A tradition like no other rolls on with 2 new owners
A longtime business in downtown Olympia that has been known as a community destination for fair trade products has a new name, new owners and a new look.
New Traditions Fair Trade remains dedicated to its cause, which is to pay fair prices to the people who make the handmade items the store sells.
Those items come from Central and South America, Southeast Asia and Africa, said Jody Mackey and Stacy Muguet, the new owners who bought the business from Dick Meyer. The cafe, which is next door, continues to run as a separate operation.
Although Mackey is a new owner, she is by no means a new face. She met Meyer about 20 years ago when she was still a student at The Evergreen State College studying biology. She discovered Meyer’s store in its infancy and knew that she had to get involved. She’s been there ever since.
“I wanted to be a scientist in a bog,” she recalled about her student years.
Mackey also wanted to become a store owner, but it was important to work in cooperation with someone else. That person was Muguet, who came to know the store because she worked with silversmiths in Bali, Indonesia, and brought their products to Traditions. She moved to Olympia in July, and she and Mackey set to work, remodeling the storefront in five days with new carpet, new paint and lighting. They also tripled the size of the jewelry area.
And behind every product is a story. Some examples:
▪ A line of clothes sold under the Ganesh Himal brand helps women in Nepal prosper and escape from a form of indentured servitude called “kamlari.”
▪ A lamp designed to look like a jellyfish has a lamp shade made from cocoa leaves.
▪ A purse that clearly identifies the people who weaved, block printed or stitched it together.
▪ A mirror made of tin and colorful tile that comes from Michoacán, Mexico.
And don’t forget the elephants of Sri Lanka.
The store sells a line of journals and notebooks made from elephant dung. The elephants in Sri Lanka like to feed on farmers’ crops. But proceeds from the journals help to fund blinking lights that can be set up to keep the elephants away. Yet, as they saunter off, the dung gets left behind for more journals.
“We are creating economic opportunity for people to survive in a modern world,” said Muguet about the store’s mission.
Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403, @rolf_boone
New Traditions Fair Trade
Location: 300 Fifth Ave. SW.
Owners: Jody Mackey and Stacy Muguet.
Years in business: More than 20. But under new ownership since last summer.
Type of business: Retailer of fair trade goods handmade by a variety of cultures in Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Items include jewelry, housewares, clothes, purses, bedding and wall hangings.
Employees: 4.
Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays.
Online: traditionsfairtrade.com.
Did you know? Muguet once worked at a fair trade store in Davis, California, when an anthropology professor walked through the door, looking for a way to help some rug weavers in Mexico. Smitten with the handsome professor, Muguet announced that she could speak Spanish (she couldn’t) and would travel there with him. On the eve of the departure, he got sick, and Muguet went alone. When she got to her destination, the rug weavers were ready and waiting for her. She never looked back and later became a fair trade wholesaler.
This story was originally published March 25, 2017 at 12:24 PM with the headline "A tradition like no other rolls on with 2 new owners."