In our digital world many of us can easily work while on the road or move cross country and still be able to do our job. Working on a heavy duty loom doesn’t seem to provide you that flexibility. Or does it?
We need to pick a rug for our house but how do I get my significant other to like the same rug I like?
Ahhhhh, yes this can be a challenge and no, none of us are councilors. We do not encourage arm wrestling as a decision making process on the sales floor. We have noticed a few shopping techniques.
Are you the Scout, the Negotiator or “Whatever you Like is fine with me” shopper?
“A bond with customers based on shared values is the strongest bond you’ll ever make,” stressed Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s and currently working with Stamp Stampede, a venture dedicated to getting the money out of politics.
Sitting in the room with over 280 other fair traders at the Fair Trade Federation Conference in Burlington, Vermont last week, I almost stood up and shouted “AMEN.”
Renee Bowers, Fair Trade Federation Executive Director, opened that morning sessions reminding us that “as fair traders, we work to give voice” to those who otherwise would not have as loud of a voice in the world.
And in this week where we celebrate World Fair Trade Day, I want to say thank you to our customers who are using their economic dollar to vote for the change they wish to see in the world.
Have you ever tried your hand at dyeing eggs with natural dyes?
Naturally dyeing eggs is truly a labor of love. It speaks to my instilled love for eating healthy. Collecting and prepping all the ingredients like onion peels, purple cabbage and chopped beets shows dedication. Allowing the eggs to simmer in their dye bath for 30 minutes or even overnight for truly stunning deep colors is worth the wait.
When I look at our naturally dyed Chobi Tribal rugs and our Kazak Tribals, I have a new appreciation for the amount of work that goes into producing one of these rugs.
Naturally dyed chobi rugs are roughly 100 knots per square inch but take the same amount of production time as their Persian counterparts at over 500 knots per square inch.
The preparation for getting a Chobi on the loom is over half of the time needed for the rug’s production, where as it takes less than 10% of the total production time of a Persian to get it on the loom.
What takes so much time to get a Chobi on a loom?
Artisans go to the local sweet market and grab their favorite mithai (sweets), maybe hot gulab jamun soaking up the sugary sweet cardamon syrup or to the local jalebi vendor who is busy lifting hot, orange mini funnel-cake-like rounds out of their copper pot of bubbling oil as the jalebi head to their own bath of heavenly syrup.
One woman carries a carafe of chai made with her water buffalo’s milk. Another grabs more tea cups from her home. It’s time to celebrate.