One of the surprises in starting Crossroads Trade was discovering the breadth and quality of art cards around the world. They are created in all sorts of media - corn fiber, mulberry bark, banana leaves, bodhi leaves and cloth, among them. The artisans stamp, clip, embroider, batik, press and paint. Shells and wood scraps take on new life as they are integrated into tableaux of everyday life around the globe.

Featured on our website are paper cut and cloth appliqué cards from Peru, painted bodhi leaves from India, hand embroidered cards from Cambodia, and First Nations and Inuit cards of Canada.

Crossroads Trade carries three lines of cards from Peru. The first consists of papercuts by a young man named Mario. Working with just a tiny pair of scissors that he carries in his breast pocket, he snips and pieces dynamic and detailed montages. Mario also creates our second line, a series of hand-painted cards with images from the Nazca Lines, giant zoomorphic and geometric cutouts in the Peruvian desert, visible only from the air.

Members of a women's coop create the third line. These are miniature arpilleras, piecework textiles that depict daily life in Andean countries.

The cards from India are hand-painted by members of a village cooperative. The impetus for their creation came from an American woman who sought an Indian doll for her daughter who had been adopted from India. Frustrated in her search, she made a prototype, and took it to women's cooperatives in India, hoping to find a producer. From this initial product grew a product development and marketing relationship that has lasted for more than ten years. The coop now produces several products. The designs are painted in vivid colors on bodhi leaves. The paper stock is hand-made.

The Cambodian cards are stitched by widowed mothers, land mine victims, displaced war and famine victims and other poorest of the poor of Cambodia. With the proceeds of their work, the artisans have been able to buy food, clothing and medicine, send their children to school, purchase land and build sturdy houses. The edges of the cards are serrated, and detailed with tiny dots of ink.

On the website, you'll also find art cards by First Nations and Inuit artists of Canada. Many of these cards are reproductions of limited edition prints produced by Inuit village cooperatives. Others reflect efforts large and small to introduce the work of Canada's indigenous artisans to a broader audience.

Many customers who purchase these cards intend to frame them, or send them with a special message to someone who will.

The cards on the Crossroads Trade website are only a few of the hundreds of images in the store. If you're in the Boston area, please come by to take a look at the selection. If you're not nearby and would like to see more of the images, please send an e-mail.