ITHACA, N.Y. –– From Nov. 11 through Nov. 16 One World Market is hosting their annual fair trade rug sale event, this year on the Commons.
The sale will take place in its new location at 171 E. State St. in Center Ithaca, just a few doors down from One World Market. Event hours are Wed through Sat 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Monday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
One World Market is a nonprofit, fair-trade store that sells home goods and jewelry. They partner each year with Bunyaad, a fair trade organization that brings authentic, handmade rugs to Fair Trade stores in North America. Ithaca has hosted the event for many years.
Customers will find a large selection of hand-knotted, heirloom-quality rugs in styles ranging from classic to contemporary. There will be tribal, Bokhara and Persian rugs in every color in sizes ranging from 2’x3’ to 10’x14’. The event is staffed by the One World Market board of directors and Bunyaad staff. The rug event provides income for OWM to further it’s mission of supporting artisans around the world with a fair wage.
OWM board member David Blanton said he looks forward to the event every year, and that he was nervous it may have to be cancelled due to COVID. The board pushed the event later than usual in the year and successfully relocated the sale from St. Catherine’s Church to an empty former Breath storefront on the Commons –– for health and safety reasons.
“When I first went to the rug event several years ago, I was amazed at the beauty and quality of these rugs,” said Blanton. “Each is literally a work of art, representing hundreds of hours of work and hundreds of years of tradition. Everyone should see this.”
Bunyaad, which works directly with Pakistani families to supply the rugs, started in the 1960’s and now has rug events all over the US and Canada every year. All the rug events are hosted by fair trade stores like One World Market and sales keep the 850 rug-making families busy during the year. The company helps families source wool, looms and dyeing processes, and has created a system for customers in the US to purchase amazing creations at fair prices. In the early 1980’s Bunyaad partnered with Ten Thousand Villages, which is how Ithaca’s One World Market store got involved.
Bunyaad is a fair trade company, committed to creating safe and healthy working conditions. It encourages families to send all of their children to school and does not work with rug makers who employ school-age children; they’ve even set up many schools in Pakistan.
“The whole purpose of One World Market is to provide fair, livable wages to artisans around the world, something we know Ithacans support,” said Blanton. “Our partnership with Bunyaad is part of this mission. We are proud to link this rich heritage of rug making to our Ithaca community.”
Each and every rug sold by Bunyaad can be traced back to the family that made it, the village where it was made and the local Bunyaad supervisor who oversaw the rug production. These rugs will last a lifetime while supporting many lives.
Want to learn more? Follow One World Market on Facebook or visit their website at owmithaca.com.