THE TEN TH OU S A ND V I L L A G ES S T O R Y STORY BY LIESEL SCHMIDT PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF TEN THOUSAND VILLAGES
Regardless of what you might be looking for, it’s hard not to fall for the charms of the quaint yet bustling Boutique District of Old Town—though there is one little shop that stands out from the rest, for ten thousand reasons more than just its uniqueness. True, the individuality one finds at Ten Thousand Villages is certainly a point in its favor, but that individuality and specialness comes from the fact that the store's eclectic selection of goods is both fair trade and 100 percent ethically sourced from all over the world. It’s a mission statement come to life in every item sold, and the people who work there live and breathe that ethos every day. 72 • VIP ALEXANDRIA MAGAZINE
While the boutique on King Street has been there since 1994, it all began more than 70 years ago, when Edna Ruth Byler made the first purchase that later led to a movement: handembroidered textiles from women who didn’t have access to a market in which to sell them. Byler bought them at a fair price, took them home and sold them to friends and neighbors on the makers’ behalf. As she sold textiles from the trunk of her car, Byler told the stories of the artisans who made them, creating something that grew into lasting partnerships and ignited the spark of global fair trade.
