Window Shopping

[Guest]

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[redstarr]

I see SO MANY lovely wares made or sold by the borrowers.  Things that are so pretty I wish I could buy them for  myself.  I guess the next best thing is to loan on them

Maybe I'm just a compulsive shopper, but I bet I'm not alone.  Some of the products are just so nice!  I thought I'd start a thread to share these "window shopping" finds.

This girl's fabrics are awesome!
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=48873&_tpos=8&_tpg=1

[redstarr]

This guy's leather jug things are cool.
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=46548&_tpos=11&_tpg=14

[cpbailey]

There have been a couple other strands on this topic!

Here is one.
http://www.kivafriends.org/index.php/topic,420.msg1938.html#msg1938

The second one is
http://www.kivafriends.org/index.php/topic,1571.0.html

It is still a great idea.  Just need someone to figure out how to do it and jump through all the hoops.

Colette

[redstarr]

Oh, funny it never occurred to me that it might be possible to ACTUALLY buy the wares.   I was thinking more from a window shopping perspective, sort of fantasy shopping.  Apparently, lots of people are discussing ways to REALLY be able to import and purchase the stuff. ( Sounds difficult to arrange and probably would end up being pretty cost prohibitive to me, but there's a lot of people in those threads that seem to have some ideas about feasibility). 

For now, though, I think it's cool to be able to window shop and imagine visiting the shops of our kiva borrowers and coming home with a suitcase full of goodies.

[cpbailey]

It isn't necessarily Kiva borrowers, but if you want some international products from little businesses...take a peek.

This one uses celphones to order; it is fairly small, but fun.
http://www.todofono.com/Default.aspx

This one has a lot of products.  Check out the tapestry work from the Andes!!!
http://www.novica.com/

Colette

Note: I do not have any business relationship with either of these companies and nothing to gain.  I have no personal experience with their products or the service provided.  Just thought it a cool concept.

[Ingvar]

For now, though, I think it's cool to be able to window shop and imagine visiting the shops of our kiva borrowers and coming home with a suitcase full of goodies.

I like the idea of this thread! Pictures of the entrepreneurs' interesting or beautiful merchandise sounds great!

I recommend posting the biggest available picture, so that details and ornaments are more visible. On the loan page, click on the picture, and usually (but not always) you'll get a bigger picture. The easiest way to include this picture is, when you see it in the browser, copy the URL from the address bar, and then in your KivaFriends comment, click the image button and paste the URL between the img tags that appear.

However if the image is very big, attaching it is better, because then we automagically get a reasonably sized picture when loading the page, and can click on it to get the larger version.

Nice idea!

[DianeCharlie]

(And Ingvar and others, here's a little trick you may not be familiar with: the loan photos on the site are maxed out at width=800.  You'll see in the URL of every photo you click on, the term "/w800/".  For some photos, width=800 is far SMALLER than their full size!  If you edit the URL in the browser and change "/w800/" to "/orig/", you will sometimes (about half the time) get the VERY large and crisp and clear original-size image.  Just a fun little Kiva website trick which isn't obvious unless you've heard about it before.)

--Diane.

[Margaret]

I'd like to buy some of Buh Margaret Njuan's items.  And in the comments section of her page, she requests help in exporting her products.  A quote: "She also hopes that perhaps her connection to Kiva could help her to find an international market for her crafts. She asks the people who have been so kind as to finance her loan to help her connect to a foreign market and consider sending her orders for her handicrafts."
http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&action=about&id=11710&_tpos=1&_tpg=1




Margaret

[DianeCharlie]

I am a lender to Margaret also, Margaret  and would also be interested in buying some of her crafts!  Shall we see together what we can do for her?

--Diane.

[Margaret]

Hi Diane --

Yes -- I'd like to help Margaret find a way to sell her crafts!

Margaret