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Annual Ole Artisan Bazaar to be held Nov. 13

By Anna Stevens '10
November 5, 2008

The handiwork of St. Olaf College students, faculty and staff will be on display Thursday, Nov. 13, during the annual Ole Artisan Bazaar.

OleArtisanBazaar
The bazaar, which offers a wide variety of arts and crafts for sale, will take place in Buntrock Commons Crossroads from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is open to the public. The bazaar will feature more than 20 different vendors and is a great place to do some Christmas shopping. The unique items available include jewelry, baskets, Thai Products, coconut shell products, candles, woodcut prints, Moravian glass stars and much more.

One student organization involved with the Artisan Bazaar is Stitches for Peace, a group committed to making hand-knitted and crocheted goods for various charity groups. Stitches for Peace's past projects have involved making blankets for the Northfield Clothes Closet, which provides free clothing and household products to people in need, and for Global Health Ministries.

This year the group will be selling handmade and donated goods such as blankets, stuffed animals, I-pod/camera cases, and adult and children's clothing. One hundred percent of the group's proceeds from the bazaar will be used to fund the start-up costs of a women's craft cooperative in Namibia that is being organized by a nonprofit organization called the Big Issue Namibia. Heidi James '09 is studying in Namibia this semester, where she has also been interning with the Big Issue and communicating the organization's needs to Stitches for Peace.

"The Big Issue would like to hold weekly craft classes for women here in Namibia, at which they would learn new craft skills and be able to support themselves further through sales of their crafts," James says. "We also hope to host a craft and art exhibition event in which the women could display their crafts at a community event and sell them as well, thus promoting empowerment and continued poverty awareness in Namibia."

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.