Dedicated to Sustainable Development

GRUPEDSAC- Group To Promote Education and Sustainable Development, is dedicated to offering solutions for poverty in the Mexican countryside through training, skill development, ecosystem restoration, and motivating the organizational and management capacities of small farmer communities with the purpose of generating knowledge and allowing them to satisfy their basic needs of pure water, healthy food, appropriate housing, and sustainable energy.

In order to fulfill its mission, the organization has two training and demonstration centers on alternative technologies where the promotion of self-sufficiency and self-development are the main goals. The Center for Education and Rural Development (CEDER) in Huixquilucan, State of Mexico, and the Instituto Tonantzin Tlalli (ITT) in Ejutla, Oaxaca. Both centers were built using appropriate green technologies and Permaculture design principles. They offer guided visits, trainings, and workshops at both sites.

During a recent trip to Mexico, Judy and Charles came across this non-profit organization at the trade show and bought some unique handbags, coin purses and clutches all made from recycled wrappers. Come have a look at the classy, intricately woven accessories made from discarded, colorful and shiny candy wrappers. Talk about sustainable!

New Sculptures and Designs by Roberto!

THIS JUST IN- Hurray! We received a shipment of some new sculptures from one of our favorite artisans- Roberto Tirado. They are playful as well as elegant, and range in price from $45 to $450 depending on size and style. There are some adorable little birds that have a tall perch to go perfectly in the garden. I haven't seen Roberto's Woman with the Cat before, but now I'm in love with her. :) Hopefully you'll get a chance to see these exquisite beauties before they go away to good homes. Come have a look- there might even be one your home or garden cannot live without. I'm telling ya, Roberto Tirado has really accomplished great work in these new, unique sculptures. See you at the gallery!

- D.K.

Acholi Beads and aesthetyX- a Big Hit Together!

Thank you Jim and Suzie Pearson of Acholi Beads for the great Trunk Show last weekend during the Leucadia Art Walk. It was a huge success!

We look forward to working with Acholi Beads again soon, and in the meantime we will continue to carry a wide selection of Acholi earrings, bracelets and necklaces in the store. We are proud to be an Acholi Beads retailer. If you missed the Trunk Show this time around- come on down and see what's new. Have a great Labor Day!


-D.K.

Acholi Beads Trunk Show at aesthetyX

This Sunday the 30th, aesthetyX will be hosting an Acholi Beads Trunk Show during the Leucadia ART WALK. Two Acholi Beads representatives will be setting up right outside our door! Enjoy the Arts this summer by strolling the 101 in Leucadia and stop by aesthetyX to see what's new from Acholi Beads.

Elephant Paintings by an Elephant!

We have some new paintings from Hong, the talented artist who also happens to be an elephant! Three years ago, Hong began painting, and has steadily developed her skills. After learning to paint flowers, she moved on to more advanced paintings. We bought some of Hong's amazing artwork through Exotic World Gifts. Exotic World Gifts supports distant villages by offering fine handcrafted items rich in tradition and cultural diversity. They travel to remote locations around the world and discover the women, men, and now ELEPHANTS who create beautiful, authentic handcrafted items. Please share their vision with all your friends and family, so we can all make a positive and lasting contribution to the world.

Come down to the aesthetyX gallery and see what Hong the elephant has created! The paintings make great gifts or conversation pieces for your home.

-D.K.

SPIRAL Foundation is Back!

We are carrying merchandise from SPIRAL Foundation again! This is a wonderful organization working with global artisans. We invite you to join us in supporting their work. SPIRAL Foundation is a humanitarian non-profit that works Spinning Potential Into Resource and Love...

All net proceeds from the handicraft sales are returned to Vietnam and Nepal to fund primary health care, medical and educational projects, giving to those involved in the production process a sense of pride that comes by helping and sustaining many others, in even greater need than themselves. Members of all The Spiral Foundation Workshops have an active role in the allocation and monitoring of all funds generated by proceeds from the sales of The SPIRAL Foundation Gift Line.



Come on down to the aesthetyX store and shop with your heart as you shop to give back! We have a gorgeous SPIRAL bowl made from recycled papers that has been crafted into a beautiful piece of art.

