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SHOP CHICAGO’S BEST ALPACA CLOTHES AT MS. MINT HOLIDAY BAZAAR

Monday, December 12th, 2011

Looking for Chicago’s hottest alpaca scarves and Fair Trade accessories? Mayu has Chicago’s highest quality, softest and most unique designs on the market (just read what our customers say). There will also be lots of other fun items for sale including locally produced Chicago food. Yum! We love to support Chicago’s local businesses.

We will have our hand-knit alpaca scarves, hats and the rest of the alpaca goodies this Saturday at the Ms. Mint  holiday shopping event in Chicago. Come and check us out there and get those last minute holiday gifts. We will also have a few select SALE items available.

Mention this blog post for 10% off!

Sat. Dec. 17, 10 am – 6 pm.
Grossinger City Autoplex

For more on Mayu, find us on Twitter, and Facebook, and hear more stories from the field on our Blog!


 

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SHOP MAYU IN CHICAGO TOMORROW!

Saturday, October 22nd, 2011

 Its cold now — looks like that Indian summer in Fall is no longer! So now, its time to shop Mayu’s hand-knit alpaca clothes and accessories. We have beautifully knit alpaca scarves, alpaca hats and alpaca wraps — there is winter fashion for everyone at all price points. We also have a special SALE basket too.

We will be at St. Pats this Sunday, Oct. 23, in Chicago’s downtown loop. There is lots going on at the solidarity market…all sorts of vendors with Fair Trade and sustainably produced products from both abroad and locally produced. Personally, I’m looking forward to all the delicious homemade food options!

Come check us out and pick yourself up a new winter scarf or hat. You are going to want it…

Tell your friends too!

Start:
October 23, 2011 9:00 am
End:
October 23, 2011 1:00 pm
Venue:
Old St. Patrick’s Church Hall
Address:
700 West Adams Street, Chicago, United States, 60661


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CHICAGO’S FAIR TRADE GLOBALFEST

Sunday, October 9th, 2011

Its that time of the year again! Are you in Chicago? Come out and attend Chicago Fair Trade’s upcoming GlobalFest! 

This year’s fundraiser is in honor of Latin American producers and artisans, which includes the knitters that make Mayu’s  hand-knit alpaca accessories. The celebration is at the National Museum of Mexican Art in  Pilsen on FRIDAY OCT. 28.

“Join the celebration at Chicago Fair Trade’s annual gala featuring fair trade wine and cocktails, appetizers, and special Day of the Dead brew.  Find elegant fair trade treasures at our silent auction.  Globalfest will celebrate the growing consumers support for products that guarantee social benefits to workers and the environment.

Stories of Latin American producers of Fair Trade coffee, wine, chocolate, fashions and jewelry will be included.

Emcee: Tsi-Tsi-Ki Felix, lead news anchor of Telemundo Chicago


 Admission Includes access to Day of the Dead exhibit from 5:30- 7:30pm 

For more on Mayu, find us on Twitter, and Facebook, and hear more stories from the field on our Blog!

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WORLD FAIR TRADE DAY 2011

Saturday, May 14th, 2011

Wow, it has been a while! I was busy working in Uganda on a project with Solar Sister, a social enterprise working to empower women through the sale of Solar Lamps. I bought my first Solar Lamp and was camping this past weekend. It sure did come in handy! Uganda was a fabulous experience and there were lots of rustic crafts that I imagined alongside Mayu’s hand-knit, eco-friendly, fair trade alpaca clothes and fair trade gifts. In fact, I picked up just a few, one of my favorite times to shop…

Now that I’m back in action, today is the perfect day to bring attention to Fair Trade as it is WORLD FAIR TRADE DAY!  80+ countries are celebrating and you should too! Besides buying yourself something special (ie: one of Mayu’s fair trade gifts such as alpaca scarves or alpaca throws), how about changing your habits? This year, the challenge is to incorporate Fair Trade into your daily breakfast routine. It is easy…

“We’re not asking for big change,” said Paul Rice, President and CEO of Fair Trade USA,“ just small every day changes—switching a cup of coffee, a banana, a chocolate bar to one that’s Fair Trade Certified—to empower both consumers to make a difference and farmers to improve their lives and plan for a better future. It’s great to wake up every day and know that you’re part of a movement that has the power to change the world.”

