Thailand

Exciting news here:::: Kelly has presented me an opportunity to travel with her to Thailand!! I'm planning on being there for 1 month. The first week I will be at a conference with Kelly in Bangkok, I will then travel to the north to visit a women's group called Population and Community Development Association or PDA. I will spend one week with then developing new products with local artisans. I will then fly down to the south of Thailand and spend one week with SHE Thailand and one week with the Duang Prateep Ban Thai Namchai orphanage and develop more products with them. The products we create will be sold at The Village Experience and their local markets. I will actually be there with the artisans developing products and searching for materials! Crazy huh??

The only stipulation with the trip is that I have to fund the entire thing. Therefore, I have created the brochure to help fundraise for the trip (to enlarge the brochure, just click on it). Many of you may have already received it via email or will receive it through the postal mail. Hopefully, through enough family and friends I will raise enough to cover my travel and expenses. If I surpass my goal, I will use the money to help build up the women's group. Please click the "donate" button on the right side if you would like to help! As most of you know, their needs are simple and a small donation can make a huge difference.

Please contact me if you would like more information regarding the women's groups I will be visiting or if you have any questions/comments!

Prototypes

I feel this week has been a big learning experience. I've started to realize and actually encounter the obstacles The Village Experience faces being a fair trade store-meaning how difficult it is to actually develop the products. Working in underdeveloped countries the access to various resources, materials and basic communication is extremely more difficult than in the developed world. Trying to develop new products in Kenya or in Thailand with local artisans is more complex than I ever thought. For the artisans to create the products we have in mind, we basically have to teach them ourselves. However, this is can't always happen as we are stationed in Indianapolis.

So this week, Molly and myself, have been in the process of developing prototypes for Kelly to take with her when she travels in Kenya in two weeks. Molly and I have been researching trends and products we feel could do well in our store and for the new wholesale line. Even though we feel a trend may become popular, we can not always produce it. As mentioned before, the artisans in Kenya have limited resources, limited materials and limited skill levels.

With that said, Molly and I came up with some simple designs that Kelly could teach the artisans. We designed a Chan Luu inspired wrap bracelet, a fabric necklace, a fabric bracelet, an eternity scarf, and a wooden bib necklace (inspired by Martha Stewert lol--even though I'll give credit to Sarah for showing me:)) Since these are solely prototypes the design and materials will have to actually be sourced when Kelly gets to Kenya. The designs will be altered and so will the materials. We just got our materials at Jo Ann's and well…you know they don't have a Jo Ann's in the remote areas of Kenya. Kelly will talk to the artisans to see what materials they have and then travel to the fabric factory to see their inventory. Above our pictures of Molly and I creating the products.

New Window Display

Since Kelly and Anne brought back so many new pearls, we decided to make a window display with them. Inspiration…"raining pearls."

To create the window, we took twine and tied it to hooks that were already attached to the ceiling. We then made three knots in the twine for the pearls to hang from. We thought it would look better with them hanging at different lengths. In order to see them from the sidewalk we had to put at least 6 to 10 strands of pearls. We also wanted to incorporate the new summer dresses. Therefore, we put the long dress on the mannequin with the new pearls and a beautiful sunhat. Just a reminder: the pearls are from Thailand, which is why the Thailand Book is also in the window. We were going to tackle the other window, but didn't have enough time. I'm sure we will do that sometime this week!

Zach's Party

At TVE we offer a service where you can schedule to hold an event at the store to help raise money for an upcoming trip. What you do is pick a date/time that you want your event and invite all your friends and family. TVE provides wine, beer and appetizers for your all guests at the party. Your guests shop and mingle at the store and whatever sales we generate during your party, we will give you 10% of that to put towards an upcoming trip. It's a really great way that your friends and family can help support your trip, as well as, inform them of the types of activities and work you will be doing on the trip.

Zach is going to Kenya in July and he had scheduled a fundraising event that took place yesterday. It was from 5-7pm at TVE. He had roughly 20 to 25 friends and family come out and support him. He also had one of his friends that is a singer/songwriter come and play. We provided wine, beer, hummus and vegetables, and apples. The party went really well and I met a lot of people! Yesterday was a great day at work. I mean, who wouldn't love to hang out with great people, drink wine and chat about traveling?

