Farewell Well Fed Head Books

You are probably aware by now of the impending move of Well Fed to the Freemont Center on Battlefield Road. KOLR10 covered the move on Thursday.

We’d barely started to get to know Mike and Beth, but from the little contact we have had, we know that we are losing good neighbors. I know from talking with Mike that he was passionate about helping downtown to revive and grow, but frustrated too at the stop/start rate of progress. At times too, it can seem like the odds are stacked against downtown traders – just now we have the combination of high gas prices and an economic downswing, coupled with Campbell Street having been a no-go zone for the past few months because of construction work.

We hope that Mike and Beth get the results they wish for in their new location. We also hope that we get another great neighbor when the new tenant arrives at the old Well Fed location. In the same vein, we’re really excited about the gallery space opening at Corner Printers, and we hear too that the empty building next to Hot Glass Studio is about to open back up. Progress downtown is always stop/start – but let’s just hope that we’re headed in the right direction in the long term.

First Friday Art Walk

Yes – the Art Walk for July really is on July 4th!

Come downtown and check out what’s going on.

We’re excited to be having live music again, with Billy Goodman, and you can see what all the galleries are doing at the First Friday web site.

Zimbabwe

It’s sad sad news to see the latest developments in Zimbabwe. If the news reports are true, and Morgan Tsvangirai has pulled out of the election, then that marks another blow to any idea of democracy in that country. In our store we have many items that have been made in Zimbabwe, and these pieces bear testiment to the determination of the people there to do something about their lives and about the conditions that they are experiencing. Their strength should set an example to leaders in the ‘free world’ – we need these leaders to stand up to Robert Mugabe, and to insist on free and open elections for the people of Zimbabwe.

An introduction to weaving, with Alene Miller

We showcased Alene’s work during the June Art Walk, and wanted to give you a chance to hear more about her craft. She’ll be in the store from 6:30 to 8:30pm on Tuesday, June 24th to talk about weaving in general, and her pieces in particular, and a range of her work will be on display and available for purchase.
Here’s a little about Alene, in her own words:

I started basket weaving in the year 2000 after taking a basket making class at our local community college and taking a few private classes, I was hooked. I joined the Ozark Mountain Weavers Guild later that year and learned many skills and techniques from the wonderful group of sharing weavers through my membership. I started weaving with reed material, found in free trade markets in the Asia area, but have ventured out into using some natural materials such as gourds, pine needles, and grasses.
In the fall of 2004 I attended my first basket convention in Michigan. I took 3 classes at the convention. That was my first exposure of working with a natural material, a deer antler. Now I am working with gourds more and more. I am wood burning and embellishing the gourds prepping them to weave upon with the natural material.
I have started growing some of my own materials to weave with. Right now it is sweet grass and monkey grass. Both are excellent weaving materials. My stitching medium is a waxed nylon fiber, waxed linen or some other thing that might lend itself to a stitching material.

Uplifting Humanity thru Harmony

One of the unexpected joys of opening the doors to Global Fayre was that we would get to hear about some of the fantastic things members of the Springfield community are doing to ease the plight of less fortunate people around the world. It seems like every week brings us in to contact with a new person, project or group working with a community in need. Sometimes the community in need is close to home, often it is on the other side of the world. Yet hearing the story always brings that community closer, and makes their plight more real, refuelling our commitment to help them help themselves.

A group that has recently emerged in Springfield is Ethiopian Child. Their mission is to bring aid to the hearing-impaired children of Ethiopia. These children are nearly always neglected, often abused or worse, and are in desperate need of the basic things in life; food, clothing and education. Ethiopian Child holds its first fund-raising event this evening (June 17) with a gig at the Gillioz called Uplifting Humanity thru Harmony (tickets $10). Starting at 7:00pm, there’s a great line-up, with performances from Alea and Alexa Kilgore and Alexander Washington, and talks from Patrick Mureithi and Sesha Shannon.

If you do make it to the concert tonight, and want to make your donation go even further, save your half of the ticket stub and show it when you next come in to Global Fayre. 10% of whatever you spend on that visit will go to Ethiopian Child.

First Friday July 4 2008

The First Friday Art Walk is on July 4th.

We’re excited to have live music again this month, this time from Billy Goodman.

Billy Goodman was born and raised south of Poplar Bluff, Missouri. He has been playing for audiences since high school. Most recently, Billy has been playing small venues for audiences who crave a classic acoustic sound and appreciate his songwriting talent. Billy’s first passion is writing and singing but he also plays guitar. Most of his music is influenced by real life events or interesting narratives. Here is what Billy’s studio has said about him: “Citing influences such as Elvis, The Doors, Bruce Springsteen, and many others, Billy Goodman takes something from each of these artists to create something truly his own. His gritty, heartfelt vocals and lyrics combine to portray emotions and an outlook that listeners can relate to. This along with a sense of danger and an unwillingness to compromise or censor his writing is the classic recipe for rock ‘n’ roll attitude.” Billy likes playing for local audiences in southern Missouri and he is always looking to expand his own musical interests and entertain an audience.

Burma update

Cheri and I were really touched last week by the compassion shown by one of our customers (we’ll call her T – she wouldn’t want to be named). It was T that alerted me to the opportunity for channelling funds directly to the people in distress in Burma via Avaaz and the International Burmese Monks Organization. I was suprised not to see her in the store on Memorial Day, since we had earmarked that day to raise funds for the Burmese people. Anyway, she contacted me last week to say that she had missed that email, and wanted to still contribute if she could. Bear in mind that this is someone that has some real hardships to deal with, and recently learned that she could lose her home. Could she still help? Of course she could. Days later she turned up at the store with an armful of treasures that she had been given over the years but had not used, most of which were Fair Trade, asking if we would sell them and give the funds to the Burmese Monks. We’re still figuring out the best way to use her kind donation (watch out for a Burma section in the store soon!) but acts like hers are a reminder to Cheri and me of the generosity that we have encountered here in the Ozarks. It’s not always easy here to get news about what is happening in other parts of the world, but it doesn’t mean that people here don’t care. They do, very much.

We’ve been blogged!

We buy some great bags from Ellen at Three Stone Steps. Earlier this year Ellen wrote about us on her blog

417 Magazine

We had a call out of the blue the other week from 417 Magazine, wanting to interview us for their Savvy Shopper section. It seems like an actual face-to-face visit and interview is unusual nowadays, so it was a pleasure to show the reporter (Tammy Kirks) around the store and to share our vision with her. We were really pleased with the outcome too, Thinking Globally, which you can read in this months 417 magazine.