I started Crossroads Trade as an outgrowth of my love for ethnic textiles, joining it to my commitment to fair trade. After running a brick-and-mortar store in two locations for 11 years, my business is now all on-line.
As a retailer and wholesaler, I'm always looking for uncommon works by ethnic artists. Most items you will see on my websites are not available in stores or online. I showcase work from producer groups whose traditions are little known in the United States. Each year I scout new locales to identify new artisans and traditions.
I'm dedicated to ensuring fair trade. I purchase directly from artisans, cooperatives, refugee communities, economic development initiatives and a limited number of wholesalers who subscribe to fair trade principles. Artisans are paid promptly, receive a fair wage by local standards and set the price for their work. Working conditions are clean, safe and accessible. Children who are learning traditional crafts are doing so after school; many mothers are working to pay school fees for their daughters and sons. I'm an active member of the Fair Trade Federation.
As a retailer and wholesaler, I'm always looking for uncommon works by ethnic artists. Most items you will see on my websites are not available in stores or online. I showcase work from producer groups whose traditions are little known in the United States. Each year I scout new locales to identify new artisans and traditions.
I'm dedicated to ensuring fair trade. I purchase directly from artisans, cooperatives, refugee communities, economic development initiatives and a limited number of wholesalers who subscribe to fair trade principles. Artisans are paid promptly, receive a fair wage by local standards and set the price for their work. Working conditions are clean, safe and accessible. Children who are learning traditional crafts are doing so after school; many mothers are working to pay school fees for their daughters and sons. I'm an active member of the Fair Trade Federation.
-Kate Harris
Mission: Crossroads Trade is dedicated to ensuring the survival of indigenous craft traditions around the world. These traditions may express themselves in such timeless works as Kuna Indian molas and Palestinian cushion covers, or in new forms. Ghanaian batiks are fashioned into messenger bags. Shangaan artisans from South Africa have expanded their embroidered works from ostrich-leather bags to spectacular cushion covers and wall hangings. These artisans deserve a fair price for their labor and the opportunity to work in safe surroundings.
Location: Arlington, Massachusetts, USA
Online shops: crossroadstrade, worldofgood
Blog: crossroadstrade
Other social media: Twitter
Memberships: Fair Trade Federation, World Fair Trade Organization
Languages spoken: English, French, Spanish, some Japanese and Russian
Location: Arlington, Massachusetts, USA
Online shops: crossroadstrade, worldofgood
Blog: crossroadstrade
Other social media: Twitter
Memberships: Fair Trade Federation, World Fair Trade Organization
Languages spoken: English, French, Spanish, some Japanese and Russian
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| Kuna Mola from Crossroads Trade |
Tags: Inuit, Africa, Latin America, India, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Central America, Mexico, South America, human trafficking
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“Drive a nail home and clinch it so faithfully that you can wake up in the night and think of your work with satisfaction,- a work at which you would not be ashamed to invoke the Muse”
-Henry David Thoreau
In our case, it would be the needle or other fiber tool. Drive it home! And, we all thank you for your words, left here to these good folks. Invoke your Muse!