They're Back

Anne and Kelly finally made it back home from Thailand! They brought back so many things with them. They even brought me back a dress--so cute right? Kelsie and I tagged the new items all day. It's quite time consuming when you have to hand write the price, item number, and tie the tag with twine. Despite this, it's still fun getting new products and to be the first to see them!

The Healthy Elephant

Tuesday's are typically my day off, except this Tuesday I decided to work from home. Anne and Kelly are coming back from Thailand this week and I wanted to make sure that I had all my projects in order to show them, especially all the customs and shipping information. I put together a binder for Anne to show her all the research that I had gathered. I put the information in order and labeled all sections to make it easier to refer back to.

I mentioned before that one of the jobs was to summarize the "Importing Basics" document. I spent the entire day reading the 211 page document and summarizing each section so Anne could understand the basis of importing internationally. I've read the document a couple times now, but if you asked me a question about importing I probably still wouldn't know (which is why I've been trying different memory exercises). Anyway, I've managed to summarize that entire into only 9 pages!! You can hold your applause=) Hopefully, Anne will find it quite useful as we start to develop and start importing for the wholesale line.

Meanwhile, as I was summarizing and putting the binder together, I thought I would try and make this coffee drink I like. It's called the, Healthy Elephant, and is from a local coffee shop here in Broad Ripple. The drink is my absolutely favorite, but….kind of pricey. I thought maybe if I could just make it at home, then I could save about 10 bones each week.

So, the other day and Trader Joe's I bought the only ingredient that I didn't have at the house to make the drink, almond milk. In the drink there is almond milk, espresso, cocoa powder, honey and peanut butter. I thought it would be pretty easy to make, but not being as savvy as a barista as I thought…. it didn't turn out so well. The milk to coffee to ice ratio was a little off. I'm bound to try and make it again--I know I'm close to the real thing! I'll keep you updated on the second trial.

Rhapsody in Green

My entire weekend was spent in Elkhart, IN. Emily picked me up from my house at 7am on Friday the 11th. We traveled 4 1/2 hours North on 69 to Elkhart. Elkhart isn't exactly 4 1/2 hours away, we just ended up getting lost that morning which made the drive even longer.

We literally were lost in the sticks of Indiana. As we were driving through the country, it felt as if we were in a fairy tale and wild animals we leading us to civilization. I'm not kidding either. Wild animals were popping out everywhere as if they were telling us which direction to head. We first had a large black hawk swoop down in front of our windshield, we then saw a herd (or is it a pack? or something else?) of deer, we then had to wait for two chickens to cross the road, and lastly, we came upon a stray black cat. There were a few more encounters, but I can't seem to remember them right now:/ Emily and I were cracking up. We couldn't believe where we were and how these friendly creatures were everywhere. But, it did make for good laugh as we were frantically trying to find our way to Elkhart.

The event in Elkhart was called, "Rhapsody in Green." Not sure where the name comes from, but let me tell you it was something else. You could say it wasn't your typical "art fair" or what was portrayed to Emily. I guess you could say there were a few misrepresentations, made by the coordinator, as to what the festival entailed. There were only a few vendors that were selling nice, quality products, while many of the vendors were selling merchandise that you may typically see at a flea market. TVE didn't exactly fit in (along with some of the other vendors). The attendees at the festival weren't the typical TVE customers. Let me clarify that there was nothing wrong with the attendees to the festival. It is just the fact that this crowd was searching for a different price point than what we have at TVE. Everyone knows that not every person is willing to pay the same price for something. Everyone has a different idea as to what something is "worth" or what the "value" is. That is just the way it is. However, for TVE to be successful we need to be at events where customers see the same "value" or "worth" as we do in the products we sell (or somewhat similar).

Unfortunately, the event in Elkhart did not go as well as planned. The success we thought we were going to have from the event was over estimated. However, this only means we have to work harder and more diligent to make up for our loss. The events we attend in the future will have to be investigated further to prevent these types of outcomes, or at least, to the best of our ability.

Basics of Importing

Sorry about the previous post. I was at the event in Elkhart all weekend and had no way of posting to my blog. I attempted to with the "test" post, but was only able to do it via text and not by email. Therefore, it was impossible to blog when I only could type 156 characters at a time.

