All lined up: Yellow shoes in the Marrakech medina

Memories of Marrakech: Shoe Fetish

There’s nothing dark and mysterious in the medina of Marrakech, especially if you’re in the apparel section.  Shoe stalls literally screamed color. Cramming hand-made leather slippers onto the walls of tiny nooks must take patience and skill, but every shoe stall was packed to overflowing. From pom-poms to fancy stitches to pointy toes, the shoes […]

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Colorful, hand-dyed yarn for sale at Swans Island Blankets

Warm up with an heirloom: Swans Island Blankets

  It would have been easy to drive past Swans Island Blankets on Maine’s Route 1.  The brown-shingled house next to a weathered barn doesn’t exactly scream, “Come in and see for yourself.”  But it should.  After all, a simple showroom featuring understated, lovely hand-woven goods is a joy to behold — at least it […]

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Pencil post bed and Windsor chair on display at Windsor Chairmakers

Mainely craft: Inside Windsor Chairmakers

Touring Maine doesn’t only mean frequenting tourist shops filled with lobster magnets, moose-shaped chocolates, and blueberry muffin mixes.  It also means, at least for us, looking for quality products designed and created by local craftsmen.  So you can imagine that Windsor Chairmakers in Lincolnville, Maine, was quite the find. With a passion for fine craftmanship […]

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Shopping local feels good at The Traveling Bazaar

As a former antiques dealer and flea market hound, I loved the idea of The Traveling Bazaar. Brainstorm of organizer Tamara Cook, this gathering of artisans, antiques dealers, and in-home makers of goods I love known as The Traveling Bazaar appears (not by magic, of course) once a month at Buddy’s Banquet Hall in Knoxville’s Bearden area. […]

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Searching for blankets in Lesotho

Ask any woman who travels this one question:  What one thing do you love to do when you travel?  And what you’ll hear is almost universal:  SHOPPING!  At least that’s how it was among all the women (including me!) on our recent Habitat Global Village build in Lesotho.  And we knew what we were looking for […]

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