Wauk Wednesday: Plowshare Gifts

Last weekend was the Art Crawl in Waukesha and my parents had planned to go. I decided to tag along and see what this crawl was all about and then get some yummy dinner with them. I have been to many crawls but not a wintery weather one.

Parking was really easy as we snagged a spot right by J. Lotti's on South Street. It was a little chilly out, but it's Wisconsin and we are troopers, so we parked the car and walked the whole downtown.

My mom's favorite shop is and probably always will be Plowshare Center in downtown. She found the shop when it used to be where Bangles & Bags is now located. She can always find something at Plowshare - a necklace, pin, figurine, scarf and more.

Plowshares' website describes the store as "The products in our store support fair trade, environmentally friendly production, independent artists and organic farming." I describe it as the most beautiful, unique gifts that I can buy for someone else (mostly myself) that supports a great cause.

I was immediately drawn to the Women's Bean Project food products. I had recently read about them and the mission is to "change women's lives by providing stepping stones to self-sufficiency through social enterprise."

I picked up a Snickerdoodle mix (one of my favorite types of cookies) and a Garlic Herb Dip Mix. I'm not sure if I'm keeping the mixes or passing them along to the foodie penpal - only time will tell.

My mom loves scarves and the scarves at Plowshare are sooooo soft. We decided to buy a teal scarf to add to our collection. Her purchase = my gain :)

My dad has switched from coffee to tea recently and is always looking for a new favorite. Plowshare has a tea club where when you buy 10, you get one free, but my dad held off on joining for now. He picked out Organic Mint Green - sounds like a good one to me.

Mom also picked up a pumice stone in the shape of a heart. She loves little things like this to add to a wooden platter on display in our family room.

The jewelry is my favorite part of the store and where I gravitate too. There are bracelets made of recycled tires, plants and more. I found some coconut shell earrings in jade green - the new color for Spring 2013. I can't wait to wear them.

If you are out and about in Waukesha, I definitely recommend a stop at this store. Get something to make you feel good and in return you are doing some good for others :)

PS - the next Art Crawl will be on May 4th and shopping at almost all the stores benefits local Breast Cancer Research in conjunction with the Riverwalk for Breast Cancer held at Frame Park.