-D.K.

What it Means to be a Socially Responsible Business

Social responsibility is an ethical or ideological theory that an entity whether it is a government, corporation, organization or individual has a responsibility to society. As a socially responsible business, we at aesthetyX feel we have an obligation to certain areas that should be measured regardless of the outcome needed. These areas are as follows: economic function, quality of life, social investment and problem solving. In other words, gaining financial success in ways that honor ethical values, and respect people, communities and the natural environment is our goal for aesthetyX.

James Pearson of Acholi Beads talks about his unique "socially proactive" business in a thoughful way, "...our beads are made from paper that is being discarded by printers in Uganda, the East African country where they are made. By using this paper productively we cut down on waste and help curb deforestation. This is socially conscious. And our workers are far from sweatshop laborers. They work from their homes on their own time to make our products. And we pay them more than their asking price, because we know their prices are tailored to a local market where poverty is status quo. But we also go the extra mile. Instead of just hiring any Ugandan, we sought out refugees from northern Uganda, where a terrible war has ravaged the population for over 20 years... That is socially proactive."

Evolving To Fair Trade

At aesthetyX, we strive to be a sustainable, socially responsible business that offers you unique, fair trade merchandise. We are moving in the direction of bringing you even more fairly traded and sustainable products that are authentic and rich in cultural diversity. We believe shopping with a purpose is the only way to shop!



What it means to be Fair Trade

Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a higher price to producers as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate and flowers.

Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers – especially in the South. Fair Trade Organizations, backed by consumers, are engaged actively in supporting producers, awareness raising and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international trade.

Fair trade is, fundamentally, a response to the failure of conventional trade to deliver sustainable livelihoods and development opportunities to people in the poorest countries of the world. Poverty and hardship limit people’s choices while market forces tend to further marginalize and exclude them.

We thank you for shopping with aesthetyX and supporting our efforts to evolve with the fair trade world and socially responsible movement. Please let us know if there is anything you would like us to carry, and we'll look into finding it for you.

Friends to Build a Nest

Nest has been a great inspiration to many women, including all of us at aesthetyX. The mission of Nest is to support women artists and artisans in the developing world by helping them create sustainable entrepreneurial businesses. To do this, Nest provides micro-credit loans to be used for the purchase of the supplies and materials necessary to begin and/or maintain art or craft-based businesses. We will be meeting with a team of San Diego Nest volunteers to discuss our partnership and continued support of this wonderful non-profit. We will either start carrying new product from the women they support or donate a percentage of our store sales back into Build a Nest so that they may continue their important work with artisans. We are proud to be a Friend in a ongoing partnership with Nest. We'll keep you posted after our meeting with Nest! In the meantime, enjoy the sunshine and surf! Oh and check out Nest.

Buen Viaje

As we approach our next trip to Mexico this August, we would like to share with you some of our past travel adventures to Mexico. If you have any travel stories that you would like to share with Aesthetyx, please send them our way. We'd love to hear about your eXperience... Just submit them by leaving a comment in this blog entry. Buen Viaje...

If you'd like to read a travel blog, just click below on the city of your choice. Enjoy!

Guadalajara 1 Guadalajara 2
San Miguel de Allende

Aesthetyx Summer Solstice Sale

There are only three days left to find the most amazing deals at Aesthetyx! Enjoy the savings this summer! We will be holding a HUGE sale June 20th-30th. You may save up to 50% off select items for 10 days only! See you at the SALE!

Celebrating World Fair Trade Day!

BIG BANG!! is a global festival of events scheduled for May 9th, 2009 to promote a fair trade solution to poverty, climate change and economic crisis. Check out: http://www.worldfairtradeday09.org for more information.

During the BIG BANG global celebration, fair trade events will pass through every continent, country, city, town and street over 48 hours and Aesthetxy will be celebrating as well by holding an event featuring global artisans from Barro Sin Plomo (BSP), Acholi Beads and more.

