Winchester Woman Brings Armenian Treasures To Area

[Siamanto]

Burlington Union

 

Winchester woman brings Armenian treasures to area

 

By Christopher Rocchio/ Staff Writer

Thursday, February 24, 2005

 

Gail O'Reilly, a Winchester resident since 1979, has served the community in

a variety of ways over the years. She is a member, and former president, of

the Winchester League of Women Voters. She was also a Town Meeting member

from 1985 to 2003.

 

Her memberships, O'Reilly said, are an outlet for her sense of civic

duty and she has enjoyed the experiences and people. But while she was busy

serving the community, her father asked a question that impacted her life:

Why don't you do something for your own people? he said to her.

 

 

 

O'Reilly took her father's advice, and in 2000, began Made in Armenia

Direct, a business that brings authentic treasures made by Armenia's most

skilled artisans to the U.S. She said the business idea originated when she

made her first trip to Armenia in 1991. There she took pleasure strolling

through a local park. On weekends, she said many Armenian artisans would

gather to peddle their goods, but appeared to be having a tough time

supporting themselves.

 

"It broke my heart," said O'Reilly. "There were very few tourists, so I

was concerned the artisans would leave the country, which in turn would then

lose the skill."

 

After another trip in 2000, she decided expose the artisans and their

goods to an American market. The operation began as a Web site. At the time,

she said, Armenians who had lived under communism their whole lives had no

idea about accountability and quality control. O'Reilly said the artisans

never thought of being entrepreneurs, and she was unsure what could be

delivered, in what quantity and how fast. Now she knows, and the system has

grown smoother.

 

"One of my goals is to be in as many retail stores in the U.S. as

possible," she said.

 

Made in Armenia Direct currently works with about 50 artisans and three

cooperatives. Goods include handmade jewelry (pendants, earrings and

bracelets), leisure items (toys, games, dolls, musical instruments,

postcards and books), home decor items (wall hangings, paintings, decorative

plates, vases, candleholders and tableware), apparel and accessories

(scarves, ties, bags, hats and capes) and holiday specialties.

 

Currently, Made in Armenia Direct goods are sold in 12 retail stores

across the nation, with some as close as Arlington and others as far as

Wisconsin. While she doesn't mind the Web-based business, she said the work

attracts more attention if sold in retail stores.

 

"Every artisan is an independent agent," she said. "They're not

employed by me."

 

O'Reilly said she is very cognizant of child labor laws, and none of

the goods she sells are produced in sweat shops. Also, she doesn't negotiate

with the artisans, and generally pays them what they ask. If the product

does not sell because the cost is too high, she believes the craftspeople

will understand why she doesn't order from them anymore.

 

"I don't want to compete with third-world countries for goods," said

O'Reilly.

 

When the business first began, she found artisans by walking through

the park that gave her the idea for the business, and approaching them to

ask if she could market for them. She also knows a few Armenian Americans

who have since moved back to Armenia, and help her identify certain gifted

artisans. Mostly, her search for craftspeople passes from word-of-mouth, and

she almost never returns to the park that sparked the idea.

 

"Some artisans who used to sell their goods in the park aren't there

anymore," said O'Reilly. "It's because I'm giving them enough business."

 

O'Reilly showed off examples of several of the goods that Made in

Armenia Direct sells. She said hand-sewn cards, available only in retail

store locations, were made in an orphanage. O'Reilly said this may sound

like a sweat shop, but explained the children who live in the orphanage are

trained with a skill at 16 years so they will be prepared to enter the world

once they turn 18. The cards are made by teen-agers preparing to leave the

orphanage.

 

"It fits nicely with one of my goals to keep the artisans in Armenia,

but allow them to work and live with dignity," she said.

 

Also, O'Reilly said she worked with college-aged students at a design

school in Armenia to design and create a cape. While the student's work was

terrific, O'Reilly said the project hit a snag when she realized the

students did not have "American taste" and were unsure what colors, fabrics

and patterns to incorporate in the design. From now on, O'Reilly brings

American catalogs with her whenever she travels to Armenia to show the

artisans the type of things people in this country have a desire for.

 

"It was a lot of work designing the cape but we all did it together,"

she said.

 

While she travels a lot with her husband, O'Reilly said they had never

been to Armenia before 1991 when they accompanied the Armenian Assembly of

America. She said a devastating earthquake hit Armenia in 1988, and the

assembly and U.S. government raised a total of $7 million for relief

efforts. Specifically, she said the money was used to build a housing

manufacturing plant to help more than 500,000 displaced Armenians.

 

"Attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the factory is what brought

me to Armenia, and the trip changed my life," she said.

 

O'Reilly tells all the Armenian Americans she meets if they visit their

home country - they will not return the same. She saw many impoverished

people, thought of her grandparents and felt how fortunate she was.

 

"I felt for those people and thought it was my responsibility to take

care of my homeland," she said.

 

Made in Armenia Direct products can be purchased at Artwear or

Crossroads Trade, both located on Massachusetts Avenue in Arlington. They

can also be found via the Web site www.madeinarmeniadirect.com.

 

 

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg103812.html

Edited February 26, 2005 by Siamanto