I hate to rub it in but I already have a closet full of Christmas gifts. We tend to keep the holidays pretty simple, buying small gifts that will last and have meaning. I shop throughout the year for our family and close friends, otherwise I’m a stress case come December.
You too can have a more relaxed December by getting some of your holiday shopping out of the way this weekend. Bambootique’s Fair Trade Holiday Trunk Show is THIS Saturday and Sunday at my home in Tualatin. I’ve got hundreds of items to choose from, many brand new to Bambootique, including the addition of home decor items this year like placemats, coasters, trivets, and candle holders. Other new items include scarves and handbags from India (the really cool kind with little mirrors!), beautiful Uganda beaded jewelry made from recycled paper (you’d never know it was paper), handmade Christmas cards and ornaments from Haiti, India, Honduras, Thailand and Cambodia, light cotton scarves from Guatemala, mosaic candle holders from South Africa, woven baskets from Rwanda, soaps from Zambia, hexagonal candles from Guatemala, new styles of bamboo purses and handmade stationery from Thailand, and even more.
So come, bring your friends, and make a big dent in that Christmas list. Not only will you be more relaxed come December but you’ll feel great about gifts that give back to artisans. On top of that 10% of all sales this weekend go to one of my favorite non-profits, Haiti Foundation of Hope.
What: 2 days of fabulous fair trade shopping for everyone on your list!
When: Saturday November 14th 10am-4pm
Sunday November 15th 1-5pm
Who: You and all your closest friends, family and neighbors. Bring your girlfriends along to introduce them to everything you love about fair trade!
What: Two days of holiday shopping that makes a world of difference! This year’s trunk show features products from India, Afghanistan, Bolivia, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, Guatemala, Honduras, Togo, South Africa and more! Bambootique’s fair trade selection includes handbags, candles, scarves, skincare products, jewelry and handmade paper products, all made by women artisans in the developing world. We’ll also have a fabulous selection of Christmas ornaments and nativities from Haiti, Afghanistan, Thailand and Peru.
We’ll have a fun play area to keep little ones busy while moms shop.
Other features of the show include fair trade freebies such as take-home samples of Strictly Organic Coffee, Kalahari tea and copies of The Conscious Consumer for every attendee. Plus don’t miss our incredible Clearance section, homemade chocolate chip cookies, fresh fair trade coffees and teas, and great music!
This year Bambootique is thrilled to partner with Haiti Foundation of Hope to support their community health program in Terre Blanche, Haiti. 10% of all sales from the trunk show will be donated to HFH. There will also be a selection of Haitian arts and crafts of which 100% of sales will support HFH’s excellent work.
This event is open to the public so please come and bring your friends!
Bambootique is thrilled to be participating in Mercy Corps‘ brand-new Action Center, scheduled to hold its grand opening this weekend, October 9 and 10. The Action Center gives visitors a peek into Mercy Corps’ worldwide relief and development work through hands-on interactive displays. It gives us all a chance we may not otherwise have to see how we can all participate in fighting global poverty. Part of the Action Center is a retail space selling fair trade and other ethically traded goods. That’s where you’ll find Bambootique!
After opening this weekend the Action Center will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays. Visit the Action Center’s website for more details. And be sure to check out all the fair trade goodies available while you’re there!
October is officially Fair Trade Month, as declared by people who get to make such declarations. Actually the people with such power are all at Transfair USA, the fabulous organization behind certifying all kinds of fair-trade goodies from coffee to rice to tea and bananas. Throughout this month Transfair is promoting “31 Days, 31 Ways,” highlighting a different way to support fair trade each day of the month. Here are a few ways you can get involved with Fair Trade Month!
Try a fair trade product you haven’t tried before. If you’re already using the basics (chocolate, coffee, etc) why not pick up some fair trade rice or get a fair trade soccer ball to kick around this fall?
Sign up for Reverse Trick-or-Treating. You get free fair-trade chocolates and literature for your kids to hand out as they go door -to-door this Halloween. It’s a great way to promote fair trade in your community and what neighbor won’t be thrilled to get some free chocolate in return? The deadline to request your kit is TODAY so don’t dawdle.
If you miss the Reverse Trick-or-Treat deadline you can still promote fair trade this Halloween by handing out fair trade chocolate treats to kids who come to your door. Natural food stores like Whole Foods have a few options for fair trade Halloween treats.
Of course I have to put in a plug for Bambootique too. My Holiday Fair Trade Trunk Show falls just a few weeks after Fair Trade Month ends, November 14 and 15th. If you’re so lucky as to live in the Portland area be sure to mark these dates on your calendar. Invites will be out soon. If you’re out of the area don’t fret, just watch your inbox for some great coupons for online holiday shopping coming up in a few weeks (and if you’re not on the Bambootique email list sign up here).
Anyone have any other plans/ ideas for Fair Trade Month? Do share here. Feel free to post events, sales, ideas, etc.
My daughter Grace and I played hooky from church yesterday and joined thousands of other Portlanders for July’s Sunday Parkways event in NE Portland. What a blast! We parked at Wilshire Park, I popped Grace in the bike trailer, and we took off on the 7-mile loop of residential streets closed to all car traffic for the day. There were plenty of people to make it fun and lively but it was spread out enough that there were few traffic jams and we kept a good pace most of the time.
