More Interior Designers Catch the Tribal Wave

Here is a new article outlining how interior designers are integrating tribal art and tribal masks as accents in modern decor. To read more please follow this link.

http://www.deccanherald.com/Content/Apr102009/realty20090409129147.asp

TDI Supports Mexican Orphanage

Hard Rock Cafe - Drop Off Location for "Give A Toy"

Hello again from Tropic Design Imports.Com

We are excited to tell you all that we have just returned from a buying trip Quintana Roo State of Mexico.  We were able to proved over 5 kg of small toys and personal care items to the Registered Charity “Give a Toy, Get a Smile”

While on the trip we saw many tribal masks and were able to source several new and unique prooducts that you won’t see anywhere else on the web.  Stay tuned while we work out the supply arrangements for these exceptionally unique local  crafts.

A Bag Full Of Goodies

We were able to bring over 5kg of Toys and personal care items.

The Happy Staff

The Staff at the Hard Rock couldn’t contain them selves with the amount of stuff that we were able to bring.  Many happy children and I think a few happy staff as well.

Tribal Inspired Decor Making a Comeback

A recent Article in the Minneapolis Star Tribue highlited the re-emerging trend to incoporate tribal artifacts into modern decore. While today it is more subdued than back in the 1970′s it speaks volumes about the globalization of our society. Give it a try, you can add a tribal mask or tribal art to your home and give your space a whole new fresh look.

 View the full artical below.

http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/39368062.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ##

Ring in the Fair Trade New Year

January 26 marks the new Lunar Chinese Year. 

Kung Hei Fat Choi to all of our suppliers, and all of our customers too.

This event is marked in many Asian countries, many of the same countries that we source our fair trade products from such as Nepal, The Philippines and Indonesia.

It is at times like that Chinese new year that tribal masks and many of the artifacts that we sell are used by the indigenous people in our source countries to ring in luck and the hope for prosperity in the new year and to chase away bad luck and evil spirits.  You can learn more about the use of many of the tribal masks from the links on our site.

As we enter the new year we are faced with many economic uncertainties here in North America.  There is no doubt that some of this will spill over into our source countries as consumers here in North America and many other wealthy countries reign in discretionary spending on consumer products and and travel.  Please remember that by supporting fair trade products you can make a big difference in the lives of people living in developing nations.

To assist and support our artisan crafts people we will be having a Chinese new year’s sale on all Large masks.  Stay tuned for more information.

Do Fair Trade Products Cost More?

As a rule fair trade products do not cost more than non-fair trade products though some major retailers will charge a premium for this type of product because of the perceived consumer value, this is often referred to as greenwashing.  

In General small independent fair trade merchants will not charge this type of premium on the products that they sell.  Fair traders tend to work directly with the producsers and artisans, this often cuts out anywhere from 3 to 10 middlemen that each add costs to the product that goes through a more normal supply chain.  This allows the fair trade merchant to pay more to the supplier without adding cost to the consumer.

Fair Trade, Foreign Aid What’s the Difference?

Foreign aid is an important tool to assist millions of people throughout the world.  Certain aspects of Foreign aid work to better the systems that support people in developing regions of the globe such as the delivery of food, medicine, and educational programs.  All to often though Foreign Aid is a hand out, not a hand up.  Most of this aid is delivered by Governments and many Non-Government Agencies.  Some of this assistance is not very efficient.  Don’t get me wrong, there is often a very real need for this sort of aid, particularly in regions devastated by drought, war, or other natural disaster.  People in these sorts of regions have often lost everything and have no place to start to improve there well being.

 

However in many regions of the world, there are abundant natural resources but these people do not have access to markets for their goods or if they do have access to markets it is often at a lowest cost production basis that often leaves little or nothing for the producer to live on.  The end result is that Foreign Aid is then needed to top up these people.  By simply ensuring that these people have access to markets at a price that ensures a living wage, many people are able to become self sufficient and leave the aid cycle.  This then gives the aid organizations the ability to focus on those that truly need their help and assistance in regions that have been devastated by natural disaster or armed conflict, making the aid process much more efficient in the end.  Millions of people can benefit from simply having their income increased a couple of dollars a day, an amount of money that enables families to send their children to school, obtain needed medical assistance and provide adequate nutrition.

 

Tropic Design Imports works with artisans and companies that import Tribal Masks, Jewelry, and other artifacts from Indonesia, Ghana, Peru, and The Philippians and we are working to expand our source counties.  Please join us in helping these talented craftsmen by purchasing some of their products at our web store today.

What is Fair Trade?

Trade is one of the strongest forces linking our lives and a source of unprecedented wealth. International trade rules are unfairly biased in favor of the wealthy. Fair trade gives consumers a chance to use their buying power to help those in poverty.

Fair trade is a free market trading system that ensures that certain social objectives are met in order to build long term financially beneficial partnerships between producers in developing regions and consumers in First World Nations.

Fair trade businesses pay fair wages in the local context of the source regions, work to ensure environmentally sustainable production, and safe working conditions.

October Is Fair Trade Month  JOIN US ON OUR WEBSITE TO SEE OUR SPOOKY SPECIALS!

 

Tribal Mask Materials

Many of you may be wondering what sort of wood many of the tribal masks and carvings that we sell are made out of, here is a list of the most common types of wood.

Albesia or Belalu [Albizia falcata] … Most commonly used wood for masks, flowers, and most of the painted product. (cats, animals, boxes, etc.) …white, soft wood — sometimes brown at the center. These trees are traditionally replanted as they are cut and can grow amazingly fast.

Crocodile or Satin Wood [Zanthoxylum rhetsa] … White, relatively hard wood. Carvings usually have a very smooth finish — making them look a little like ivory. This wood is more difficult to carve and usually commands a higher price also is used mostly for smaller more detailed pieces. When a burl caused by a parasite occurs these are often carved into small animals etc. and it is referred to as ‘parasite wood’

Suar or Rain Tree [Samanea saman] … Brown, hard wood — favored wood of importers, used for furniture and often for carvings such as Dragons, Horses, Buddha’s and Yogis and many ‘one of a kind pieces’. This wood has a more expensive look when finished in a stain and brought to a high polish. If properly dried it is popular outside of the tropics because the crisscrossed, interlocking grain helps keeps the wood from cracking when moved to drier climates. Often likened to mahogany but not as rare or hard as the South American variety

Waru or Grey Hibiscus [Hibiscus tiliaceus] … White blended with light gray — the dark heartwood often makes for distinctive two-tone carvings. As this wood ages, the gray turns greenish — a very beautiful look. Grey hibiscus can be sanded to a very smooth finish. This is more expensive and usually found in unique and detailed carved pieces.

Teak … We only sell items made from the Roots that are now being recovered from previously logged  areas where they were left in the ground many years ago, and are now being dug up and used for bowls and benches etc. beautiful grain and well aged stands up well  to weather.

Welcome to Tropic Design Imports

Welcome to the new Tropic Design Imports blog.  We hope you will visit us often as we relay information about our products and the people and places where they are made.  We will also be featuring information on culture, geography, and fair trade, and how we can all participate in making the world a better place.

We will also present some of our behind the scenes fun stuff.

Tropic Design Imports was purchased in August 2008 by CamLea Holdings Inc. and is run by Cammy & Les Brown.  We operate from Red Deer Alberta Canada.

We are importers of artisan quality home decor, jewelry, and textiles from Africa, the South Pacific, and Latin America.

We will be re-launching our on-line store on September 15, 2008, and will have special offers for all of our customers.

You may visit our on-line store at http://www.tropicdesignimports.com