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The Indiana Daily Student

International fashions find their niche

Moonstone

If you’re missing the fashions of your hometown and looking for a good place to shop, don’t worry - here are plenty of international options in downtown Bloomington.

ATHENA
116 N. Walnut St.
812-339-0734

With an assortment of embroidered tops, flowing floor-length skirts, hand-dyed scarves, tapestries and unique stone and silver jewelry, Athena has it all.

It also sells a variety of global music, including CDs for belly dancing, meditation, drumming and Latin dance.

As a free-trade store, Athena’s buyers regularly fly to Bali, Indonesia, to purchase jewelry directly from local artisans.

“Our buyers like to meet with the local artists and do business with them personally,” Athena sales associate Katelin Vesely said. “That’s about as fair-trade as it gets.”

Along with Indonesian jewelry, Athena’s merchandise comes from Guatemala, Poland, Nepal, India and West Africa, among others.

Prices range from about $15 to $60.

YANGKEY’S TIBET SHOP
114 S. Indiana Ave.
812-334-7773

Known for the famous “Magic Skirt,” which can transform into a number of different styles of tops or dresses, Tibet Shop sells gorgeous handmade clothing and jewelry.

At fair prices, Tibet Shop retails silver earrings, pendants and necklaces, as well as colorfully embroidered dresses, purses and tapestries. They also have a whole wall dedicated to scarves.

Prices range from about $2 to $90.

GLOBAL GIFTS
122 N. Walnut St.
812-336-7402

Stocked with merchandise from more than 35 countries, Global Gifts supports artisans worldwide as a fair-trade, nonprofit, volunteer-run store.

The store offers knitted hats made from deconstructed saris from India, vibrant hand-beaded headbands from Guatemala, silver cuff bracelets from Indonesia and woven totes from Bangladesh.

It even places a tag on every item in the store to indicate where the article originated, and some tags tell a story about the particular history of the material or artist.

“International students will see things in our store that are familiar to them in craftsmanship,” Volunteer Coordinator and Assistant Manager Tana Hellwig said. “We also provide them with a chance to support artisans in their home country.”

Prices range from about $2 to $100.

MOON STONES
322 E. Kirkwood Ave.
812-339-7340

If you’re searching for one-of-a-kind jewelry that makes a chic statement, head over to Moon Stones. The store offers an array of rings, earrings, necklaces, bags and silk scarves from Africa, South America, India and Israel.

Prices range from about $2 to $50.

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