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World's Window is a retail store owned and operated by Jan and Lonnie Buerge. Ever since we opened the store in 1984 we have searched for the best in ethnic and contemporary folk art, clothing, and jewelry. We strive to purchase merchandise from fair trade organizations and from wholesalers invested in enhancing the lives of those who work with and for them. We highly value our suppliers, our staff and our customers who continually make World's Window an exciting and rewarding adventure.
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Owners Jan and Lonnie Buerge believe shopping should be fun. Your visit to World's Window might include a sale & music on the sidewalk, a special fund-raising event, or a trunk show and always the excitement
of new arrivals. Jan and Lonnie especially enjoy finding treasures and meeting artisans and collectors from all around the globe. In the store the Buerges enjoy meeting customers and sharing stories about the
folk art and specialty clothing lines. You just might find Jan and Lonnie handing out Hawaiian leis during Beachfront Brookside or dancing on the sidewalk during their store (and their wedding) anniversary.
The Buerges want everyone, no matter what age, to find something wonderful at World's Window.
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MISSION
We will be a successful family-owned and managed business. We will seek to offer our customers access to products and services which are superior to those offered by other resources. We will seek to buy fair trade products whenever possible.
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LIVING OUT OUR MISSION
Our mission is to be a high-quality retail store that is people and performance oriented,
providing a successful contact point between producers and consumers, enhancing the lives
of both.
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1. Humane
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We will offer goods and services that enhance human life, beauty and the
future. We will expect our vendors and suppliers to do the same.
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2. Creative
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We will value the creativity of the human mind and experience. The
products we offer and the services we provide should be a reflection of
and supportive of a creative spirit. With enthusiasm we will embrace change
and will always seek paths through obstacles to achieve our mission.
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3. Connected
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Our products and services will be presented in ways to connect artists or
producers and their stories and special features with our customers.
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4. Value
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We will offer a high degree of value in our products and our services.
Our environment will be one of excellence in performance. Together
we will achieve adequate long-term growth in order to assure the continued
viability of the business.
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5. Honesty
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We will seek to be honest and straight-forward in everything we do and
to treat other people as we would like to be treated.
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World's Window was named both from the initial setting of a market stall in Westport with very large windows and from the idea of being a "window to the world". Started in 1984, Jan and Lonnie Buerge opened the 5 foot by 15 foot market stall in the Westport Marketplace area with the purpose of providing an outlet for the then-called Self-Help Crafts from the Mennonite Church. The store soon also started carrying crafts from the Church of the Brethern SERRV crafts program. A commitment was made to carry fairly traded products as much as possible.
The store operated in this location until November of the same year when it was re-located to a 650 square foot store inside the Marketplace building below Californo's Restaurant. At the same time the original location was also maintained and became an art consignment shop called "Out on a Limb" for about 9 months. It was in this 625 square feet that World's Window eventually started carrying some Guatemalan and Ecuadorian clothing. The store also greatly expanded the companies/individuals used as wholesale contacts during this time. Jan began to attend gift shows and met other sources for fair-trade products.
In 1987 the store moved again to a 1,250 foot location along the North side of the Marketplace. This L-shaped store gave World's Window room to expand the clothing and finally had a front window to the parking lot. The store doubled in size in 1990 with expanded room for rugs, furniture, larger folk art and the first "gallery" space. Gallery shows were scheduled periodically throughout the year and featured both local artists and folk art from specific countries or around certain themes.
With the store performing quite successfully, Jan and Lonnie accepted the opportunity to expand once more to around 4,000 square feet with the addition of 2 store areas facing Pennsylvania Avenue. Remodeling connected all the spaces and clothing was moved to its own room. The Gallery at The World's Window occupied the other newly-added space. Initially The Gallery featured 6-week rotating shows, again representing both the work of local artists and world folk art exhibits. Eventually, however, it was decided that this was not economically viable and The Gallery became a consignment shop for local, regional and national artists.
Due to economic pressures and a growing dissatisfaction with development directions in Westport, Jan and Lonnie sought a new location for the store in 1997. In April of that year, World's Window moved to Brookside. A total remodeling of this space was necessary to create an updated boutique. The store serves as a neighborhood resource as well as continues to draw customers from around the metropolitan area and the Midwest region. Clothing now occupies over 60% of the inventory in response to customer interests. Merchandise is still purchased from fair trade organizations and from wholesalers invested in enhancing the lives of those who work with and for them.
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