Saturday, May 9, 2009

Eat Licorice. Visit Ten Thousand Villages.

Bright colors greet you when you step into Ten Thousand Villages in Lincoln’s Haymarket. It a great place to browse—full of one-of-a-kind home décor, toys, clothes, jewelry, handbags, Christmas decorations and even fun chess sets.

But more importantly—every item you buy at Ten Thousand Villages directly benefits an artisan in one of 38 underdeveloped countries. Through this unique program, artisans are paid a fair price for handmade items created using environmentally friendly materials. Artisans express their personality and culture in the hand-made products you would never be able to find in a typical retail store.
Each item has an interesting story to tell. For instance, you can buy bracelets recycled from discarded plastic bags in Burkina Faso. Lacquer paper weights from Vietnam are fashioned from river rocks through a special process that takes 45 days and incorporates the thumbprint of the artist. At just $7.00, they’re a popular gift item.

Ten Thousand Villages is one of nearly 200 affiliated North American stores and has been serving Lincoln for 25 years, said manager Gabby Ayala. Since moving to the Haymarket area five years ago, business has skyrocketed. The Haymarket is a favorite area for tourists and a destination spot for locals, and the Saturday morning farmers market brings like-minded people to the neighborhood.
Gabby loves to visit Licorice International, located just down the street from Ten Thousand Villages. Her favorite kind of licorice? Australian Kookaburra Twists, especially the strawberry and green apple flavors.

Ten Thousand Villages is located at 140 North 8th Street and is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's a pretty cool store, except the guy working there followed me around and talked to me the entire time I was in there. Kind of annoying!

Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Anonymous said...

The point of Ten Thousand Villages is to tell the stories of the artisans' making the product. It is supposed to create a connection between the consumer and the artisan who made the product. "The guy working there" was probably doing just that.

Cindy Lahey said...

I agree with Anonymous. I am sorry maureenlynn did not take advantage of the VOLUNTEER that was obviously very dedicated to the store. She might have learned a thing or two about the people that make the items she thought were cool.