Ten Thousand Villages

Fells Point is tough on parking, guessing Fridays are really busy. Finally got a spot and spent several hours checking out all the neat stuff. Found a really unique lamp that I just had to have, thou a bit on the high side the quality seemed really good. Loved all the nick knacks and would have gotten some jewelry if the lamp hadn’t drained my bank account. Friendly and helpful folks work there and where very patient with all my window shopping. highly recommend, hope you have better luck with parking.

Ten Thousand Villages is one of those stores I always forget about, and I’m really not sure why. Every time I go in there I am so overwhelmed in the best way possible! I wish I could buy everything in the store, basically.
I schlepped down to Fells Point after work one day after learning that the store carried products from the Women’s Bean Project, an organization based in Denver where women who are struggling can work and build skills, confidence, and hopefully get back on their feet. I picked up a Women’s Bean Project brownie mix, and wanted to get a couple of other things to go along with it as a birthday gift for my friend. I ended up purchasing a bookmark made out of a sari to benefit an organization that helps women learn to read in Bangladesh, and a bar of soap made out of mud from the Dead Sea made by both Israeli and Arab women. In a nutshell: really, really cool unique stuff.
The downside is the price. Everything runs a little pricey, which I don’t mind since it’s helping different causes and people around the world. But it’s a lot easier to find really wonderful expensive items than to find smaller things at a lower price point, like what I was looking for when wanting to purchase a variety of things for a gift. I wish there was more variety and options at all price points.
The location is perfectly fitting, even though parking in Fells can be aggravating. And the two women working at the store were SO VERY NICE! Seriously, I could have listened to the cashier talk about her love of za’atar seasoning all day.
Cool stuff, excellent customer service — check it out.

This is one of my favorite shops in Fells. I have a lot of fun going in, even if I don’t plan to buy anything and am just wandering with friends.
Their fair-​trade items are adorable, exquisite, and make for gifts you’ll feel good giving. I bought ornaments for my Christmas tree, and several presents since then for friends and family birthdays. I feel like every one of their items tells a story — it sounds cliché, but here it’s really not.
The owner is super sweet, and the other staff members are friendly as well and will help you find whatever you’re looking for.

I love the stuff they have in that store and had actually purchased a beautiful wind chime from them. However, the wind chime turned out to be poorly made and couldn’t withstand the wind and broke. I mean, if it’s meant to be a wind chime how could it not be strong enough to withstand the wind? So I called the manager and informed her of that and she was very rude and unfriendly on the phone saying it’s fragile by nature and it’s not their fault that the thing broke if I «didn’t hang it right». And all I did was to inform her of the fact so that their customers would be foretold and warned about it at the time of the purchase. I mean, their stuff isn’t cheap so if I spend the money, I need to be reassured that it’s also well-​made.
This experience has really tarnished my positive feelings about their store and it’s a very unfortunately thing since I would not want to shop there anymore in the future.

Purchasing from Ten Thousand Villages is a great way to support craftspeople who are being paid a fair wage! There is a large variety of gifts, such as beautiful jewelry, handmade (gorgeous!) tableware, and much more!

Unique fair trade finds!

need a gift? come here!

Some of the most beautiful pieces of art are often made of materials people discarded, not seeing what was potentially there. In places where people don’t have much, often times they turn nothing into something and that something is often amazing…
Don’t believe me? Then you have never been to Ten Thousand Villages in Fell’s Point. The fair trade store means that artists and craftsmen in places like Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Tibet earn what they should (or at least closer to what they should) because their products are sold in the United States at a fair market value. The manager, Jean, has been to most of the countries where the artwork originates and gladly acts as both a sales person and a curator, explaining how recycled paper, potato chip bags, and umbrella spokes could be used to make such interesting and gorgeous pieces.
Ten Thousand Villages is in a great space and have great options. Everything is top quality (especially the jewelry and the home décor) and definitely a conversation piece. You don’t just by things here because you should; you buy them because you actually want them.

This location is located in Fells Point amongst the shops and plethora of bars and pubs in its environs.
A great small fair-​trade gifts store with hand-​made jewelry and specialty arts and crafts made in countries worldwide. I especially loved their jewelry and needlework fabrics. If I could I’d furnish my place with everything from this store and wear every piece of jewelry they have.
Despite being a fair-​trade gifts store, unlike what I expected the prices for the items were fairly reasonable. Even if not, I wouldn’t mind paying a little more for a gift if it means it provides an artisan somewhere else in the world the opportunity to exercise their entrepreneureal abilities and make a living from their craft. Merchandise also available on their website.