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The shop is geared to both the curious and the socially conscious, and features “fair trade” products by craftspeople, artisans and growers from more than 60 countries.
Fair trade is a social movement and a business practice that ensures growers and workers in developing countries better prices, safer working conditions and a chance to improve their lives. “The nature of fair trade relations is, when you treat people with fairness, you get quality,” Meyer said.
His work day often begins at 5 a.m., when he drives to pick up food for his cafe from the Antique Sandwich Co. in Ruston, which is owned by his partner of 33 years, Tamie Herridge and her sister Shirley. The beloved natural food restaurant near Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium is where Traditions Fair Trade, as it was known back then, got its start in 1993.
After working in the shop and cafe all day, it’s not unusual for Meyer to stay after to help with a concert or special event.
Traditions manager Jody Mackey, 45, of Olympia recalls one of Meyer’s longest workdays: It began with an early morning drive to Ruston, and ended after a busy Olympia Arts Walk night. “He was locking the door after midnight, the lights were off, and some teenagers ran up to the door to get ice cream,” she said. “And he opened the door and got them ice cream.”
On this particular night, the cafe is filled with the sounds of acoustic guitars and laughter from a group of songwriters who regularly meet after hours at Traditions to try out their new material.
So just how did he land where he is, running a store, restaurant and performing space that’s become essentially a social hub for all things progressive in Olympia?
Meyer chuckled at the question.
“A series of contacts,” he said, smiling.
REBELLING AGAINST HIS PARENTS' POLITICS
Born in New York City, Meyer, 64, grew up on Long Island.
His parents were Republicans, who had been raised by even more staunch conservatives. His mom and dad voted for Richard Nixon. That was the opposite end of the political spectrum from where Meyer was landing as he grew up.
But there was an exception: Meyer said his mom was against violence to the point where she didn’t allow toy guns in the house.
“They probably couldn’t have imagined me going to war,” Meyer said.
On the other hand, they certainly didn’t expect that he’d become an antiwar activist either, Meyer said. “But they came to respect it,” he said.
After high school, Meyer studied political science and liberal arts at Denison University in Ohio, and public administration at the University of Michigan.
Like so many from his generation, he jumped into social activism. He moved around during and after college, mostly making stops in the Midwest and California’s Bay Area. He said he took whatever jobs he could find. He was a short-order cook at a restaurant for a while; he was a social worker for a few years as well. One summer, Meyer visited a friend who lived on Tacoma’s Salmon Beach and fell in love with the area. After a few more visits, he decided to stick around.
Meyer took a counseling job at the Washington Correction Center in Purdy for a brief time before embarking on one of the biggest adventures in his life.
“A friend and I had a boat and we fished in southeast Alaska,” Meyer said.
The enterprise only lasted a season because costly repairs that were needed for the boat basically wiped away all of their profit. But the end of that dream meant that he could help two of his friends with their new restaurant in Ruston, not far from Salmon Beach. “They were just starting, so they didn’t have a lot of employees,” he said.
While at the Antique Sandwich Co., Meyer worked to establish an identity for the restaurant by organizing concerts, poetry readings and activities that supported peace and justice groups – many of the same type of community events that now take place at Traditions in Olympia. He also began dating Herridge, who is an accomplished weaver.
One day, Meyer and Herridge attended a presentation about a women’s weaving cooperative in Guatemala. The weavers had banded together and were working with international groups to receive better wages, education and health care for their children. They refused to work in sweatshops, and were pushing for change – and also putting their lives on the line.
“The men weren’t used to the women being empowered,” Meyer said.
The weavers’ plight made a big impression on Meyer.
JOINING THE FAIR TRADE MOVEMENT
After the presentation, Meyer attended an international conference to learn more about the concept that was called “alternative trade” at the time. Sold on the idea, he bought some handmade bags, jewelry and clothing through an international nonprofit that worked directly with artists and farmers to sell at the restaurant.
The small side business immediately connected Meyer to an international network of people and organizations fighting for sustainability, and striving to improve living and working conditions around the globe. As a result, he has served on numerous boards, including the Fair Trade Federation, the Fair Trade Resource Network and Sweatfree Communities.
He’s worked on a variety of successful fair trade campaigns, too. He helped persuade coffee giant Starbucks and several large grocery chains to carry a line of fair trade coffee beans. He also pushed the Olympia City Council to pass a resolution directing city departments to purchase T-shirts, sweatshirts, ballcaps and other uniforms and logo clothing from “responsible and ethical contractors.”
