Olive Branch is a cornucopia of global craft and compassion
When I saw a Facebook post on a North Hills community forum about a cute new fair trade gift shop in Wexford, I decided to check it out. I perused Olive Branch's website, which appeared to be somewhat new — functional and pretty if not a little bare-bones.
But the store itself is anything but bare.
Olive Branch has a Perry Highway address but lies hidden around the corner of a small plaza off the main road, across the alley from a Jiffy Lube, opposite Rt. 19 from a Dunkin Donuts. There, I met Mary Sheehan, Olive Branch's Fair Trade Coordinator, and Peggy Burr, a volunteer (and "all-around great gal"). When I asked how long they'd been in business, the answer surprised me: "We've been here eight years at this location."
Started in a church basement nearly 50 years ago, Olive Branch's volunteers have been helping the greater Pittsburgh community and developing nations around the world.
Sheehan says, "The goal is focusing on people rather than profits. That's our number-one priority: helping artisans learn some of the techniques of marketing and business so that they can earn a living. So we're at the end of that chain, receiving the products and selling them to the public. Our goal is to sell them at the least expense. That's why we're in a little rental space like this, rather than being in the mall. We keep our expenses low, and we all volunteer."
The fair trade aspect of Olive Branch has grown each year, with the store acquiring more and more items from various places around the globe. Many of the items, like their belts, wallets, and wall hangings, are made from recycled materials, such as car parts. A display of beautiful ornaments had been crafted from an old engine block. A key bowl made from recycled keys is one of the more popular items at the store. The wall hanging made from bicycle chains is another favorite. They also have "nature socks" that benefit U.S. national parks and are made from organic materials. There are even gifts for pets.
Every fair trade gift has a tag with the item's country of origin and some additional details about its maker and its materials. Shoppers can give a gift with a story about who made it and how it impacted the artist's life.
In terms of business, Olive Branch is not making profits, says Sheehan. "It's really important to us to just break even, so we can keep cycling and buying more fair trade products and selling them. We have overhead, so we have supporters who make donations. We don't want to jack up prices and prefer to keep the margin as small as possible."
Four years ago, Olive Branch took over the adjoining space next door. This second space is dedicated to local outreach and creating gifts for international mission projects like Sew Powerful , an organization that provides menstrual supply kits for girls and young women in Zambia. Sheehan explains, "We got too crowded for everything we need to do. Now we're probably too crowded again."
The second space is run by Vivian Sylvester, Olive Branch's mission and outreach coordinator. Volunteers here have created a sense of community. Sylvester organizes a sewing bee once a month — a social event for the volunteers who have built friendships. Sylvester jokes that it's a "happy place that keeps them out of the bars." Every machine in the sewing circle has been donated.
When I arrived, volunteers were sewing "fidget blankets" for dementia and Alzheimer's patients. These blankets are free for caregivers and are in high demand due to the upcoming holidays. Sylvester's sewing circle not only makes fidget blankets, but they also stitch together teddy bears for AHN's pediatric emergency room and pediatric care unit. Sylvster's knit and crochet group lovingly makes blankets for cancer patients in chemotherapy; cotton soap sacks with a handmade washcloth for the homeless; hats and scarves for the homeless; hats and blankets for NICU babies; and baby kits for young moms in drug recovery.
The mission side of Olive Branch is not funded, and the sale of volunteer-made items drives their projects. They sell various crafts from crocheted items to handmade jewelry, to handmade cards, Sylvester is the "idea woman" behind these projects.
"I'd say this past nine years has been when we've really become what we wanted to be. We're out in the community, having the people in the community be part of it," says Mary Sheehan. "A lot of people think we're new. They go to Jiffy Lube, and look and see us and walk over while their car's being worked on. They say, 'Oh, I never knew you were here!'"
