Fall always seems like an optimistic season to me -- new school year, new beginnings, new crafts!  I'm very excited about the block-printed shawls we're receiving this week.  Now we've all seen block-printed fabrics -- they are not rare.  But some block-printed fabrics are not really block printed -- that is, they are not printed by hand with wooden blocks carved with the fabric's design.  Some are just machine printed.  And there are many block-printed fabrics that are the real thing, and some are beautiful.  But the shawls that we're getting are jaw-droppingly beautiful!  The patterns and colors are so vivid and gorgeous.  Take a look at the photo below which shows some of the prints:

Many of our products are made using very old craft techniques such as weaving, block printing, and mud cloth making.  These techniques have been passed down through the generations, and are part of what makes each culture so beautiful and unique.  In recent years, the existence of these techniques has been threatened by mass production.  Mass production creates cheaper versions of the handcrafted items, versions which don't hold a candle to the real things in terms of quality, beauty and artistry.

When artisans cannot sell their handcrafted items and therefore can't make a living, they look for other ways to sustain themselves and their families.  They often have to leave their villages to find employment in the cities -- and end up working in factories, casinos or even in prostitution.  This destroys the integrity of their culture and we lose the beauty of their creations.

We can help these artisans by bringing their handcrafted items to the global market.  When there is a demand for their creations, they can sell them at a price which provides sustainable incomes, preserves the crafting techniques and keeps the beauty and vitality of their cultures alive.  How wonderful is that?