Do you have any idea how much fun it is collecting things for the shop? It’s AWESOME! As we are putting together the shop and making it our own, we think about the things we like and use, and those things we think our readers will like, which not amazingly, is very similar 🙂

Having said that… Michelle and I try to be conscientious consumers. We like to buy local, organic and sustainable products. We like to support cottage industries and small shops. We also like to buy Fair Trade products. Although there is no single definition of Fair Trade, the tag above gives a quick summation of Fair Trade:

Why Fair Trade?

Fair Trade is a system focused on alleviating global poverty and promoting sustainability through ethical global trade. By supporting fair trade products, you are taking a step towards making the world a better place.

Why buy Fair Trade?
~It respects and appreciates the hard work of people.
~It provides a living wage for marginalized producers.
~Fair trade is anti-slavery, anti-child labor.
~It supports the conservation of the environment.
~It empowers women and minorities.
~It is a way of making your voice be heard to demand equal rights worldwide.

If you are interested in learning more about Fair Trade, visit Fair Trade Federation.  

Over the next few months, we will be adding many Fair Trade items to our shop. Another nice thing about owning our own shop, we get to sell the things we would buy ourselves! How cool is that? Whenever possible, we like to use reusable bags, whether at the grocery store or at the local Farmers Market. We also use them all around our house filled to the brim with our various crafting projects. Although this is a smart ecological practice, there is no reason in the world for the bags not to be beautiful and fun!

For starters, we are adding 2 different Fair Trade Bags to Wee Folk Art Market Place. These are what I call “market bags” as opposed to “grocery bags”. By MY definition, market bags are flat rectangles sewn together, whereas grocery bags have an additional panel added, creating a flat bottom. Our two styles of bags are:

Assorted Jute Shoppers

Eco Shopper

 


 

 

Right now we have a very limited number of these bags available. We are more or less testing the waters. If the response is good we should be able to restock our shelves quickly, but if you are dying to have one (some) now, shop early! BTW… we will be changing our store hours! We will announce the new store hours on Sunday.

There will be more specific information available about each of these bags by Monday in Wee Folk Art Market Place.