John, terrific news! Perhaps I can stick some beta TEN/Trafficking Peace Tiles kits there when we have them sorted out. Please post a pic of the storefront! Why not call it something simple, direct like "Human Traffick"? "Traffick"? "Trafficked Goods"? "The Good Store"?

Drop the crafts.

Just call it EMANCIPATION.

Freedom is a powerful concept and don't overcomplicate things.

Display features are available in Boston downtown (also down in New Bedford, there's a warehouse, or in Providence)....also check out eBay for everything you need for the store.

To build simple displays check out the DIY guides online from Make magazine.

I think just having Emancipation makes sense. This weekend Ill take some pictures of signs in the area and mockup a sign for us - I have to do that anyway for the hystorical comission. Ive found some good online display stores, but I hope to find someplace that sells them used in our area.

Lars - we would be happy to carry peace tiles and could set up a trading relationship with some of our partner NGOs (to do their version).

While I like "Traffick" I think that "Emancipation" is your best option. Including "crafts" makes it sound a bit too homespun, in my opinion.

Are you and your wife doing the POS and store design stuff yourselves, John, or are you hiring someone?

How many sq.ft.? Retail only?

700 sqft - so not large. Two floors - we will put a small office on the second floor and use the other 2/3 to retail. We had looked at larger spaces but decided to go for location. IT has a basement that we will move our warehouse into so we will also do party and internet shipping from there - at least until we outsource that.

Ill put more picures and marker in this later - but this is the store: http://www.communitywalk.com/map/65491

Foot traffic will likely be one key to your store's success, as will fulfillment -- is the Community Walk something that happens regularly? Retail-wise, my immediate response to Emancipation is some kind of mind-body thing, like a day spa.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing more on the ink blocks when that news comes in John. Did the beta kit arrive?

This is great! Seems right next to the playhouse....an easy tie-in for local events and sponsorship advertising.

I like Emancipation. Have a favorite font?

My thinking was, sales #1, party host sign up #2, in store donation #3, capture email #4 (monthly drawing type thing).

I agree Mark. One idea we are going to do for capture email is sell for $1-2 a thank you card. That is - a card the customer can fill out and we will send to the survivor (or NGO) that made the product. That also helps us keep a connection between the customer and the cause. Its all an experiment - we have to have things for people who care but not turn off those that just want to buy stuff.

As it's in a historic area and may serve as an education exibit to some degree why not tap in to the old skool associations with slavery and freedom like "The Underground Railroad", "Uncle Tom's Cabin" ... ?

Um, not so much on Cape Cod? It's somewhat historical, but is there a history of emancipation work there? I know many immigrant families came to the cape and islands region.....

is this retail store 100% offline?

then again, even 100% offline still can make use of some online promotion(?)

Meron and Evonne. We have several plans, some already in place, to link the history of abolition with modern efforts. There is a connection in Boston and Churches throught New England. We had thought about naming the stores after stops in the Underground Railroad, or after other hitorical events or people. I think we are shelving that idea for now until we prove the store concept works.

Norbert. We will also be doing all of our e-commerce shipping and event shipping from the store. Thats part of the logic of it. We have the inventory alraedy and have empoyees that know how to manage it. We will have rent, utilities, and some incremental labor costs, but the store will mostly leverage what we are already doing.

How about "Emancipation Imports"? I am trying to think about how we will be advertizing and the press we might be able to get and think that just Emancipation might be inclear.

well, if any of it is online, then having the keywords your "target audience" might enter when they are "in the mood" for the stuff you offer -- having those keywords in your name certainly helps.

Of course, you will also want to have a name that is easy to type in -- and you can have both, too.

I'm fond of just EMANCIPATION, but this is fron a town where they like to shorten every name for international audiences (less words = less to translate). I think you will be fine with any name you choose. I hope the local networks help you grow your TEN work in time for the summer travel season! I remember that part of Dennis well and remember shopping there....

E(wo)mancipation? confusing, i know ;)

So here are some signs form the area (to give you an idea of what the historical folks will approve)

And here are some pictures of the store exterior, from the front and the side. As you can se the store is setback a bit compared to the store next to it. I think we want as large a sign as they will approve on the left wall - plus a sign on the front.

I thought the same thing, Lars ;)

Perhaps without the "e"?

And maybe also drop the (pat[-ion]) -- instead offer "creation" or "creative" or ...?

Making up nonsense is so much fun!

;D nmw

ps: John, do you think someone who types in "gifts" might be in your target audience? Barry Diller's company has a good "gifts" domain / search engine. My gut feeling is that the sentiment (of helping others) is an important aspect. I have a name in mind that would probably get attention -- but it might also ruffle some feathers in doing so (don't even know if the name would be allowed) -- I'll send it to you via PM.

EMANCIPATION CREATION?

In one of Bob Marley's most famous songs, there is a most eloquent line goes like this...

"Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but our self can free our minds..."

There is a very important principle here, that being, emancipation by itself is only a starting means, but it achieves little if there is no accompanying self-effort. And it is really this self-effort that becomes the truly important factor. Its not how you begin, but how you finish. I believe Bob knew this, which is why he didn't end the thought after the first part, the emancipation part. He recognized the importance of the second part. and perhaps TEN should recognize this too.

How about... BEYOND EMANCIPATION?

And for the underpinning thought behind the decor, when I was working on a possible TEN logo, on the insistence of John's wife I took a look at the path of women in history, and found myself drawn to the era of the early twentieth century, a time when women in the US (and in many places around the world) recognized that they had social rights, and began to fight for, and win them.

What I came to see is that this period of communications design is rich with powerful images/visuals, most of which have gone unused as sources/resources of inspiration, especially in our present culture.

I think,... actually, I know, there is tremendous opportunity to mine powerful inspiration from that particular period in our history. And more importantly, I am convinced that the audience that TEN speaks to will absolutely buy into it.

cj

Thanks Craig. I think that is a very good idea. We had thought about having pictures or videos of the current survivors making the items, but I really like the idea of integrating historical images.

I would let your visual storytelling happen in the store design itself -- window displays, your arrangements of goods that tell stories about who and where they come from. Stores like Ten Thousand Villages have done this to some extent but you can really use this opportunity to make those stories the focus of the Emancipation experience.