Ellen and Ann at Mingei World Arts just sent out this alert…

On Thursday and Friday this week, Mingei will donate 10% of total sales to Partners in Health for earthquake relief. We will also be accepting cash and check donations which we will forward. This organization, founded by Paul Farmer and Ophelia Dahl, has been working in Haiti for many years. Please read about their work here.

With all the scams popping up out there, it makes sense to rely on your fellow residents with intimate knowledge and the right connections to make sure your donations are spent wisely.

If you know of other local businesses or organizations that are collecting funds to help the Haitians in Port-au-Prince, please post below.

Mingei World Arts writes in and lets everyone know that Atlanta INTown has a bunch of Decatur businesses on it’s multiple choice list of “Best of the Holidays” survey.

Hoopla, Greene’s, Heliotrope, Cook’s Warehouse and Mingei have all been nominated.

I noticed almost-Decatur Wag-a-Lot on there too.

Mingei World Arts‘ email blast has all the details for this Church Street’s final Staycation Sunday of the summer.  The big news is that The Yogurt Tap will be open starting this weekend and will offer free samples on Sunday for the event.

Here are all the details.

Sunday, August 9 1-4pm

The last Staycation Sunday in 2009!

Come on over to Church Street this next Sunday to Get Local. Each of the seven participating businesses on the block will be featuring local suppliers, offering samples and special sales, and door prizes at the end of the day!

What’s happening on the street?

Read the rest of this entry »

He’s founded a book festival and come up with the idea of selling a beer for upwards of $2,000 in order to help locals in need.

Now Decatur’s Daren Wang has another article to stuff in his folder of “Crazy and Crazy Successful Ideas”: banner tote bags.

First introduced at the Decatur Book Festival launch party last month – though I don’t recall him saying the idea was his – Wang came up with the idea of recycling old DBF banners into messenger bags and totes.  He worked with Ann at Mingei World Arts to find a craftsman to fashion the bags and the rest is history.  Well, the rest will soon be history.

On Monday, in addition to tackling the document-heavy DeVry annexation, the Decatur city commission approved the “recycling” of old city banners into totes, fashioned by Colombian refugee Maria Cristina Giraldo Echeverria.  Echeverria is guaranteed $10 an hour for the work and 10% of sales from the fund go to Decatur Youth Fund, according to an AJC article this morning.

The AJC was so excited about this fashionable recycling story – especially in comparison to that snoozer topic of DeVry annexation – that they put a tease for the story in that little “metro” box on their front page this morning.

But the real question is, what will Daren Wang come up with next?  A beer-powdered lawn mower?  Dog collars that call 911 when your dog senses danger?   Sponsored port-o-lets?  Oh wait…

ALSO: Both my wife and Carl alert us to today’s Daily Candy that features Himalayan Trading Post Candles from Mingei.

FM Fats points out that Mingei World Arts just won AccessAtlanta’s “Best of the Big A” award for “the best place to buy a gift for someone who has everything”.  Greater Decatur’s Eagle Eye Book Shop came in second.

Congrats to both shops!