You know that gift you’ve been meaning to find for your mother — the one that doesn’t say “I panicked at CVS”? Well, Saturday, May 9th is World Fair Trade Day, which is convenient, because it’s also the day before Mother’s Day. The math practically does itself.
Enter Ten Thousand Villages, the nonprofit fair trade shop on South Lake that has been quietly stocking its shelves with frames, vases, felted flowers, recycled sari baskets, scarves, handcrafted jewelry, and specialty coffees, teas, and more from artisans across 30 countries.
Stop in for the celebration and you can enter a $50 gift card raffle by answering one question at the counter — a low bar for a high reward.
“This is the biggest day in the fair trade industry,” says store manager Laurel Murrieta, which tracks: Ten Thousand Villages was one of the first fair trade organizations in the United States, and the Pasadena outpost was the first of its kind in California.
The shop opens at 10 a.m. and runs until 6 p.m., which leaves you plenty of room to browse, second-guess, and circle back for the thing you knew was the right thing the first time.
The store turns 20 in June, which is a small miracle for any brick-and-mortar — never mind one whose mission goes back to 1946 and a Pennsylvania woman named Edna Ruth Byler, who
started selling embroidery out of the trunk of her car after a trip to Puerto Rico.
“That’s a big deal for a brick-and-mortar to celebrate 20 years,” Murrieta says, and she’s not wrong.
Eight decades and more than 20,000 artisans later, the trunk has gotten considerably bigger.
What makes the shop work is that every price tag carries a story — the eye glass holder, the basket, the necklace, the bag of coffee, all sourced so the maker actually gets paid. It’s the rare gift that holds up to a follow-up question. (“Where did you get this?” “South Lake. Long story.”) Bonus points if your mother is the type who reads the tag.
The store runs on a small staff with volunteers, and Murrieta is always happy to meet new ones — stop by in person if you’re curious. Free parking is plentiful in the back lot, and is generous by Pasadena standards.
Go for the raffle, stay for the gift wrap, and bring the friend who still hasn’t figured out Mother’s Day.
567 S. Lake Ave., Pasadena. Saturday, May 9, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Free lot parking. (626) 229-9892. Open every day! tenthousandvillages.com/pasadena