Meyer’s fervor for fair trade and experience with its champions has spread to his customers. When Olympia artist Janice Arnold needed a lot of felt for a major project, she went to Meyer for advice.
“Through his guidance, I mostly (worked with) a fair trade cooperative in Nepal,” she said. “He connected me with the right people.”
But his commitment to service isn’t just international. Over the years, Meyer has served on boards for the Olympia Child Care Center and the Community Sustaining Fund. He’s taught “Alternatives to Globalization” at The Evergreen State College as well.
“I guess I would describe him as generally someone who’s just very committed to the community and the fair trade movement and peace and justice issues all the way around,” said Riley McLaughlin of Olympia. “He commits his time, his business and as far as I can tell his life to those things.”
MAKING A HOME IN OLYMPIA
In 1989, Meyer and Herridge moved to Olympia, where they had heard about a neighborhood school that was offering an alternative program where parents were in equal partnership with school officials and teachers. The Lincoln Options Program was something that seemed perfect for their lifestyle and beliefs, and was within commuting distance of the Antique Sandwich Co.
“Our kids are six years apart,” Meyer said. “We were Lincoln parents for a long time.”
In 1995, Meyer opened Traditions as a gift shop, located in the much smaller storefront next to the current location. About two years later, he moved it into the corner spot at Fifth Avenue and Water Street and opened the cafe.
He began offering concerts, just as he did in Tacoma. But he also decided to offer the space to community groups as well. Today, Traditions’ calendar is filled with meetings and events hosted by groups such as the Rachel Corrie Foundation, Veterans For Peace, and the C.G. Jung Society of Olympia.
“Dick has created a community space that there’s almost no charge for,” Mackey said. “Even the churches here charge to use their spaces.”
Adds customer Bob Zeigler, 62, of Olympia: “It’s kind of unusual when there’s not something going on (at the cafe).”
The cafe – which carries fair trade espresso drinks, along with vegan and organic soups, salads and sandwiches – is a popular place to meet friends for coffee, or watch a concert. But it’s also become a place to stay connected with issues and get information. The community bulletin board at Traditions has layers of fliers for everything from meditation classes to local surveys.
There’s also a peace and justice library, which features books and DVDs that can be borrowed.
But, unlike most coffee shops, there isn’t wireless Internet availability. “This particular space is treasured for its social interaction,” Meyer wrote on a placard for the cafe. It’s too easy to get lost in a computer, and miss what’s going on around you, he explained.
Instead, Meyer invites customers to use a letter-writing station at the cafe to pen a personal correspondence. If there’s an emergency that requires the Internet, customers are welcome to borrow the store’s computer for a few minutes, he said.
ADJUSTING TO SLOW ECONOMIC TIMES
Like most businesses, Traditions is feeling a sting from the bad economy.
“It’s really interesting because the cafe business has been increasing and the store business has gone down,” Meyer said. People are being forced to make decisions between wants and necessities, he said.
That sets up a bit of a dilemma for Meyer: There’s a part of him that opposes America’s consumer culture, and he believes Americans need to reign in their spending. But he’s also a small-business owner, with employees and an enterprise that people across the world are dependent on.
At Traditions, every item can be traced back to when it was created, from the Bangladesh watering stakes and the Palestinian almonds to the American-made rubberband-powered toy race car and the locally made fleece beanbags.
“It helps me keep it in perspective,” Meyer said. “The very reason I do this work. ... If they can’t sell their product, it’s far more drastic.”
So far, Meyer hasn’t had to lay anyone off, but he is working more hours on the cafe side of the business. As a sign of the times, the shop is now carrying a larger stock of union-made work jeans, fair trade shoes and sweatshop-free clothing – items that are more of a necessity than a trinket or piece of jewelry, and are more likely to get purchased.
Meyer said he doesn’t believe in preaching to customers about the importance of buying fair trade products. If they ask, he says he’ll explain it. Once they learn about the fair trade movement, he hopes they’ll come back to support it.
Zeigler is a longtime Traditions customer who is involved in several social justice efforts, including the South Sound Clean Clothes Campaign. He describes Meyer as a “very, very kind and compassionate individual” who puts his beliefs into action – and Traditions as a “community resource.”
“It is definitely an important element of our community; I know it is for me, I know it is for an awful lot of people,” Zeigler said. “It’s a way in which you can (purchase) something that has a meaning, as well as get something that’s nice.”
