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Mountcastle International Trading Co., Ltd.

(Please click on "Products" on the bar at the bottom of this page below our logo) Mountcastle International, in business since 1985, imports folk art and ethnic handicrafts created in dozens of developing countries. We directly import these products from villagers and refugees and market to wholesale and retail customers.     We serve our customers by providing beautiful and unusual handmade items from all over the world at minimal markups. Over 500 museum gift stores sell our goods in support of the their museums' missions (each of our items is accompanied by an educational card).  We are active members in the Fair Trade Federation and the Crafts Center, institutions dedicated to improving the lives of low income artisans, often in small villages and refugee camps with little access to larger markets. We personally very much enjoy our involvement with people from so many cultures and countries and our development and marketing work serves these artisans. It provides them much needed income and helps to preserve and sustain their folk art, an important part of our collective cultural heritage.   Thank you for visiting our exhibitor's store. Please see the bar below our logo at the bottom of this page for a link to photos of our products and further information about our company.


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Folk Art Hand Crafted Handicrafts

(FOLKART, Hand Crafted Handicrafts)

Folk Art is created by and for the artistically less sophisticated. The highly structured teachings of the academies produce "Fine Arts". In the conservative view held by many folklorists, for a work to qualify as folk art it must:Be part of a long-standing tradition;Must be learned from an active practitioner; andIts genre, style, and technique should be those of an isolated culture. Another distinction is that between folk art and handicrafts. If the utility of a work predominates, then it is a craft object; if decoration predominates, then it is an example of folk art. is drawn from a mixture of folk tales, superstition, and religion. Themes range from the whimsical to the practical, and from the utilitarian to the furthermost flights of fancy reflecting the beliefs and life styles of the indigenous natives who produce them. Because every piece is individually hand-crafted, some "imperfections" and variations are to be expected and, in some cases, even desired! therefore, is herein defined as artwork of a culturally homogeneous people made by artists without formal training. It is often nationalistic in character, and generally involves craft processes. Much has a rough-hewn, idiosyncratic, or awkward quality often admired and imitated by sophisticated artists. Each Exhibitor expressly warrants that all items presented meet these qualifications. FAC is constructed in such a manner that the Exhibitor has complete control to choose which items to sell, to set the price, and to tell the story behind the product. Exhibitors maintain their products on their own web site within FolkArtCentral. The only function of FAC is to qualify customers (either as wholesale or retail), and provide the administrative means through which visitors may purchase the various Exhibitor's wares. Enter Folk Art Centrals well as retail to a world wide market