Many of my retailers ask for images of our artisans making our jewelry or their stories. I walk a fine line when I share these with them because in one sense I know the stories help connect people with the products and the countries from which they are made. But I’m also conscious of the fact that I don’t want to exploit the people for the sake of marketing their work. I don’t want people to buy our products out of pity or charity. My goal is to encourage people to buy more fair trade products because they are on par with other handmade items available in the marketplace – but perhaps not made in a fair trade manner. But the fact is, I’m extremely proud of my artisans – they are truly amazingly talented and I have such great respect for their commitment and determination.

So, with a little bit of time and benefit of editing software, I pulled together a video of our artisans creating our handmade and fair trade copper and brass jewelry in South Africa. In just under two minutes, you’ll see Miriam sorting green stones that will be nestled into a cuff, Daliwonga is soldering a necklace, Mahlubi preparing concentric blue circle earrings and Veronica drawing a design on a brass board.

I hope you enjoy viewing the movie and meeting our artisans from South Africa. Their fair trade and handmade jewelry can be found in almost 200 retail stores nationwide, from fair trade shops, to women’s boutiques, to museums. To learn more, see the latest designs, or find out which trade shows we’ll be attending this summer, visit http://www.World-Shoppe.com.

~Megy