First Friday at Global Fayre – August 2009

It’s almost here! Just 24 hours to go and we’re getting excited!

It’s been a long month; falling on the 7th means that this has been the longest gap between First Friday Art Walks that we’ve experienced. Of course, that has just meant even more time for procrastination to set in, the ‘to do’ list to get shuffled and reshuffled, and all the ‘must do’s’ to get completed even later than usual!

We’ve got a great evening in store at Global Fayre:

1 – Kiva Awareness

We’ve been lending through Kiva for some time now, but felt the time was right to step it up a notch. We’re using the Art Walk to promote awareness of Kiva, encourage people to make Kiva loans (in or out of the Global Fayre Lending Team) and to raise funds through purchases. Each purchase (no matter how small) will generate a $1 donation to Kiva. As we reach each $25 milestone, we’ll make the loan there and then, with people in the store making the decision about where the loan should go.

2 – Beautiful Baskets from the Etsha Weavers Group of Botswana.

Friday ses the launch of a month-long show for these wonderful baskets. They are simply the finest we’ve seen since opening the store, and it’s a delight to be able to share then with our customers.

The evening starts at 6pm and will go on until at least 10pm.

Twitter

Yes – we’ve succumbed.

We’re tweeting or twittering, or whatever you prefer to call it…http://twitter.com/globalfayre

Not quite sure how this works in to the strategic plan for Global Fayre, much less how it will further the cause of Fair Trade, or empower artisans in developing countries.

I wonder how many weavers in Ghana have access to Twitter?

Then again, it can’t hurt, right?!

Telephone Wire Baskets

We added some of our beautiful Fair Trade telephone wire baskets to the Global Fayre online store today.

These are incredible, intricately designed baskets, some using accents of bare copper wire.

Telephone Wire Baskets

The past and the future are fused together in the creation of this beautiful basket, Zulu weavers have taken the intricate designs and incredible craftsmanship of their natural fiber baskets, and turned them into brightly-colored art from plastic-coated wire. Mesmerizing designs and vibrant colors are a hallmark of this functional art.

We’re looking forward to adding more when we get another shipment from our friend Cael at Baskets of Africa. Cael is a fellow member of the Fair Trade Federation and is focused exclusively on finding great baskets and giving his weavers a route to market. Here’s how Cael describes Baskets of Africa:

– We are a company that represents unique baskets from throughout the African continent. These one-of-a-kind pieces of functional artwork are woven only by local African craftspeople who share our commitment to top quality.
— We believe in promoting the weavers from various African nations in order to help the weavers (especially women) with economic development. We believe that by weaving baskets in a traditional manner, the weavers of Africa are preserving their cultural heritage and advancing themselves financially. We would like to support this endeavor throughout Africa.
— We are members of the Fair Trade Federation, an organization that shares our strong belief that indigenous people around the world should be compensated fairly for their amazing work.
— We always operate under a blanket of trust and respect with the weavers and craft co-ops we represent.
— We feel that our business offers the customer a win-win situation: by purchasing one of our rare finds, you are not only getting a wonderful, hand-made basket for your home or business, you are also contributing to the preservation of African culture and helping a tribesperson become financially independent. It’s a true economic partnership in every sense of the word.