A Resource for Potential Fair Trade Retailers

For those looking to get into the retail market, or want to find out more information on how Fair Trade works, then you might want to consider purchasing 'The Conscious Consumer'. The Fair Trade Resource Network has just launched the 4th Edition of its best selling booklet 'Conscious Consumer: Promoting Economic Justice Through Fair Trade. The booklet is available in either hard copy or PDF formats from the FTRN website, priced at $3.95 and $2.00 respectively.

The booklet includes information on the History of Fair Trade, Benefits to Consumers, Faith-based Outreach, Why Traditional Trade is Ripe for Change, Identifying and Motivating Consumers, and much more. Well worth a look I would say - and for all you Fair Trade retailers, you can even get a discount on bulk orders. How's that for a bargain!

Progress with Limited Edition Prints

After several months of organising I finally picked up the first batch of limited edition prints yesterday. We are hoping to expand this range in the future and are currently working with three artists from Nicaragua. The first print is of a painting called "Cascada" by artist Luis Varela. His works are stunning in their colour and detail and have been exhibited as far away as Israel and Spain, as well as in the U.S. and have won numerous competitions. We shall be offering a limited edition of 500 prints, each signed and numbered by the artist, and selling unframed for $250.

Our newly designed blog will be up very soon, courtesy of Dave Kellett of Dude Blog Your Business, and we are planning to have these prints available online through the blog as well as through the Fair Trade Cafe. For those of you local to Phoenix, you can also get a 15% discount on framing through our friends at The Art of Framing, on Central and Camelback - just ask for a coupon when you purchase Karuna Village Fine Art at the Fair Trade Cafe.

Australian Aboriginal Art on Display at Exclusive Karuna Village Exhibition

Our exclusive exhibition of Karuna Village Fair Trade art and crafts has now begun at the Fair Trade Cafe and will be running through until the end of the year. We have a wide variety of high quality art and crafts from around the world, including three aboriginal paintings from Australia.

This piece is called 'Bradshaw Rock Art' by artist Ju Ju Wilson. It is 12" x 10" in size and the medium is ochre on canvas. Each of our Australian paintings are accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.

Ju Ju Wilson, whose aboriginal name is Burriwee, is a member of a well known painting family whose paintings are collected worldwide. Not only does she paint but she is also an expert on 'bush tucker' (edible wild foods), and bush medicines, is a renown didgeridoo maker and boomerang carver, is a sought after cultural advisor and has made numerous television appearances on subjects about rock art and sacred sites in Australia, about which she is an authority. And all while looking after a family of six!

Every painting, every artist has a unique story to tell, and that is what is so special about owning a piece of fair trade art. So, if you are in the area, and are looking for something unique to buy your loved one for Christmas, come on down to the Fair Trade Cafe in Downtown Phoenix and see what other stories we have for you to see!

You can see many of the pieces on display at the exhibition on our Flickr page - www.flickr.com/photos/fair_trade_art/

Finger Puppets from Peru

Karuna Village offers a range of great craft items alongside the fine art. I particularly love these - they are finger puppets and are made by a number of women artists from Peru. They come from a tiny mountain village called Chucuito, some 12,500 feet above sea level and near Lake Titicaca. Textile making has a long history here and knitting is a skill that is learned at a young age. It is a seasonal occupation that takes place after the planting and harvesting seasons are over. Traditionally the women take care of the farms animals, llamas and alpacas and help out with the barley and potato crops as needed so knitting is very much an occupation for the winter months before planting season comes round again.


The leader and designer for the group is called Tomasa. She leads her group of knitters who each will bring in approximately half the annual income for the family, and allows them to work from home so they can look after their children, and giving them a sense of independence.

There are all kinds of finger puppet characters to chose from - we even have some Halloween-themed characters which I am sure will find a new home very quickly. There is even a little puppet theatre to go with them - our cafe patrons will be able to put on their own shows!

Guatemalan Oil Paintings Have Arrived

It wasn't only oil rubbings that arrived from Guatemala last week - we also received a couple of oil paintings from Santiago artist Martin Chavajay. We have a couple of these enigmatic paintings on sale at the Fair Trade Cafe, the above example entitled "Corn Harvest Scene" is oil on canvas, 11" X 9" in size, and is on sale unframed at $95. We currently have two of Martin's oil paintings on sale and hope to have some more paintings from a variety of Guatemalan artists in the near future.

In other news, our first Nicaraguan painting will be heading to the printers this week as the first in our range of limited edition prints. The aim is to have these on sale, online through the blog as well as in the Fair Trade Cafe, hopefully by the end of November.
We are also expecting our first three Australian Aboriginal pieces this week, plus some very cute Peruvian finger puppets - more of which next time!

New In - Mayan Oil rubbings from Guatemala

This weekend will see several new pieces of art on display at the Fair Trade Cafe, including this unusual Mayan Oil Rubbing from Guatemala, one of several by artist Antigua. This particular rubbing is from the Temple of the Cross at the Mayan city of Palenque in Mexico. 'El Fumador', or 'The Smoker' is and aged deity of the West, known as "God L" who has been identified as an important Underworld and War god. He appears on the sanctuary jamb of the Temple of the Cross smoking tobacco and wearing a jaguar cloak and headress made from the feathers of the mythical Mayan Moan bird.

The rubbing is made by stretching cloth (100% cotton) over a mahogany reproduction of the original stone carving, and applying oil paint to the raised areas.
This particular piece is 22.5" X 15" in size These are very unusual and enigmatic pieces which I am sure will be popular with our customers! At the moment you can get a voucher for 15% off when you get your picture framed by our friends at The Art of Framing (located at Central & Camelback).

October Sidewalk Art Sale Update

Just a quick update on the Sidewalk Art Sales for our October Fair Trade Month - due to outstanding commitments we shall not be holding an art sale on the 11th. Our next Sidewalk Art Sale will be on Saturday October 18th between 9am and midday. The Roosevelt Market is hosting the Harvest Festival celebrations just down the road from the cafe (there will be a Fair Trade Cafe stall serving coffee there as well). So once you have visited the market come on up and see our art and craft display. We will have new art from Guatemala, Peru and Vietnam for you to see and buy, so come by and see us then if you can.

Information on our final October Sidewalk Art Sale will be posted nearer the time, by which time we should have received even more new art! For details and a map check in with the Fair Trade Cafe website at http://azfairtrade.com