After two decades of business, Ten Thousand Villages on South Main Street will close its doors March 30. The Ann Arbor branch of Ten Thousand Villages is a board-run store, meaning they purchase from the central Ten Thousand Villages company in Akron, Pennsylvania and are run by a board of directors rather than the central company executives. The store is home to handcrafted artisan goods from countries all across the globe.
Ten Thousand Villages works to provide customers with unique products that, in turn, provide artisans around the world with living wages, according to a mission statement posted in their store.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, board member Danielle Cape said the board made the decision to close the store due to the decrease of in-person foot traffic into the store and inflation.
“The climate around retail environments right now with inflation, with discretionary spending and stuff being down, it’s been challenging,” Cape said. “Unfortunately, in recent months it’s become harder and harder. Expenses are going up and what we’re generating is going down or not keeping up at the rate we need to. Ultimately, we kind of took a look at our finances and realized that we weren’t in a place to keep the store going.”
According to Cape, the Ten Thousand Villages board has decided to close all of the brick-and-mortar operators across the country not operated by the central company and move all of their retail online.
Cape said one of the hardest parts about the store’s closing is losing the community that the store has built. She says that the store has built relationships with customers as well as among staff and volunteers.
“Ultimately, I think it’s sad,” Cape said. “We’ve really built a community in the Ann Arbor area, or rather, maybe they have accepted us as a part of their community. We have a troop of very loyal volunteers who give their time freely weekly to come and help in the store. The mission means a lot to them and to our customers. That’s been really challenging with a lot of heartbreak.”
In an interview with The Daily, Cyndi Reed, Ten Thousand Villages board member and store volunteer, said she feels there is a general consensus among customers feeling upset by the store’s closing.
“People come in and say, ‘Oh no, I can’t believe you’re closing’,” Reed said. “And as a matter of fact, I just sold something to a woman who said she just discovered the store recently and she’s like, ‘Oh, I finally found a store that I think is great’ and now we’re closing.”
LSA senior Tegwyn John grew up in Ann Arbor and would go to Ten Thousand Villages for gifts throughout their time in high school. In an interview with The Daily, John said a silver necklace purchased in high school still holds much meaning to them.
“When I was in high school, I got a necklace for myself that was a sterling silver pendant with a turquoise flower inlay on it that I wore all the time for a year and a half,” John said. “Even though I don’t wear it anymore, I can’t get rid of it because it was really a special piece. It was one of the first big pieces of jewelry that I bought for myself when I was still a teenager.”
In an interview with The Daily, John said they feel Ten Thousand Villages closing represents the decreased appreciation for art across Ann Arbor. They said they hope the business that will fill the space represents the diversity of downtown Ann Arbor just as well as Ten Thousand Villages did.
“I think that (the business) represents something that used to be much more present in Ann Arbor of an appreciation for art and for handmade things and for diverse cultures,” John said. “I hope that whatever comes in here will be something that adds to the diversity of downtown, but what seems to be coming is more and more of the same stuff that you can find anywhere in downtown Detroit.”
Daily Staff Reporter Arielle Levine can be reached at ariellel@umich.edu.
