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26 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday October 6, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com Store event connects artisans and customers On Tuesday October 10, 2006, customers at Ten Thousand Villages, 189 Lakeshore Road East, will have the exclusive opportunity to interact with Kommaly Chanthavong, an artisan and workshop leader from Vientiane, Laos. Ms. Chanthavong and other artisans use traditional weaving techniques to create the exquisite, Laotian textiles sold at the store. The visit, slated for 10am - 4pm, demonstrates Ten Thousand Villages' unique relationship with its artisan partners. The store, which sells fairly traded products handcrafted by skilled artisans in Africa, Asia and Latin America, creates cross-cultural connections between artisans and consumers by inviting artisans from around the world to visit the store, to demonstrate their craft and to share their story and life experiences with customers. "Ten Thousand Villages is the only import store in Oakville where customers can interact face to face with the artisans that create the products they buy," said Store Manager Ingrid Heinrichs Pauls. She continued, "When customers hear artisans' stories first hand, they begin to understand and value the difference their purchase makes in the lives of artisans around the world." Ms. Chanthavong and her husband Noulieme, direct Phon Tong Handicraft Cooperative, a Ten Thousand Villages artisan partner based in Laos. Started in 1980, Phon Tong Handicrafts works with Lao weavers and basket makers in lowland villages around Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. The craftswomen that Phon Tong works with intersperse weaving with housework and childcare, bringing valuable additional income to their households. Phon Tong Handicrafts provides weaving lessons and free raw materials, helping to revive the once dying art of traditional Laotian weaving. Ten Thousand Villages has worked with Phon Tong Handicrafts since 1989. Kommaly was one of the 1,000 women who were jointly nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. She also received the 2002 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Best Artist Award. Of her work, she said, "We strengthen the position of women by giving them a dependable income and thus improving the chances of their children." For more information about this event, please contact Ingrid, store manager, at (905) Small_PIONEER5_new.ai 9/19/2006 337-2377. 9:01:01 PM We wish our friends & family a Joyful Thanksgiving WE WILL BE CLOSED SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8 AND MONDAY, OCTOBER 9 SO THAT OUR TEAM CAN CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING WITH THEIR FAMILIES. WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10 Canadian Sound is Oakville's only exclusive dealer of Pioneer's Elite products. UPCOMING EVENT Flavour For Life: Tuesday, October 17 6pm Gourmet Dining & Fashion Show in support of The Canadian Cancer Society Winner of 12 Reader's Selection Awards! Say hello to the leading edge of plasma technology. Never has so much passion, style and technology been packed into a slimmer space. Don't take our word for it. Visit our showroom and let your eyes judge for themselves. NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE 905-468-2554 · 166 LAKESHORE ROAD EAST,OAKVILLE 905-337-3155 Ten Thousand Villages to host artisan from Laos Available for the whole family exclusively at Foot Solutions. www.footsolutions.com 213 Lakeshore Road East Downtown Oakville w w w. j u l i a s r i s t o r a n t e . c o m 85 Navy Street. Oakville, Ontario. Canada L6J 2Z2 Telephone: 905.844.7600 www.canadiansound.com (905) 339-FOOT (3668)