A little catch up since it has been a crazy four days! This post entitled, "Basics of Importing," is about last Thursday when I was continuing my investigation of customs. I'll then post about my weekend at the event in Elkhart.

Anne and Kelly are still in Thailand and I am STIll trying to interpret and comprehend the world of importing internationally. I never knew a process could be so meticulously detailed. The responsibility that is placed on the importer is enormous. If any part of the process is not done correctly, you can be fined all sorts of fees. (Again, this is why many people hire a customs broker!). Despite the convenience of a customs broker, it can save a company a lot of money if they learn how to do it themselves. There are numerous resources in the world today that if you take the time to research the topic, the exponential savings your company accrues can ultimately be used for something better.

Well, this is why Anne has delegated the responsibility to me. Throughout my research, I came across a document entitled, "The Basics of Importing." The document is a go to handbook for any business wanting to import internationally. Essentially, it encompasses the entire importing process, as well as, the requirements. The document is 211 pages and covers the following topics: Entry of Goods, Informed Compliance, Invoices, Assessment of Duty, Classification and Value, Marking, Special Requirements, and Foreign Trade Zones. I've been trying to summarize the document for Anne, however it's hard to summarize due to the critical information in each topic. I think we will probably end up printing a hard copy at Kinkos to have as a reference for the future. It truly has been interesting reading about each topic and what the requirements entail. I haven't finished reading the document yet. It seems I have to reread the each page twice to make sure I didn't miss anything. Nonetheless, it has been quite time consuming.

Another responsibility of mine, over the past few weeks, has been to contact Fedex, DHL and UPS to establish who has the better rates when importing internationally. It has been difficult to establish rates since we do not know the specifics of what we will be importing. For these companies to give rates they need to know how much the box weighs and the dimensions of the box. Therefore, its difficult to figure out who has the best rates when we can't give them any definite figures. Once Anne gets back from Thailand (which is a couple days!) we will be able to move forward with this since she has the overall say in the decision.

Tomorrow will be a busy day since the girls are coming back this week and will want to see what we have been working on over the past three weeks!

Test

Ice Cream Love

You can not go through Summer 2010 without trying the new Skinny Cow single serving cups. I have tried both the Strawberry Cheesecake and Chocolate Fudge Brownie and they are too die for at only 170 calories or less! Seriously friends..... THEY are a must! Other flavors include Carmel Cone, Cookies 'N Cream, and Dulce De Leche.

View their website at: http://www.skinnycow.com/perfectcup.html!

Now, log off your computer and go get some!!

Peach Cobbler

The other day as Julie, Ann-Marie, and I were walking down the Monon Trail we came across a local Indiana market. We stopped in to see what they had: fresh peaches, vine tomatoes, fresh strawberries, and MORAL mushrooms! I loved the ambiance of the place, reggae music playing in the background, casual dressed employees, and an overwhelming smell of peaches. I couldn't buy anything because I didn't have any money on me. But, I knew I had to go back!

I had quite the hankering for Peach Cobbler and I couldn't stop thinking about those peaches all day! I also was crazing some moral mushrooms, which I haven't had in probably 2 years. I paid $9 for a quarter of a pound of mushrooms:/ Steep I know! The price for the peaches weren't too bad. They were from a local farm in Indiana so a little bit more pricey than usual but at least my money is supporting the locals.

After the market, I quickly came home to start making the peach cobbler. I found this recipe online for a light fresh peach cobbler. I try to find recipes that swap ingredients for healthier and/or lower calories options. I have such a sweet tooth that I try to make it somewhat "not so bad" for you:) For this recipe, I followed it exactly except I swapped real sugar for the Splenda sugar, which ultimately reduces the calories by quite a bit (not sure on the exact amount). Julie, Ann-Marie and I loved it! It is easy to make and extremely tasty!

Here is the recipe from the website or you can just visit the website at http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Light-Fresh-Peach-Cobbler-40183

Light Fresh Peach Cobbler

SERVES 8

Ingredients

• 6 medium peaches, sliced
• 6 1/3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 3 tablespoons reduced-calorie margarine
• 1/2 cup nonfat milk

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. 2

   In a large saucepan, combine peaches, 1/3 cup of the sugar (5 1/3 tablespoons), cornstarch, lemon juice, and cinnamon; toss to coat peaches.

