HERB - 10,000 Villages

[Warren & Meredith Harmon]

Greetings!

Yes, they *are* hard to find sometimes, especially with all the name
changes.  I drive my friends crazy when I refer to it as Self Help.

Some of the things I've found there, which I particularly adore: alpaca
silver earrings and necklaces, papyrus bookmarks, handmade acid free
paper (I'm supplying my shire's illuminator!!), mini bottle necklaces
(just perfect for reliquaries!), African games that go back to pre-period
times (I *want* a Bak Chan game!), woven tapestries (right now they have
a *lovely* Tree of Life for $50), a malachite and silver necklace,
Jerusalem Cross necklaces and earrings, *wonderful* clothing, stone
mortars & pestles (I use mine for my herbs - it's great!), all sorts of
candlesticks in all sorts of media (wood, soapstone, pottery, etc.),
bowls and plates and napkins, hard-to-find African instruments (I almost
had my drum stolen), lanterns, Persian rugs...it's wonderful!

(To keep this relatively on-topic: there are herbs pressed right into
some of the paper, and the other type is made from jute.  I already
mentioned the mortars & pestles, and sometimes you can find dolls and
such made from herbs there.  I'm pretty sure one of my skirts is
herb-dyed, I know others are vegetable-dyed.  Can you tell I love this
place?)

They are Christian-church affiliated, which some might think of as a
drawback, but then you can check your local churches if you can't find a
store - some have a room in the church which is a 10,000 Villages store,
and they can special-order anything for you from the catalog.  I found
one in Hartford CT that way.  It's a grass roots consignment shop, and
the store commissions local artists to create clothing or trade goods or
works of art.  I don't quite remember just how much of the $$ goes back
to the villages, but it's a lot.  Each store has literature to show the
monetary breakdown.

The villages are all over the world - I think that's one reason they
changed the name.  Most noticeably seen are South American, African, and
Indian stuffs, but I've also seen European and Central American goods. 
It's real good, handmade stuff, and *well* worth a look-see.  I frequent
the shops at least once every three months.

-Caro
"That is the nature of the Quest...Have you never wondered why the
knights set out
to search for a marvel that can appear anywhere?  It is not the
destination, but the
act of traveling, that provides the answer.  Only when you already know
what you
seek will you have a chance of finding it."  -Diana L Paxon

>I found it.
>It doesn't seem to come up on most search engines, so I had to follow 
>cross links.
>Here's the add: http://www.villages.ca/

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