The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thursday, March 8, 2012 - 3B A storefront of fair-trade culture in A2 Ten Thousand Villages stocks artisan handicrafts By NICOLE SAVITSKY DailyArts Writer Nestled between fine eateries and other distinctive boutiques, Ten Thousand Villages is a fair- trade retailer that sells artisan- crafted home decor, personal accessories and gift items from across the globe. Featuring prod- ucts from more than 130 artisan groups in some 38 countries, the Main Street store is part of a net- work of over 390 retail outlets throughout the United States selling fairly-traded products. Ten Thousand Villages, which stems from a project birthed in the basements of churches, has a title that doesn't always resonate at first encounter. But if one has any background knowledge about fair trade, Ten Thousand Vil- lages, the oldest fair trade retailer in North America, may inspire a compelling visit. Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based technique that aims to help pro- ducers in developing countries create better trading conditions and promote sustainability, advo- cating the payment of a higher price to exporters as well as the establishment of higher social and environmental standards. * Most notable fairly-traded items found in the United States are handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate, flowers and gold. Now in its 66th year, the com- pany still attempts to uphold these values. In 1946, while trav- eling in Puerto Rico, Mennonite Missionaries encountered women weaving elaborate table linens and inquired about where they could be bought and sold. They returned to eastern Pennsylvania with these treasures in hand, and friends of the missionaries were captivated and wanted to place their orders for the next visit. These missionaries later founded the first Ten Thousand Villages location in Bluffton, Ohio. "At that moment, a light bulb went (on)," said Bill Henderson, the Main Street store manager. "These people could become a direct conduit from artisan to consumer and cut out the mid- dleman, allowing the artisan to make more money for the delicate work they put in." Ten Thousand Villages has cultivated trading relationships in which artisans receive a fair price for their work and con- sumers gain access to distinctive handcrafted items. Seeking to establish long-term buying rela- tionships in places where skilled artisans who are under- or unem- ployed lack other opportunities for income, their network helps struggling artisan groups who are in need of assistance. In Cambodia, for example, people are shunned for their imperfections, even those result- ing from being maimed by land mines or other such types of devices. Artisans who belong to this maligned group compose jewelry and accessories out of the bombshells and materials that brought about their disfiguration. Other artisan groups, such as those in India, consist of women rescued from human traffick- ing who make recycled saris as an outlet to help them cope with their trauma. Despite this solemn back- ground to certain kinds of fairly- traded items, when a customer enters the Ten Thousand Villages in Ann Arbor, the background music and clamor of customers evoke worldly vibes of serenity, and the message is digested: "Our mission is to promote dignity, hope and a living wage for arti- sans around the world by selling their handicrafts, by telling their stories and by educating locally about Fair Trade," reads the com- pany's mission statement. Henderson explained that the aim is not to bombard the cli- ent with fair trade information, but instead to whet their appe- tite with the sounds and colors that greet them. The direction is to educate the community about what it means to sell fairly-traded products, but it is important that the customer seeks this education out first. "We like to combine the process of selling and telling, connecting stories with the prod- ucts," Henderson said. In that vein, goods found throughout the venue have expla- nations above them stating mes- sages such as "fair trade means Guillermina Salome and Eulogio Medina can share their cultural heritage." Wind-chime mobiles from Cambodia prove a popular seller, utilizing only wood scraps so that no livingtrees are harmed in their composition. Pieced togeth- er through recycling, flowerpots are sculpted using pre-consumer waste of candy-wrapper excess from factory floors. Henderson's favorite gift idea involves recycled paper place- mats used to satisfy the tradi- tional first-anniversary gift of "paper," once again telling and selling more than one story. Thoughstudents are not alarge part of the foottraffic through the store, Ten Thousand Villages has participated in fair trade fashion shows on the Diag and has associ- ated with the ethnic restaurants during Taste of Ann Arbor. The Ann Arbor location, enter- ing its eighth year of residency this fall, was developed by local individuals who wanted to help support the fair trade movement and began to raise money through festival sales and various startup committees. Other Ten Thou- sand Villages locations across the country supported the hunt for a retail space by donating money until the location could stand on its own. The Ann Arbor shop does the same for burgeoninglocations, and it donates to other non-profit retailers throughout the city. Henderson began as a volun- teer, as most employees do, but decided to put his extensive retail background to use, attaining the position of event coordina- tor. This allowed him to educate the community about fair trade, before rising to his current mana- gerial status. "The important thing is to find something you're passionate about and turn that passion into an opportunity," Henderson said. Deeply rooted interests in crafting are not necessary in order to find meaning in this business. Before joining Ten Thousand Villages, Henderson attended workshops about trans- forming