3. 3

   Set pan over medium heat and bring to a boil.

4. 4

   Cook until mixture thickens, about 1 minute.

5. 5

   Remove from heat and transfer mixture to an 8-inch square baking pan.

6. 6

   To make the topping, in a large bowl, combine flour, remaining tablespoon of sugar, baking powder and salt.

7. 7

   Work in margarine with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

8. 8

   Add milk and stir until flour mixture is evenly moistened.

9. 9

   Drop 8 tablespoons of topping mixture onto peach mixture.

10. 10

    Bake until topping is golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 20 to 25 minutes.

11. 11

    Cut into 8 pieces and serve.

Calorie Information:

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 (122g) Recipe makes 8 servings
Calories 152
Calories from Fat 22		(14%)
Amount Per Serving		%DV
	Total Fat 2.5g	3%
	Saturated Fat 0.4g	2%
	Monounsaturated Fat 0.9g
	Polyunsaturated Fat 1.0g
	Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 0mg		0%
Sodium 273mg		11%
Potassium 184mg		5%
Total Carbohydrate 31.0g		10%
	Dietary Fiber 1.6g	6%
	Sugars 17.0g
Protein 2.8g		5%

Conner Prairie Pictures

My phone finally sent the email with the pictures I took! (Sorry they're not great!)

Conner Prairie

On Sunday, I had the opportunity to attend my first event. The event was at Conner Prairie, which is located in Fishers, Indiana. Conner Prairie is one of the largest outdoor history museums. Visitors to the prairie can see and learn what it was like to live in Indiana's past.

The event did not turn out as planned. Saturday, Emily and Kelsie worked the event. It was raining and very humid so the turn out on Saturday was pretty low. We hardly had any sales or visitors to our booth. Sunday was much better, despite the fact that our tent broke. Emily and Kelsie had left the tent up over night, so we wouldn't have to put it up again in the morning. Come to find out---our tent was located on the prairie where it is the most windy! When we arrived to Conner Prairie to start setting up our merchandise, we found out that our tent was broken due to the high winds. Trying to fix our tent and then realizing is was not fixable was a lovely start to our morning. Fortunately, Conner Prairie had an extra tent that we were able to use. Just as we thought our luck was starting to turning around, Emily realized she had left the cash box at her house. As she frantically drove a half hour home to get the cash box, I began setting up the booth. Wasn't as easy as I thought, but I managed. I was able to take a few pictures with my phone that I was going to post, except my blackberry won't send the pictures right now. I'll try and get them up tomorrow!

I'm looking forward to this weekend where I will be spending the weekend in Elkhart, Indiana for another event!

Karrah L. Wood

Please visit my webpage!

Karrah L. Wood: "Laugh.Dance.Fashion"

Sidewalk Sale

For the weekend, we decided to have a sidewalk sale. In Broad Ripple, people are always walking around exploring the area, therefore, we thought a sidewalk sale would be a great way to bring in some customers. However, it turned out to not be such a great idea because the weather wasn't exactly on our side:/ Even though we weren't able to set up the sale today, we managed to have a quite a success with it yesterday.

AGOA

The African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA)......Please give me an excedrin.

The past two days at work, I have been researching the trade agreement between the United States and Africa. When we get the wholesale line moving, we will be mainly importing products from Kenya and Thailand. It is crucial and necessary to review all trade agreements with the countries you will be importing from. Kenya, which is in Africa, is part of the AGOA.

The AGOA was signed into law on May 18, 2000 as Title 1 of The Trade and Development Act of 2000. The Act offers tangible incentives for African countries to continue their efforts to open their economies and build free markets. The AGOA issues duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for specific articles from sub-Saharan African countries that would typically be prohibited from GSP provisions.

Specific textile and apparel articles are eligible to be duty-free, quantity-free entry if they meet the AGOA's strict standards. In order to see if they are eligible, you have to categorize your product under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). The HTS contains the tariff rates and statistical categories for all merchandise imported into the United States. It is based on the international Harmonized System, which is the global system of nomenclature that is used to describe most world trade goods.

