“It’s meant a lot to a lot of people,” says Emily Carroll, manager of Ten Thousand Villages, the nonprofit shop that has supported artisans worldwide by selling handicraft decor and gifts.
March 30 will be its last day, according to Ten Thousand Villages of Huron Valley, the local organization that has operated the S. Main storefront since its 2004 launch.
“Over the course of twenty years, the cost of rent has just kept on going up, up, up,” Carroll explains. “Especially following Covid, people shop online so much more, and the foot traffic downtown has changed.
“Yeah, just two things working against each other.”
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She’s the only full-time employee, having taken over from a longtime manager who retired last year. The store is mostly staffed by a pool of about thirty active volunteers who support its fair-trade mission to “provide dignity, hope, and a living wage for skilled artisans who face barriers to earning a sustainable income,” as the local board’s news release puts it.
The parent organization is closing all of its retail locations not run by local boards in order to focus on online sales, Carroll says. Thirteen of the forty stores listed on its website will close this month.
Remaining inventory is thirty percent off. As closing day nears, that discount will increase, and store fixtures will also be sold.
“So many of the customers have been coming in and telling me that this was their go-to place for gifts, especially around the holiday time,” she says. “It’s one of the remaining places where you can find unique, handmade goods.”
Ten Thousand Villages, 303 S. Main. (734) 332–1270. Through March 30: Mon.–Sat 11 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun. noon–6 p.m. tenthousandvillages.com/annarbor
Got a retail or restaurant change? Email marketplace@aaobserver.com.
