JanetRhodes

A word had barely crossed my lips when I was immediately given a vision of a store with beautiful items from all around the world. Having spent years working in churches, this vision surprised and confused me. I hadn’t worked in the retail world since college days. But so strong and clear was this vision that I knew it was something I had to pursue.

In this vision, I saw a store with beautiful handmade items from around the world offering a unique shopping experience. It was a resting place. A place of comfort and good will. A place where someone would feel better about themselves and the world just for having walked across the threshold. I saw photographs with stories showing the artisans in their villages around the world, somehow inspiring the customer to make a donation to support the poor and marginalized in another land. At the time of the vision I had never heard of fair trade. I couldn’t figure out how I could ever get a customer to not only purchase a product from my store, but also to feel compelled to give a little extra gift to some stranger living half-way around the world. I knew the store would attract kind and generous customers, but this seemed to be asking for an over-the-top, impossible generosity of my customers. I also saw a corner designated for children or for those who wanted to create artwork of their own – a small table with chairs for children and grown-ups, a few books and magazines, and a table for coffee and tea. It was a store exuding soulful creativity.

The store in the vision was a place of spirituality. A place where, as soon as a person stepped foot into the room, they knew they were entering holy ground. A place where connections were made – not only with the artisans who made these products, but also within their own soul that strengthened and encouraged a more intentional walk. I saw a vision of the sacred in the market place.

I didn’t have any money, so I had no idea how this vision would become a reality. But I knew this creation was a mandate from a source greater than me; so I began to ponder how this thing might come to pass.

About six weeks later, I asked my pastor what his next project was for the church. He was always coming up with one creative program after another. I could never have imagined that he would describe a retail store that he and the church leaders had been talking about for the past two years. He envisioned a store in nearby Highland Square filled with beautiful handmade items from around the world. He taught me about the principles of fair trade and the history of Ten Thousand Villages – stores filled with beautiful items from around the world where people receive a fair wage for their labor so that they are able to provide well for their families and communities. As a result, hospitals, schools and roads are built as villages expand their economic base. I thought, “God, you are so clever!”

I told him of my own recent vision and he related how he had just prayed the day before for leadership to get the church’s project up and running. I could not believe that God would provide such a beautiful opportunity to pursue this vision. Three months later the church opened a fair trade store in Highland Square.

After two years and with much success, I knew I was called to expand the witness of fair trade by opening my own store. With the help of my mother and father, Brenda, Larry, Pete and Terri, Jamie, Resa, Holly, Perry, Tom, Gaye, Jennifer, Michael, Sandy, Martin, Ross, Corban, Adam and Patty, Janet Rhodes was born.

Janet Rhodes brings you Fair Trade.

We are about building relationships – with you and with the artisan who made the product.