This was taken directly from the AGOA website:

AGOA IV provides duty-free and quota-free treatment for eligible apparel articles made in qualifying sub-Saharan African countries through 2015. Qualifying articles include:

• Apparel made of U.S. yarns and fabrics;
• Apparel made of sub-Saharan African (regional) yarns and fabrics, subject to a cap until 2015;
• Apparel made in a designated lesser developed country of third-country yarns and fabrics, subject to a cap until 2012;
• Apparel made of yarns and fabrics not produced in commercial quantities in the United States;
• Certain cashmere and merino wool sweaters;
• Eligible handloomed, handmade, or folklore articles and ethnic printed fabrics; and
• Textiles and textile articles produced entirely in a lesser-developed beneficiary country.
  
  

We will be importing other products besides apparel for the wholesale line, but this gives you an idea of some of the rules. The picture below is an example of a product categorized on the HTS. Hopefully as I move forward this will become less complex, at least I'm crossing my fingers.

Fall 2010 Trends

Today's agenda consisted of researching trends for the Fall 2010 season. When Anne returns from Thailand we will begin communicating with vendors about what merchandise we will want for the Fall. Trends for the fall were taken from the runway shows in Paris and New York. Key trends include layering up on rings, knee high socks, FUR, woodsy chic jewelry, edgy chic pearls and velvet. We will use these trends as inspiration in developing our products.

Memorial F U N!

Carol (flew to Alma from Germany), Me, Brittany, Abby

Brittany and Sarah

Laura and I

Sorry friends, it's been way too long without a post. Life has been a little crazy (not to mention the fact that my computer has been dead since last Wednesday):/ Fortunately that issue has been taken care of and I have a brand new Mac headed my way! YAY!!

Since I was off work for a few days--for my unfortunate trip back home-- I was actually able to enjoy a beautiful memorial weekend. Part of it was spent back home in Alma and the other half was spent down here in Indianapolis.

Alma:

My favorite part of my trip back home was being able to spend time with some friends that I haven't been able to see in years. Losing Anna brought many of our friends back home for the weekend. Memorial weekend is actually quite popular in Alma as it is the celebration of the Highland Festival. This year marks the 43rd year of the festival. At the festival they have their annual craft show, which I typically don't attend but this year I thought I would.

At the show, I found a vendor that makes homemade granola. Not only is this homemade granola, but you can also order the granola customized to your likings. The company is called C.T. Treats from Redford, Michigan. Catha Thomas (C.T.) founded the company after she noticed how common allergies are in our society. She also found that there are not many food companies that accommodate to customers with these allergies. Therefore, she developed this idea of "custom granola". You are able to choose what fruit, flour, oil, nuts, spices, liquids and/or sweeteners you want in your granola. Some popular recipes already discovered are Traverse City Cherry, Apple Cinnamon, Dark Chocolate Hazelnut, Peanut Butter Cup, and of course, Original. Most ingredients are obtained from local organizations in Michigan. Please check her website out @ cttreats.com! It is sooo delicious!!

Indy:

Late Saturday I made the hike back down to Indianapolis to spend time with my bestie Laura and her family. Laura is main reason why I am down here living and working in Indianapolis. I have many thanks to give to her! (Thanks again laura:)) I had a great time with her and her family. They couldn't have been any nicer!

The best part of Indy was having the opportunity to go to the Indianapolis 500! I have never been and have never had the desire to go until Laura asked me to go. So on Sunday, we woke up early, had a great breakfast and then made our way to the track with Uncle Bill, Em, Mr. and Mrs. Jay. It was a scorching 95 degrees out and we all sat in our seats like sardines. Ughh....it was terrible! haha! But at least our seats were under some shade and higher up compared to everyone else. The race was awesome--I have never seen anything like it. The cars were going faster than I ever imagined. There was more people than I ever imagined. The excitement and adrenaline was more than I ever imagined.

Celebrities like Jack Nicholson, Mark Walberg, the Kardashians, Jewel and Ashley Judd were all at the race to celebrate. Ashley Judd's husband won the race if you didn't know, Dario is his name. I had such a great time, the race was more exciting than anything I've been to.

Thanks again to the Miller and Jay family for letting me be apart of such a memorable event! See you all tomorrow! xxoo