Ten Thousand Villages introduces Heirloom Anthology, a fall home décor collection featuring baskets, ceramic vases, hand-painted paper and wood boxes, wall hangings, candleholders and more.

Within the diverse collection of home décor, a single theme resonates: Preserving Cultures, Sustaining Lives. The collection mixes styles and centuries to create a feeling of global immersion and confluence. In addition, each product represents a life improved and changed through fair trade.

Following is a sampling of the newly introduced Heirloom Anthology home decor:

(more…)

Oum Chankhea, an artisan with Rehab Craft Cambodia in the capital city of Phnom Penh, carves wood products that incorporate motifs dating from the 9th century Angkor period of Cambodia’s history.

Ten Thousand Villages introduces Heirloom Anthology, a fall home decor collection featuring products with enduring elegance. The collection features a number of products with cultural and artistic connections, including a box, a wall plaque and bookends that incorporate Angkor motifs.

The Angkor period of Cambodia’s history began early in the 9th Century A.D. and ran through the early 15th Century. During this time period many temples were built that featured intricate stone carvings in bas-relief. Ten Thousand Villages newest collection features products mirroring this intricate carving style in wood.

Ten Thousand Villages partners with Rehab Craft Cambodia in Phnom Penh, Cambodia to introduce the following products:

(more…)

AKRON, Pa. – Ten Thousand Villages, a fair trade organization based in Akron, Pa., has, once again, been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 2010. This recognition marks the third year in a row that Ten Thousand Villages was named to the list as an ethical leader in the specialty retail category.

(more…)

AKRON, Pa. – Honor the women in your life with a handcrafted Mother’s Day gift from Ten Thousand Villages. Offering a wide range of products – from handcrafted jewelry to hand-painted ceramics and handwoven hammocks – Ten Thousand Villages offers quality, fairly traded gifts for all of the “Mothers” on your shopping list.

(more…)

AKRON, Pa. – Ten Thousand Villages, a fair trade retailer, offers products that honor the earth on Earth Day and everyday. From purses made from recycled snack wrappers to Haitian cut metal works of art crafted from oil drums, Ten Thousand Villages offers unique, handcrafted products made from recycled and sustainable materials.

(more…)

(AKRON, PA) – Interested in filling your wedding registry with quality, handcrafted home decor while making a difference in the lives of artisans around the world? A Ten Thousand Villages wedding registry offers an opportunity to do both! (more…)

(AKRON, PA) – In a unique partnership with Natural Home magazine, Ten Thousand Villages wreaths, mistletoe balls, tablecloths and holiday ornaments help create a green and sustainable holiday display in the Jackson Conference Room in Blair House, the official Presidential Guest House.

Ten Thousand Villages participation is part of an unprecedented invitation from the State Department to the Magazine Publisher’s Industry to decorate 17 rooms in the Harry S. Truman Building and the Blair House, located in Washington, DC. The month-long display debuts December 7 and includes some of the most storied rooms in our nation’s history. Hundreds of guests, including foreign leaders, diplomats, Senators, Congressmen and dignitaries, will visit the rooms in December.

Natural Home, a bi-monthly lifestyle magazine which offers health-conscious, environmentally concerned homeowners the information they need to practice earth-inspired living, is one of six magazines who will decorate rooms to reflect their readers’ interests.

Kim Wallace, Associate Editor for Natural Home, said, “Natural Home wanted to make a statement with its holiday decor at Blair House and the U.S. State Department. Each item we used reflects our commitment to choosing responsibly made, ethically sourced products; Ten Thousand Villages commitment to providing fair trade products for consumers is completely in line with Natural Home’s mission in educating the public about conscientious home decor, design and lifestyles.

Wallace continued, “Because Blair House and the State Department welcome dignitaries and leaders from around the world, Natural Home wanted to showcase a variety of beautiful, sustainable decor from around the world to demonstrate how beautiful and responsible green décor can really be. Ten Thousand Villages products met our high standards for sustainability and beauty. Natural Home’s rooms emphasize supporting artisans in developing countries from around the world.”