The loop connected three beautiful parks – Wilshire, Fernhill and Alberta – and at each park there was food, live entertainment, playgrounds and info booths from various companies and organizations. Of course we made a beeline for the food booths. Grace and I shared a plate of Nepali noodles (delish!) and a peanut butter cookie. I ate more of the former, she of the latter.
I can’t think of a better way to spend a warm summer morning and I’m so glad these events are once a month in the summer. The next one in Portland is August 16th and will be through my favorite part of the city, SE Portland. You can join in the fun by bike, scooter, skateboard, unicycle or by foot, basically any mode of transportation except car. It’s a great way to explore the city in a way we don’t normally get to and discover in a new way how diverse and lovely Portland really is.
If you’re a mom concerned about living green with and for the sake of a little one, you have to get a hold of Melissa Moog’s new book Itsabelly’s Guide To Going Green With Baby. I’ve blogged before about what a complete guide it is to being an eco-friendly eco-mom. Now you can get a signed copy of the book, meet Melissa in person (she’s really great), and enter for a chance to win a $400 stroller from Baby Planet. Here’s the full scoop:
EVENT:
Itsabelly’s How to Choose Safe Baby Products Event
Saturday, June 13th at 11:00 am
Barnes & Noble Tanasbourne, 18300 NW Evergreen Parkway, Beaverton
Local author Melissa Moog, author of Itsabelly’s Guide to Going Green with Baby will offer simple and practical Baby Safe Tips including:
* Shopping tips & reviews on safe & eco-friendly baby products
* How to go green without breaking the bank
* Tips about organic and natural family living
Raffle drawing for $500 in eco-friendly baby products (Stroller System, Earth Mama Angel Baby Gift etc.)
Last week a friend invited me to International Justice Mission’s fundraising dinner. This Christian international organization is awe-inspiring with their mission to set enslaved and entrapped people free. They go under cover with the support of local authorities, gather enough evidence on human trafficking, child prostituion, and slave labor and, most dramatically, bust people out of wretched situations. They make sure the perpertrators get prosecuted and justice is served, all in the name of Christ.
Lamont Hiebert of the band Ten Shekel Shirt was at the dinner playing a few songs from the band’s new album, Jubilee. They were great! The album was inspired by Lamont’s experience with IJM and his own non-profit, Love-146, which provides after-care for children set free through the work of IJM. Take a listen and see for yourself how beautiful and inspiring songs about injustice and ensuing freedom can be.
Be sure to stop by one of Onda Gallery’s two Portland locations during the month of May. They’re celebrating World Fair Trade Day (Saturday May 9th) for a full month by exhibiting sustainable art and serving free fair trade coffee all month, May 8-30th.
Onda Gallery is the only gallery in the Portland area dedicated to fair trade. All their gift items come from the hands of artisans protected by the principles of fair labor laws, safe working conditions, preservation of their cultural identity and self empowerment. Onda’s art comes from Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Argentina, Nicaragua and Peru.
Also, watch for a posting in a few days about how you can save big by celebrating World Fair Trade Day with Bambootique.
Twice a year I voluntarily turn my house topsy-turvy. The toddler toys are scooped up and replaced with tables and racks of Bambootique’s best. Pretty spring purses, soft cotton scarves, hip messenger bags, glittery beads, delicious fair trade snacks and more all help transform my home into a global shopping bazaar. Each time I wonder “will anyone come?” and every time the crowds of happy shoppers swoop in. Last Saturday over 50 of you came and it was so much fun!
Thanks to each of you who came to support fair trade and pick out great gifts for yourselves and people you love! Thanks also to the vendors who donated snacks and drinks for us to enjoy – Strictly Organic Coffee, Numi Tea, Slo Chai, Theo chocolate, and Honest Tea and also to Food Front Cooperative Grocery who gave our first 25 shoppers free reusable cloth shopping bags. Thanks also to my mom who baked mouth-watering fair trade chocolate chip cookies we all enjoyed! Thanks to my wonderful helper friends – Katie, Karin, Lorie, Megan, Karen, Mary Lee, Connie and Kristin. And finally thanks to my husband Steve and daughter Grace for putting up with it!
Do you want to make sure you don’ t miss the next trunk show? It will be in November 2009. Contact me to be added to the invite list!
Response to a bar of chocolate perhaps? Nope, those are the words uttered by my coffee-loving husband as he ground fresh beans from Strictly Organic Coffee for our morning brew. We’ve been sampling a different roast each morning for the past week and we’re in coffee bliss. As I type I’m enjoying a deep, dark cup of Ethiopian Harar, one of my all-time-favorite varieties of coffee and especially exquisite from Strictly Organic. We’ve also loved their Organic Papau New Guinea blend and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. Each type is perfectly roasted and I have to admit to even snacking on a few plain beans. They’re that good.
Strictly Organic roasts 100% organic, 100% fair trade certified beans at their roatery in beautiful Bend, Oregon. They have a great little cafe as well as delivering their freshly roasted beans by bicycle to various retailers and restaurants around Bend. The company reminds me of a central Oregon version of Portland’s favorite coffee roaster, Stumptown. Besides all the good things listed above, the company also pays health insurance to all employees.
I hate to rub it in but I already have a closet full of Christmas gifts. We tend to keep the holidays pretty simple, buying small gifts that will last and have meaning. I shop throughout the year for our family and close friends, otherwise I’m a stress case come December.
October is officially 
Beth
