Feb 13, 2011

Warren Store Features Fair Trade Gifts Alongside Valentine BouquetsBy Leigh MedeirosBristol-Warren.patch.com

It all started 10 years ago with a found wallet. Bridget Tierney, who was living in New York at the time and working as a theater electrician, found the wallet and sent it back to it’s owner. Shortly thereafter she received a thank you note and a bracelet with a tag that read “Fair Trade.” Curious, Tierney decided to visit the Brooklyn gift shop where the bracelet was purchased. “It was a great, artsy shop,” she said. “I thought, this is what I want to do. It’s perfect.”

A decade later, those same Fair Trade bracelets are sold in Tierney’s gift and floral shop, The Greenery, in Warren. Needing a change of scenery, Tierney moved the store to Warren this past Fall from its original location in Scituate. “I love Warren and I didn’t really think to look too many other places,” she said. “I grew up in East Providence so I’m an East Bay person.”

Tierney purchases her ‘Fair trade’ gift items through the Fair Trade Federation (FTF) and has items from Guatemala, Vietnam, India, Mexico, several African countries and many others. “Fair Trade” is the antithesis of faceless mass-production and aims to do ethical business with considerations for human rights and environmentalism. Ask Tierney about any of the handcrafted clothes, stationary, housewares and jewelry and she’ll tell you an interesting story about its origins.

In addition to the eclectic and colorful handcrafted wares, The Greenery is a full stop flower shop. This Valentine’s Day customers can buy flowers by the stem or bouquets from $10 to $65, as well as potted plants and flowers.

Tierney says she likes to have a price range for everyone, citing a $0.75 “bouquet” of lollipops. The majority of items in the shop are under $50. Among locally made wares are ceramic work by local potter John Boland, Garrison chocolates and products designed by Judy Vilmain of Providence.

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