one's interests into busi- ness opportunities. Starting a new business can be a daunting task, but with his love of retail, Henderson essentially became a business coach, helping develop- ing countries turn their lifestyles into a source of income. The items on sale at Ten Thou- sand Villages demonstrates how crafting can reflect the culture, tradition and history of a place, existent long after the culture has undergone contemporary transformations. Though it gives expression to imagination and creativity, the art of crafting may appear to be fading away because it entails a painstaking amount of handiwork and devotion - however, new media affirms that handcrafting is growing in popu- larity. Websites like Etsy.com attempt to empower people to change the way the global economy works, building relationships in a vir- tual handmade marketplace that reconnects producers with con- sumers. Attempting to take the antiquated aspect out of crafting, Etsy recognizes that people value authorship and provenance as much as price and convenience, thereby "bringing heart to com- merce and making the world more fair, more sustainable and more fun," according to the Etsy. com website. "It's all new to me, but it seems like (Etsy shares) a common goal - we both want to connect buyers with sellers, but we also hope to improve that seller's standard of living," Henderson said. Social media and the Internet succeed in spreading awareness about the products that Ten Thou- sand Villages houses, but Hender- son remains firm that the physical stores aren'tgoing anywhere. Peo- ple want to touch, feel and look at the product, so he only keeps two of everything, presenting the cus- tomer with a personal choice: "It's all handmade, so whichone doyou want?" Henderson said. Art fairs and other exhibitors will often seek involvement with the store, but they must be certi- fied fair trade. Fair trade in the North American marketplace is still small, however, so there is a window for further education. Ten Thousand Villages' next project aims to organize a coali- tion with the Ann Arbor City Council, proposing to declare Ann Arbor asa fair trade city. Not onlywill thisbringTen Thousand Villages to the forefront of the leading fair trade retailers, but it will also raise awareness of what - in addition to the artwork it houses - is currently available in the community that is also fairly traded. Congratulations to the Winter 2012 University of Michigan Student Startup Grant Recipients $27,000 in total grants awarded winter term The Zell Lurie Institute's Mayleben Family Venture Shaping and Applebaum Dare to Dream Grant program funds students looking to test their business idea, formulate a plan, and work toward launching their business while earning their degree. Grants are awarded in the fall and winter terms. Applebaum Dare to Dream Integration Grants of up to $10,000 @Fingertips ($10,000 and SPARK Boot Camp Scholarship) - designing and building devices that enable the blind to use mainstream touchscreen portable computers and smartphones. PK Mishra (MBA '12), Siyang Chen (MFA '13), Roger Potter (BSE ME '12), Nick Wilcox The Beet Box ($5,000) - providing healthy fast- food options that support and reward a healthy life- style. Daniel Morse (BBA '13), Alexander Perlman (BA '13), Kay Feker (BA '13), Kendra Hall (BA '13), Peter Hans Ward (BA '13) Digital Maxim ($2,500) - Providing regional books in eBook format for all popular eReader devices to serve the needs of immigrant populations living in developed countries. Thirumurthi Ranganathan (MBA '13), Sriram Ramanathan (MBA '13), Devip- rasad Taluk (MBA '13), Ramalingam Subramani- yam, Manushyaputhiran Applebaum Dare to Dream Assessment Grants of $1,500 EVStation - investigating the feasibility of a busi- ness delivering a platform for electric vehicle charg- ing station access. Javier Rivera (MBA/MS '14), Lawrence Han (MBA/MA '14) Thrively - investigating the feasibility of a business establishing online platform for professionals to share feedback. Nick Fassler (MBA/MS '12), Emily Luke (MSI '12), Emily Bowman (MSI '12), Raina Rahbar (MBA/MS '12) Torch Hybrid Marine Systems - investigating the feasibility of a business based on hybrid-electric marine propulsion systems. Matthew Lankowski (MSE NAME, MEng Mfg '12), Michael Daeffler (MSE NAME, MSE ME '12), Justin D'Atri (MS Sustainable Systems '13), Siddharth Menon (MSE Energy Systems Eng '13), Matthew Sexton (MSE NAME, MSE ME '12) Mayleben Family Venture Shaping Grants of $500 AudioCode - addressing an opportunity utilizing smartphone technology. Joe Dertouzos (MBA '12) AutoEat - addressing a pain in the restaurant in- dustry. Maya Ben An (MBA '13), Dan Itsara (MBA '13) DrankBank.com - addressing the issue of connect- ing campus area businesses to student populations. Jordan Eckstein (BBA '12), Ian Sabbag, Brian Shepanek Footnotes - addressing an opportunity to improve the impact of events among attendees. Mitch Adler (BSE CSE '12), Seth Samuels (BBA '13), Krunal Desai Google but Vocal - addressing the issue of con- necting rural Indian populations to information. Rachna Shukla (MBA '13) Ritmosim - investigating opportunity to develop novel solution to spinal orthoses. Jorge Sanz-Guer- rero (MME '11), Dan Johnson (PhD MechE '12), Maren Bean (MBA '13), Sam Beckett (BS MechE '12), Pat Milligan (BS Materials Science Eng '14), Rikav Chauhan (BS Neuroscience '14) Shutterhub - addressing a pain in the consumer photography market. JeffBargmann (MBA '13) StudentKit - addressing a need for targeted com- munication among university student populations. Daniel Hoffman (BA Political Science '14), Harrison Forman (BA Sports Mgmt '14), Zach Mandell (BSE IOE '15) YourCall - addressing a pain in the sports enter- tainment industry. Josh Smith (MBA/MSI '13), Andrew Smith (MBA '12) YouTrivia - investigating novel approach o online marketing. Ricardo Rodriguez-Laureno (MSE CSE '11), Shamik Ganguly (MSE CSE '12) MICHIGAN www.zli.