Gallery and Gift Shop Supports Fair Trade

Three generations of family run a gallery and gift shop at The Blue House. The youngest is Anna Subich, her mother is Mary Iozzo and Peg Jensen, her grandmother. Each shares a passion that presents itself in the varied items in the store. But there is a larger cause involved as well. 

Anna Subich is the buyer for the store and the family's shared interest in Fair Trade is evident as a result.

Fair Trade is a social movement that links products from developing countries to those that are considered developed. Better trading practices and sustainability are the keynotes of the movement, which advocates for the producer of goods, financially, socially, and environmentally.

“Impoverished people will make a great product and then there will be a middle man who may or may not pay them or make them work ridiculous hours for very minimum pay,” Subich said. “So Fair Trade assures that the person will get a fair price for their product and that there’s no child labor.”

“Fair trade really helps people,” Iozzo said. “It helps women and children; they’re in an environment that’s safe. They get paid well and it’s not a sweat shop; they’re not tied to a work station.”

Subich tells a story that illustrates the difference Fair Trade partnerships can make in the world: “A family lived up in the mountains and the father decided to buy some land. So, he went to the loan shark. The loan shark agreed with the stipulation that the loan recipient gave his daughter as collateral.

“She’s forced to work as a prostitute in Bangkok in order to pay off her dad’s loan. So, just before the loan was paid off, the father bought another piece of land, so (the girl) is owned for another two years. Rahab (an organization that buys women from slavery) paid the debt and freed the girl, and now she supports herself by making jewelry.” 

The artisans, mostly from India, Thailand, Africa, South America, and Indonesia, according to Subich, are paid whether or not merchants sell their items.

“Good for them, bad for me,” she said with a laugh. “The artist gets paid, whether or not I can sell it," Subich added. "They are paid up front.” 

Subich’s grandmother is responsible for the vintage items that are scattered here and there and local artists are represented, courtesy of Iozzo, who has a lifelong interest in visual arts. 

“They need more exposure,” she said of the artists. “A lot of them do the shows once a month or once a year and we can display them in the store every day.”

Most of the artists presented at The Blue House have come to Iozzo through word of mouth. Asked if she has sufficient room for more displays, she answered, “Absolutely.”

At the apex of the family’s plans for the store, however is their commitment to Fair Trade. Subach credited her faith as a Christian as her inspiration for the endeavor and mentioned the Bible’s verse, Isaiah 58: 5-7.

The passage partially reads: “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?”

• What: The Blue House, 205 S. Cook St., .
• Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday.
• Blues House info: Call 1-630-777-0811
• Fair Trade info, visit http://www.fairtradefederation.org/.