We’ve all heard that it’s better to give than to receive, but why not make giving even better by looking for presents that benefit the maker directly or provide funding for social and environmental programs?
Seasonal kitchen veggie towel set
FairShare CSA Coalition sells this charming set of four seasonal cotton flour sack towels as a fundraiser for their work benefiting local farms. Prints are of veggies — naturally! The towels are printed at Screen Door Studio on Willy Street.
Cost: $25
Where: FairShare CSA Coalition, 303 S. Paterson St., 608-226-0300; csacoalition.org/shop
Chris Hynes
Kantha throws
Tired of trying to get warm under the drab fleece throw the dog sleeps on? Keep cozy while binge-watching this winter with a Kantha throw. Women in India create these colorful cotton blankets with cloth from recycled saris. Cloth is doubled and stitched together with decorative kantha stitching (typical of West Bengal and Bangladesh). Be strong! Don’t let the dog adopt this one.
Cost: $65
Where: SERRV stores, 224 State St., 608-251-2370; serrv.org/product/kantha-throw/bedding-throws
Jaspé jackets
Every winter since 2009, Door County fiber artist Wendy Carpenter has headed to Guatemala with her “Creating revenue through the arts” project. Carpenter works with women in Antigua, teaching specialized skills, creating and weaving garments and paying a fair wage. She then brings the clothing back to her Fish Creek gallery to sell. The project for 2017 was an open cardigan-style jaspé woven jacket; there are also woven vests. The men create jadeite jewelry. Carpenter is now selling the pieces through her Interfibers Studio Gallery website. Choose the tab “Ikat clothing.”
Cost: $55-$125
Where: Interfibers Studio Gallery, 9204 Silk Road, Fish Creek; 920-857-7379; interfibers.com
International calendar
The Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Wisconsin–Madison have been publishing beautiful calendars for 30 years as a fundraiser and to highlight the work of the Peace Corps. For 2018, photos are from Sudan, Nepal, Ukraine, Madagascar, Thailand, Niger, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, India, Lesotho, Iran and Myanmar; more info about the countries’ cultures and recipes are on facing pages. The group also sells a perpetual calendar for recording important events that happen on the same day every year in your life — birthdays, anniversaries and the date by which you need to renew your website.
Cost: $11 (perpetual) and $14 (2018 calendar)
Where: Through rpcvcalendar.org/shop/ and at the Fair Trade Madison Holiday Festival, Dec. 2, 9 am-4 pm at Monona Terrace
Hand-woven huipils and doll clothes
More hand-woven wear from Guatemala comes from Terra Experience. The Madison-based business founded by Lynn Persson offers fair wages to weavers. While Terra Experience is best known for traditional Mayan outfits sized to fit American Girl dolls, it also imports huipils, colorful Latin American embroidered blouses.
Cost: $28-$50
Where: Stony Hill Antiques and Gallery, 2140 Regent St., 608-231-1247 and at the Fair Trade Madison Holiday Festival, Dec. 2, 9 am-4 pm at Monona Terrace
The Wisconsin outdoors
This past year, the public’s strong support for Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine saved it from being axed in the state budget. Continue that support with a gift subscription. Other gifts that support the state’s natural areas include a yearly state parks and forests pass, a state bike trail pass, or a donation to the Forests for the Future Fund. That money is used to plant trees, establish wildlife habitat and control invasive plants. In other words, it will make using that state parks pass all the more appealing.
Cost: magazine subscription, $9 for six issues; state parks pass $28, bike trail pass $25.
Where: dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag, 101 S. Webster St., 1-888-936-7463