Our event will take place Saturday May 9th from 4 P.M to 8 P.M. at the Aesthetyx gallery in Encinitas located at 466 N. Coast Hwy 101 Suite 5. During the celebration, Aesthetyx will serve Fair Trade coffee from The Pannikin as well as Fair Trade chocolate from Askinosie Chocolate.

We are excited about participating in this global event in celebration of Fair Trade. We are supportive of the efforts of all retailers who strive to purchase their goods fairly and responsibly.

Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach that aims to help producers in developing countries and promote sustainability. The movement advocates the payment of a "fair price" as well as social and environmental standards in areas related to the production of a wide variety of goods. It focuses in particular on exports from developing countries to developed countries, most notably handicrafts, coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea, bananas, honey, cotton, wine, fresh fruit, chocolate and flowers.

Fair trade's strategic intent is to work with marginalized producers and workers in order to help them move towards economic self-sufficiency and stability. It also aims to allow them to become greater stakeholders in their own organizations as well as play a wider role, and achieve greater equity, in international trade.

Please join us in this celebration! We will be showcasing more Barro Sin Plomo pottery and you will have the opportunity to meet BSP's developing director Anna O'Leary.

Celebrate World Fair Trade Day with Aesthetyx

April = Environmental Month

Spring is here so it's a perfect time to celebrate Mother Earth on April 22nd - Earth Day!

We at Aesthetyx are taking the 3R's mantra 'Reduce - Reuse - Recycle' to heart
by supporting gloabal artisans who take the 3R's to a whole new level. By supporting these artisans, you support their efforts toward independence while protecting the environment and giving or receiving a unique gift!

Come see some of our green and sustainable products by these talented artisans next time you're in the store:

* Acholi Beads made of discarded magazines by displaced women from the Acholi tribe of Northern Uganda.
* Barro Sin Plomo (clay without lead) lead-free pottery hand-crafted by artisans in Central Mexico
* Kenyan Soapstones carved and painted by hand by artisans from Kenya

SAVE THE DATE - Saturday, May 9th
for our First Aesthetyx World Fair Trade Day Celebration
featuring Anna O'Leary and Barro Sin Plomo

Barro Sin Plomo and Aesthetyx- Working Together

Aesthetyx proudly welcomes Anna O'Leary to our new gallery! Anna is the vice president of Barro Sin Plomo (BSP) Mexico and has worked in Mexico for over two years on the design and implementation of its projects. Anna was previously a consultant to Aid to Artisans in Mexico as well as the marketing coordinator of lead-free pottery. She is currently the Director of Development for Barro Sin Plomo USA. And she is working out of our new gallery in Encinitas! We are happy with the change, and hope that all of you will soon have a chance to check out the new space with all its beautiful BSP pottery. 10% of all sales of BSP pottery out of the Aesthetyx gallery will be donated back to Barro Sin Plomo. Come by and have a look at the exquisite work by these talented artisans!


A LITTLE ABOUT BARRO SIN PLOMO:

In 2003, anthropologist Victor Aquila Sanchez and ceramist Barbara Garrido, founded BSP as a non-profit Mexican organization dedicated to lead-free pottery production. Barro Sin Plomo is now working in five Mexican states with 300 potters who have or are transitioning to lead-free glazes.

In 2004, BSP helped launch a for-profit social enterprise, Echery Pottery (www.echerypottery.com) which specializes in packing, shipping, and exporting of lead-free pottery. BSP and Echery Pottery are both based in Patzcuaro, Michocan Mexico.

Barro Sin Plomo has ongoing efforts to eliminate lead glazes in traditional pottery production in Mexico and now in the U.S., construct fuel-efficiant kilns, introduce lead-free glazing technologies and equiptment which will enable these family based businesses to re-enter and reclaim important international markets for their products. The primary focus for BSP right now is to eliminate lead-glaze in the states where there is the hightest population of potters currently using lead glazes and where there are hundreds of artisans requesting assistance from BSP's training team.

The two most important ways people can help people expand this effort right now is by making a tax deductible contribution to BSP USA or by purchasing lead-free pottery.

Please stop by and visit the Aesthetyx gallery, and see what's new in the world of pottery.