A fair trade retailer, Ten Thousand Villages offers artisan-crafted home decor, personal accessories and gift items from around the world. Ten Thousand Villages features products from more than 130 artisan groups in 38 countries via network of more than 150 retail outlets throughout the United States.

For more than 60 years, Ten Thousand Villages has established fair, long-term buying relationships in places where skilled artisans lack opportunities for stable income.

For more information about Ten Thousand Villages, please visit www.tenthousandvillages.com, or contact Mary Frey, Marketing/Media Relations, at mary.frey@tenthousandvillages.com or by calling 717.859.8149 (cell 610-468-8444).

(AKRON,PA) – In the city of Beit Sahour, also known as the “City of the Shepherd’s Field” George Al-Atrash carves olive wood into a exquisite olive wood nativities. Already available in Ten Thousand Villages stores and at tenthousandvillages.com, Al-Atrash’s nativities are now also available on VillageNativities.com, a new nativity and holiday decor website recently launched by Ten Thousand Villages.

(more…)

Fair trade retailer decorates model apartments for low income housing project. (more…)

A new store has opened in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in the Rockvale Outlets at Routes 30 & 896. (more…)

AKRON, Pa. –Ten Thousand Villages, a fair trade retailer with a network of nearly 72 branded stores across the country, debuted merchandise from six new artisan partners during the last 18 months. Ten Thousand Villages carefully begins new relationships with artisan partners, balancing new item introduction with a commitment to a long-term relationship.

(more…)

Ten Thousand Villages offers handcrafted puzzles, musical instruments and games to make learning fun and to celebrate back-to-school. Teachers and parents can find valuable teaching tools at Ten Thousand Villages:

(more…)

Ten Thousand Villages introduces a boy “twin” doll. Hand-sewn by women artisans in Zimbabwe, the doll represents a gift of love to a child you know and a gift of love to a child in Zimbabwe whose family has been affected by AIDS.

(more…)

Ten Thousand Villages introduces Global Renewals a collection of home décor featuring artisan’s creative inspiration from reclaimed finds. With ingenuity and creativity, artisans transform newspapers, magazines and chip bags into fashionable art and home décor.

(more…)

Ten Thousand Villages introduces “Vibrant References” a new line of jewelry and personal accessories that celebrates artisans’ transformation of trash into beauty. The line leads the jewelry trends of the summer including large beads and bangles, bold prints and unforgettable bags. Artisans ingenuity creates unique products as well, including sandals crafted from recycled tires and peace-sign pins crafted from recycled soda cans.

(more…)

Ten Thousand Villages, a fair trade retailer located in Akron, PA offers fairly traded and organic shea butter cream and soaps made by artisans in Ghana.

The Shea (“shay-a”) tree grows only in Africa, where African women have celebrated its benefits for generations. Rich in Vitamins A, D, E, F and K, natural shea butter is used for a variety of therapeutic purposes including protecting skin from the sun, nourishing dry and broken hair, caring for sensitive skin during breastfeeding, providing relief from minor skin ailments, including burns, and maintaining soft lustrous skin.

(more…)

In the spirit of new beginnings, Ten Thousand Villages offers Easter-inspired gifts for children and adults this Easter season. Each product represents a double beginning. Bunny baskets, rabbit ornaments and egg soaps speak to the holiday’s sentiments of new life; the stories of the artisans who crafted the products resound with new dreams and fresh starts.

(more…)

AKRON, Pa. – With spring just around the corner, Ten Thousand Villages unveils Elemental Living, a fresh collection of home and garden décor designed to inspire a deeper connection to the natural world. Crafted from clay, bamboo, grasses and reclaimed metal, the home and garden décor introduced with Elemental Living features garden-inspired critter, bird and botanical motifs.

(more…)

AKRON, Pa. – Ten Thousand Villages introduces Fresh Airs, a new line of home décor inspired by classic designs and updated for today’s modern home.

(more…)

AKRON, Pa. – Accent your garden or patio with handcrafted ceramic and terra cotta planters from Ten Thousand Villages. For generations artisans in Vietnam and Bangladesh have crafted functional art from clay. Using time-honored traditions, artisans today craft beautiful planters perfect for the modern garden.

(more…)