Plowsharing Crafts

Plowsharing Crafts is a great place to get unique gifts for the holidays and throughout the year! Everything in the store is Fair Trade — it feels good to spend your money where you know that you are helping someone else make a fair wage.

I went on a «I’m not going to buy from China» mission, and this place was a god-​send. Things are expensive compared to what you’d buy at a mass market store (or a thrift shop,) but they have unique things that are made well and will last. Everything from cards to decoration to clothing to functional things needed for a house.

i just love this shop. this is where i but pretty much all of my coffee. i am particularly fond of the Equal Exchange Mind Body & Soul whole bean. it’s more reasonably priced than most fair trade/​organic stuff at the grocery store. plus they have a coffee club, so you get a free bag of coffee for every 10 you buy. it doesn’t take us long to rack up a free bag in this house.
but you almost feel bad taking the free coffee from this 100% fair trade shop. EVERYTHING in the store has been purchased from fair traders, so it’s not like buying the one bag of coffee at the supermarket that is fair trade certified, which is also great, but this is even bigger, supporting a fair trade business model.
i also love shopping here for holiday gifts, housewarming gifts, and when i have a little something extra to spend on myself. the divine dark chocolate IS divine. mmmm with ginger bits mmmm and i love love love their accessories. scarves, bracelets, earrings, everything is unique and never fails to draw in the compliments.

Too many fair trade stores use the «fair trade» label to get away with selling overpriced or low quality merchandise, banking on those people who will buy anything as long as it saves a rainforest.
Plowsharing Crafts is definitely NOT that kind of store. They have a wonderful selection of products at surprisingly low prices. I was particularly impressed by the jewelry, which covered everything from delicate paper rings to hefty silver necklaces. I picked up an adorable pair of beaded hoop earrings that literally made me stop and stare as I was leaving the store.
They also have a nice selection of ceramics and other housewares, as well as handmade books and picture frames. As someone who really, really can’t pull of the cute hippy look I was pleased that a good portion of their clothing is more traditional, everyday stuff (though there are plenty of long flowy dresses and peasant tops if that’s your thing).
The staff were delightful, probably helped by the fact that they’re all volunteers. I had a great chat with one of them about some of the wall tapestries.
Plowshare is my new first stop when I need to buy gifts for friends and family. If you’re looking to buy some gifts or decorate your home or just want to browse through some beautiful, creative products, check it out.

Impressed with the value of the jewelry: beautiful items at reasonable prices. Purchased a few pieces as Christmas presents at a Plowsharing Crafts fair hosted by a local church. If your organization would like to host one, the website contains contact information for Pam K., off-​site Sales Coordinator.

I honestly am not sure how to rate this place? But they get 4 stars for having high quality merchandise, friendly service, a Heifer International quarter tube (it buys a water buffalo? when full) and an interesting mix of stuff. I didn’t buy anything here this trip, although my daughter found a alpaca hat for a gift. They are definitely worth a visit.

A MUST SEE!!!
So many wonderful things. Jewelry, ornaments, clothing, textiles, food, coffee, clothing, accessories, EVERYTHING.
Fair trade, fair price. It is really nice to feel like you are helping out the people that are true artists.
Such a great find. Huge varieties and selections.
This place makes me want to purchase things for people.

The St. Louis branch of Ten Thousand Villages is one of my favorite places to stop by on the Loop. Plowsharing Crafts stocks fair trade things from all over the world. The store is staffed by really interesting volunteers who run the gamut from grandmotherly types to teenage punks to aging hippies, and so on. They’re friendly and helpful, and like to have conversations about what you bought, why you’re buying things, how you’re doing, etc.
This is the place I go to to get mother’s day presents because they have lots of inexpensive and interesting jewelry, really pretty cards, and interesting knick knacks. They also have some fairly inexpensive clothes (I got a really awesome skirt here for $ 10, and all of my winter apparel is from here too), good fair-​trade chocolate, and, for some reason, nativity scenes from around the world!

Heck yeah, international gift items for a decent price. I’m all about that, since I’m usually confused as to what to get people around the holiday season… And that’s just around the corner.
Their large variety of gift items (or decorative, if you’re into decorating your home with international items) are apparently fair-​trade bought. So that should appease the conscientious consumer.
I was in there for only a short amount of time, so I’ll head back with the intention of buying something from one of their friendly, dedicated staff members.

This is a pretty cool little shop that often times has free coffee samples at the front door and they offer ethnic products. I really like the quilts they have here. A lot of their products are for the kitchen: dishes, tools, potholders. Still, they have a lot of decorative stuff and they also carry a bunch of coffee. The people working here are a bit shy but are very friendly.

Plowsharing Crafts is a STL gem that I hope more people are utilizing. A volunteer run, non-​for-​profit store run by Mennonites, Plowsharing Craft’s mission is to support local artisans, promote fair trade, work for disadvantaged artists and trades people, and to offer quality handicrafts which reflect cultural traditions. One heck of a lofty goal. The great thing about Plowsharing, though, aside from this generous mission, is that the handicrafts are awesome and the selection is great! I love finding one-​of-​a-​kind things here for my friends, family, and self. The staff is also very nice and helpful and, if you can get them talking, have great stories.