The holiday ornaments at Crossroads Trade reflect the artisans' joy, whimsy, resourcefulness and stunning talent. Working with materials at hand, seed pods, bones and beads turn into jaunty girls. Wire mesh, beads, wood, scrap metal and cloth transform into angels. Himalayan wool becomes yaks and yetis.

Each country's signature crafts are reflected in the ornaments. The Hungarian stars are made from cut felt. Haiti's crowded buses - "tap-taps" - piled high with people and goods are rendered in painted scrap metal. South African beadwork takes the form of insects, flowers, dolls, stars and snowflakes.

As with most of our merchandise, artisans' ornaments are brought to market in many ways. Most of the Eastern European ornaments are made by individual artisans in their home workshops, and brought to the U.S. by fair trade wholesalers. The ornaments from the Americans and Caribbean, by contrast, are marketed through artisans' cooperatives. Much of the work from Southern Africa is marketed through economic development projects. The Asian ornaments come to Crossroads Trade through a combination of all of these.

At the end of the country links on the right you will also find links to a couple of sections of clearance ornaments.

Here's some more information on some of the specific regions where our ornaments are made:

• Africa: This year's selection of African ornaments is full of joyous and humorous choices. In most cases, artisans work in traditional media , such as beadwork or bone, incorporated into designs and products for the United States and European markets. Recycled materials are also used, including telephone and other scrap wire, soda cans and the like.

  Crossroads Trade purchases its African ornaments from fair trade wholesalers and economic development projects.

• Asia / Pacific: Crossroads Trade's Asian ornaments span many cultures. From Kyrgyzstan to Bali, the ornaments depict motifs of everyday life, traditional arts and myths.

  Our Asian ornaments come to us from many sources. Our Tibetan ornaments, for example, are designed by a fair trade wholesaler employing refugee artisans throughout the Himalayas. Using traditional feltwork, for example, this group produces yetis (abominable snowmen) and snow lions of myth. Some of our Cambodian ornaments are produced for the benefit of an orphanage. Still others are made by Hmong and Karen refugees, using traditional piecework methods such as reverse appliqué.

• Central America: Central American ornaments come from countries across the region, including Guatemala, Panama, El Salvador, and Honduras.

  Crossroads Trade buys its Guatemalan holiday ornaments from fair trade wholesalers. Women weavers produce the cloth ornaments. Working in village-based groups, the women both weave the fabric and produce the finished product. Working with the wholesalers, the women develop new products. One wholesaler works with around 100 women in four groups. With many women participating, many families are supported by the women's earnings.

  The ceramic and beaded ornaments likewise reflect collaboration between a fair trade wholesaler and Guatemalan artisans. Together they design and produce high quality crafts that sustain families and incorporate aspects of Guatemalan culture. The ceramic bus ornaments, for example, recreate the ubiquitous "chicken buses" seen all over Guatemala.

  Crossroads Trade is a direct importer of products from Panama. The cloth ornaments are made by Kuna Indian women working through a tribal cooperative. Crossroads Trade has worked with the coop for many years on quality control and consistency, in order to increase the market for the coop's work in the U.S.

  The Salvadoran ornaments are likewise made by a women's cooperative. The country's signature style of brightly painted motifs on wood originated in the village of La Palma. The artists generally paint scenes reminiscent of religion or daily life. They are marketed in the U.S. by fair trade wholesalers.

  The Honduran seed pod ornaments at Crossroads Trade reflect artisans' abilities to see the potential in unlikely materials. The country itself does not have a longstanding craft tradition. Instead, over the last few decades, church groups and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have worked with artisans to develop and market crafts, such as wood carving, basketry, embroidery and ceramics. Crossroads Trade's Honduran ornaments come to the U.S. through a fair trade wholesaler.

• Hungary / Romania: Crossroad's Trade Hungarian and Romanian ornaments are brought to the U.S. by fair trade wholesalers. As with many such endeavors, immigrants to the U.S. saw that their ethnic traditions weren't well represented. Combining knowledge of their old and new countries, they have been able to keep folk traditions alive by preserving methods and motifs, while identifying products that would appeal to the American public.

  This fall, we are featuring Hungarian felt work and Romanian and Hungarian eggs. The felt ornaments includes both appliqué and the technically challenging reverse appliqué (a technique also used in Panama with very different results), with each region developing its singular style. The reverse appliqué felt work originated in the 1700s, as designs on the felted coats of shepherds.

  The decorated eggs are symbols of fertility and the coming of spring. Techniques and motifs generally vary by region.

• Russia: The Russian ornaments, stockings and stocking stuffers reflect another contemporary application of a country's traditional arts. Ornament production began about one hundred years ago, at the behest of German merchants, seeking cheaper sources of ornaments.

  Made by hand in small family workshops, Crossroads Trade's ornaments are carved or turned, then painted in exquisite detail. Typical Russian motifs include both the matrioshka, a relatively recent folk tradition; the sled, used in Russia for several hundred years; and Father Frost, a folk tale character reminiscent of Santa Claus.

  Crossroads Trade purchases its Russian goods from fair trade wholesalers.