For more on Mayu, find us on Twitter, and Facebook, and hear more stories from the field on our Blog!

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PEACE CORPS, THE START OF MAYU, CELEBRATES 50

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Peace Corps recently celebrated the agency’s 50th anniversary.  Nearly 20,000 people attended 740 parties in 76 countries around the world. From small gatherings of friends to street festivals, there are a myriad of ways that Peace Corps Volunteers celebrated their service.

“The Peace Corps completely changed everything in my life,” says Returned Peace Corps volunteer Anne Rimoin. “It changed who I was. It changed my perception of the world, and my perception of what I could do in the world.”

Peace Corps was the reason I started Mayu. I absolutely fell in love with all things Peru and Mayu has given me the opportunity to stay connected to the artisans (fabulous knitters) with whom I worked during my service.  A majority of my Peace Corps assignment was to help the knitters to understand both Western markets and Western customers.  Through Mayu, the artisans have been given the opportunity to earn fair wages and become more independent while doing what they both enjoy and excel in – knitting. There are many similar Peace Corps stories out there, which I love to hear…as cliche as it may sound, it really is a life changing experience.

Learn more about the Peace Corps and discover the origins of Mayu’s hand-knit alpaca accessories on our website.

For more on Mayu, find us on Twitter, and Facebook, and hear more stories from the field on our Blog!

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CHICAGO FAIR TRADE & MAYU ALPACA!

Friday, March 11th, 2011

Fair Trade has for long been an organization that Mayu has been involved with.  After Peace Corps took me to Peru and after founding Mayu to help empower Andean knitters, I worked for Chicago Fair Trade (CFT) and sat on the executive board. This organization works to increase support for fair trade in the Chicago metro area through education, advocacy and targeted consumer campaigns.

CFT has come a long way since it was created in 2006. With only 24 founding members at inception, CFT has nearly tripled its number of member organizations by 2011. CFT now stands at 70 organizational members, including businesses, nonprofits, universities and student groups, and faith based organizations.

Profit and non-for-profit members of CFT agree that more could be achieved through one unified group than individual voices. They see the value of banding together with like-minded individuals and businesses to broaden and deepen the awareness of fair trade in the Chicago area, allowing U.S. customers to be exposed to and understand the impact that fair trade makes in poor countries.

Mayu is an enterprise built around Fair Trade ideology. By that, we understand more than just paying fair wages of our Peruvian artisans; we also contribute to social development to Andean villages, and help the knitters to leverage their skills without a need to leave their homes and families. Visit Mayu online shop for high-quality, one-of-a-kind, hand-knit alpaca clothing.

And, if you are in the Chicago area, don’t forget to get involved with Chicago Fair Trade. If you are in another city, check out what the local scene looks like. There is sure to be something Fair Trade Friendly in your own neighborhood!

For more on Mayu, find us on Twitter, and Facebook, and hear more stories from the field on our Blog!

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HAPPY 8TH OF MARCH FROM MAYU!

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

I know we are just a day late, but it Mayu’s mind, better late than never! Most of the world celebrates International Women’s Day, a tradition originally started in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. In different regions, the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women’s economic, political and social achievements.

In many regions, the day lost its initially political flavor, and became simply an occasion for men to express their love for women in a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother’s Day and St Valentine’s Day. Women’s Day, however, is much more inclusive – it is still a very common tradition in East Europe to bring flowers to everyone starting from school teachers and ending with colleagues. In other regions the original political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner.

Standing for women’s economic and social empowerment in the Peruvian Andes, Mayu would like to join the worldwide celebration, and also recommend showing your appreciation to the women in your lives by gifting them high-quality, one-of-a-kind, hand-knit alpaca accessories. Your purchase gives our artisans an opportunity to earn fair wages and become more independent while doing what they both enjoy and excel in – knitting.

For more on Mayu, find us on Twitter, and Facebook, and hear more stories from the field on our Blog!

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DOCUMENTARIES! LEARN TO MAKE ONE & FILM PERU

Wednesday, February 9th, 2011

In Chicago? Need something fun to do? Always wanted to make a documentary? I know I have and here at Mayu, we love documentaries!

