still carry many of the items Crossroads customers have come to expect. This is the time of year we set out our museum-quality selection of international nativities. New arrivals this year include lost-wax cast brass nativities from Ghana, sisal grass from Kenya, painted wood from Armenia, straw from Hungary, and ceramics from Peru.

Doll collectors will want to see the new arrivals from Tibet, in beautiful detailed tribal clothing, and the wonderful felt snow lions. Charming new Noah’s ark chivas, with giraffes sticking out the top, have arrived from Peru. We’ve got brightly carved wooden giraffes from Zimbabwe, and a menagerie of animals made of shredded palm fiber from the Philippines. The innovative use of recycled cans grows and grows – check out the vehicles, the earrings, the purses, the ornaments.

And we’ve got chocolate! Fairly traded, of course, from Equal Exchange. All our items are chosen with an eye to fair-trade practices and compensation. This way, parents are working with dignity and in safe conditions, earning enough so that children can eat, receive medical care, and go to school. We’re helping to provide financial stability in a world where it still can seem very rocky. And we know you’ll find delightful items here at Crossroads Trade to share with friends, relatives, and colleagues, bringing hope and joy this holiday season.

Celebrating the Day of the Dead

2009-10-07T14:05:00.007-04:00

Throughout the world, people have special days when they gather family and friends to remember, celebrate and pray for family and friends who have died. One of the richest of these traditions is Day of the Dead, or Dia de Los Muertos, dating back to Aztec times, and celebrated in Mexico and Latino communities in the US. On November 1st and 2nd, ancestors are permitted to visit the living. Families fashion altars out of sugar skulls and all manner of figures, festooned with foods and hobbies of the deceased. They visit their loved ones’ graves with these offerings in hand.

Crossroads Trade will celebrate Day of the Dead this year with sugar skull decorating for kids. Skulls will be available for purchase ($7.50 each). We’ll have paint, glitter and fun decorations on hand for children to festoon their skulls. Paints and decorations are free.

CHILDREN’S DECORATED SKULLS WILL BE FEATURED IN CROSSROADS TRADE’S DISPLAY WINDOW from October 24th to November 1st.

Advance sign-up is preferred, to ensure that we have enough skulls for everyone: 617-975-2001 or dod@crossroadstrade.com

Crossroads Trade is a fair trade store, dedicated to preserving the world’s ethnic arts traditions. Crafts are purchased at fair wages from artisans, cooperatives, refugee communities, economic development initiatives and fair trade wholesalers.

Back from the New York Gift Show

2009-08-28T09:18:00.006-04:00

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!

2009-01-27T12:39:00.011-05:00

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!

2009-01-09T20:41:00.005-05:00

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

2008-12-13T18:59:00.008-05:00

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

2008-11-11T00:12:00.010-05:00

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

2008-09-21T20:03:00.001-04:00

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

2008-08-15T18:44:00.012-04:00

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

Not Your Usual Recyling Center

2008-07-31T14:30:00.016-04:00

The recycling we do at Crossroads goes way beyond taking our flattened cardboard to the local drop-off. We carry an ever-growing assortment of goods made from recycled material. Our insecticide-can cars from Burkina Faso in West Africa (one of many styles of galimoto) reflect the ingenuity of kids and adults who fashion their toys out of what's thrown away. The Burkina Faso sparkplug musicians bring a note of whimsy along with a strong sense of design.

Some of our most popular recycled offerings come from Haiti. We do business with a group of men that flattens and burns out the residue from steel oil drums. The steel is cut into a variety of critters and painted in wonderfully cheerful patterns.

We have lots of jewelry from recycled materials. Brazilian magazine pages have been fashioned into bracelets and earrings. Our can-tab bracelets always bring hoots of recognition (perhaps some customers have their own collections?) when spied in the shop.

But there's so much more here at Crossroads Trade. We'll be posting an entry about our wallets and bags made from recycled material. Our recycled items are made by artisans who can work without investing a lot of capital in supplies and who make a dent in reducing the waste stream around the world. And all our recycled roducts are a lot of fun.

Gorgeous jewelry from Christopher Nieto

2008-07-03T16:06:00.000-04:00

Our jewelry from Christopher Nieto, an artist from the Santo Domingo Pueblo (a place and a people, in northern New Mexico), arrived with a hand-written letter from him. Many of the pieces he sent are new designs, unavailable anywhere else.

"The eight-strand nugget choker (blue turquoise) is from Nevada; it's a really good stone and color, some of the better quality I've come across in a while."

The single-strand necklace features turquoise from Kingman, Arizona, where Chris can get "a wide variety of different shades" at one time.

The multi-colored stone chokers are "all various stones from all over the world."

Christopher Nieto jewelry sells for up to $1,500. Ours (we have more than what is shown here) range from $85 to $350. If you have coveted one of his necklaces, here is an excellent opportunity to acquire one at a good price.

New Jewelry at Crossroads Trade

2008-06-28T21:01:00.000-04:00

We're making great progress in finding new sources for Indian jewelry! I've tracked down two artisans from Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico, whom I'd been trying to contact for some time. Daniel Coriz makes spectacular inlaid earrings. Chris Nieto makes Santo Domingo's trademark hand-made heishi bead necklaces, in which every bead is ground by hand. Chris Nieto's work will arrive next week. We hope to have Daniel's earrings within the next few weeks.

Just received: a variety of Indian jewelry, including: Lupe Lovato's turquoise slab and hand-ground beaded earrings from Santo Domingo; Zuni inlaid and needlepoint earrings; and Navajo earrings and bracelets with a variety of stones and settings.

We also just received a shipment of lovely Balinese earrings. These pieces are made in five family workshops, and come to the US through a fair trade wholesaler. For this round, we've chosen a variety of shells in striking, simple, silver settings.

Please stop by for a look,or ask us to e-mail you photos!

Kate

Welcome to the Crossroads Trade blog!

2008-06-28T14:55:00.000-04:00

Crossroads Trade now has a blog! Here you'll find the latest news -- new arrivals to the store, discussions on fair trade, and how the events of the world effect a charming little shop in Coolidge Corner.

The blogs will either be signed by Kate or Lisa: Kate Harris, the store's owner, or Lisa Deeley Smith, who works there.

Spread the word! Come back often!