If you answered yes, we have good news! A world-class filmmaker, story editor and consultant, Fernanda Rossi is holding a weekend workshop “Doing Your Doc: Diverse Visions, Regional Voices” in Chicago from 25th till 27th February. Fernanda Rossi has been a story consultant to over 300 films including two Academy Award Nominees, and author of the book Trailer Mechanics.

The workshop is highly recommended by Mayu’s friend and filmmaker (we always blog and talk about Mitch’s film, Soy Andina — watch it under your hand-knit, fair trade alpaca throw knit by Mayu’s artisans),  Mitchell Teplitsky. Mitch recently returned from a visit to see Mayu’s hand-knit, 100% alpaca shawls, scarves, hats, and more in production. Like us, Mitch and Fernanda have a great love for Peru. They  worked together in developing “Soy Andina,” a documentary about dance, and Peruvian and American cultures.

“Doing your Doc” is designed especially for media makers in the diverse and local communities of Illinois, preparing participants to receive production funding and apply to national professional programs while developing your unique stories and views. If you have a personal documentary idea, or social change community project that needs development, this seminar will be the right choice. The seminar is supported by grants, thus the participation fee is only $100 ($50 for students).” If I were in Chicago, I’d definitely be attending! Would love to document the Mayu story! Read more about the event!

For more,  find us on Twitter, and Facebook, and hear more stories from the field on our Blog!

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KNITTING ALPACA SCARVES & DRINKING PISCO SOUR

Friday, February 4th, 2011

As a proud (or potential proud) owner of Mayu hand knitted, 100% Peruvian alpaca accessories, you probably would like to experience more Peruvian culture and understand the inspiration behind our Fair Trade, social enterprise that supports Peruvian knitters high in the Andes Mountains – I wonder if Mayu’s artisans are knitting and drinking Pisco Sours as we speak?! Eek…They definitely know how to multi-task, so I’m not so worried.

Here is one opportunity to get a further glimpse into Peru – this week Peru celebrates its national drink, Pisco Sour. We wrote about Pisco last year (who discovered Pisco, Chile or Peru?) so check that blog post out here.

Pisco Sour is a delicious drink (most people think so) made of pisco, lemon or lime juice, egg whites, syrup and bitters. Since 2003 this drink has earned own National day – celebrated the first weekend of February! Yay, starts tomorrow. If you happen to be in Lima, don’t miss large variety of events and festivals, offered by uncountable Peruvian bars and cafes or look for your favorite Peruvian restaurant close by your house. I’m sure they will have some sort of celebration as Peruvians love to have fun! And, as it is winter, don’t forget to bring your favorite Mayu alpaca scarf with you!

Here is our Pisco Sour recipe if you feel like doing a bit of experimentation!

Necessary ingredients:
* 2 fl oz (8 parts) Pisco
* 1 fl oz (4 parts) Lime juice
* 3/4 fl oz (3 part) Simple syrup
* 1 Egg white
* 1 dash Bitters

Preparation:
Shake hard or blend with ice and strain into glass. The bitters are an aromatic garnish topping the finished drink, put on top of pisco sour foam. See also the pisco sour battle.

Serve without ice and celebrate along with Peru!

For more, find us on Twitter, and Facebook, and hear more stories from the field on our Blog!

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ALPACA HOODIE SUPPORTS THE TRAILBLAZER FOUNDATION

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010

Mayu’s designer, Laddhavan Sutana, invited us to donate one of our super cute long alpaca hoodies for a silent auction she was attending.  Laddhavan’s sister is actively involved in the Trailblazer Foundation which works in Cambodia…

The goal of the Trailblazer Foundation in Cambodia is the following:

By providing training and appropriate technology, we empower rural villagers to create self-sustaining programs.

Our focus includes water projects, school construction, and community development in order to foster healthy families, sufficient food, and sustainable incomes.

We were happy to be part of the silent auction and hope that somebody special is enjoying their hand-knit, fair trade alpaca hoodie from Mayu. 

For more, join our e-news, find us on Twitter, and Facebook, and hear more stories from the field on our Blog!

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