2011 'Buy Local' Holiday Shopping: Day 19 - West Side Bazaar

Seeing the steady progression on Buffalo's West Side, particularly the Grant-Ferry commercial district, is such a great thing for the city, and has been a long-time coming. On the corners of Grant and Lafayette alone, you have Sweet_ness 7 Café, Grant Street Gallery, Krudmart, Shakti Yoga, Guercio and Sons, 257 Lafayette Center--a conversion of an old historic school building into a mixed-use center--along with a few other businesses popping up. There is a lot to see and experience that points to the much-needed revitalization of this neighborhood, and it should make any Buffalonian proud to know this positive upswing is occurring.

One relative newcomer to the neighborhood is absolutely worth a trip to go see and enjoy: West Side Bazaar. The shop's tagline, Bringing the World to Buffalo, should offer a glimpse into what you can find in this store: an international array of handmade artisan crafts such as jewelry, clothing, wood carvings and home interior items. The premise of the West Side Bazaar was to offer a safe, prosperous place for refugees and immigrants from around the world who are now living in Buffalo, along with local artisans, to display their products. Here, the shop boasts a total of six vendors--Louise, Martha, Novi, Gysma, Julienne and Alice--that make unique, one-of-a-kind items from natural goods, as well as imported items. Countries that are represented in this store include Peru, Indonesia and Africa's four corners: East, West, Central and North. 

Before I get into highlighting specific items, let me say this: I randomly stopped into this store on my way from lunch at Santasiero's yesterday. The store appeared open, which normally is not on Sundays. After about five minutes of quickly glancing around the store and talking to a few of the ladies who are vendors, I decided this was an ideal place to highlight for Buffalo Rising's Holiday guide. I stayed for nearly an hour and a half chatting, learning, trying on different items, taking pictures, and taking notes. And, what's more, the store had a steady crowd of shoppers in and out that entire time. For a store that was supposed to be closed, but instead decided to test out the market on a Sunday, I'd say they got their answer: people like them. They really like them.

And there's good reason. You can find products such as shea butter lotions and soaps, scarves for both men and women, clothing, jewelry (earrings, necklaces and bracelets), bags (including some made from camel and goal skin from Mali, Colombia, the Ivory Coast, Tunisia and Ethiopia), kitchen items (wooden salt and pepper shakers, serving spoons, trays, coasters, etc.), tapestries, tablecloths, musical instruments (shakers, balophone [similar to a xylophone], kora [similar to a harp], and tambourines), and wood carvings made from mahogany, ebony, bamboo, olive wood, mango wood, coconuts, palm trees and Tagua.

I want to pass on what I learned about Tagua: it's vegetable ivory that comes from the seed of the Ivory Palm that grows in abundance in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia and Brazil. The seed is dried, carved and dyed to make beautiful and unusual pieces of jewelry, buttons, ornaments and figurines. The farmers of South American rain forests sustain themselves and their families by harvesting and selling the Tagua seeds or making beautiful products from them without the need to cut down trees. Additionally, Tagua simulates authentic ivory in weight and texture, which negates the illegal demand for the use of tusks of Africa's precious elephants. In essence, Tagua is a beautiful, natural material that is also environmentally safe and conscious. 

What do people look for or want most when they walk into West Side Bazaar? Jewelry. Specifically, the bracelets are phenomenal, with so many different colors, shapes and sizes to choose from. Part of why I stayed so long was because I tried on about 30 different bracelets and couldn't choose between them. The bracelets are made from a number of different products, including mango wood from Thailand, crocodile skin, cow horn, beads, Tagua and ebony. They retail between $9-20. Necklaces and earrings are also available from the same materials as mentioned above, and retail between $10-30 and $9-20, respectively.

Just about everything in this store could be considered unique, interesting or different, but there was one type of item that stood out to me: the batik products. Batik is woven cloth that traditionally uses a manual wax-resistant dyeing technique. Batik fabrics and patterns are found primarily in Southeast Asia and Africa. Novi, from Indonesia, is the artisan at West Side Bazaar whose craft is making these batik items. She explained the process to me a bit, which was completely fascinating: she hand-paints these pieces by melting candles and applying the wax to the batik material and creates patterns or images. Novi melts and uses one color at a time, and once one color is dry, she then starts to use a different color. The drying process can take days, which means the entire process for one piece of clothing, one tablecloth, or one tapestry item can take anywhere from six to nine months to complete. It's simply amazing, and once you realize what someone like Novi goes through to make one item, you become much more appreciative and in awe of what it is that you're looking at. West Side Bazaar offers batik tops, dresses, scarves, jackets, tablecloths and tapestry. Clothing ranges from $20-50, tablecloths range from $30-50, and tapestries range from $90-300.

Guercio and Sons has been a West Side favorite since 1961, offering some of the finest produce and specialty foods around. As I am half-Italian, I adore what Guercio's represents: good, cultural food. And one of the things I love most about Buffalo, or the East Coast for that matter, is the deep cultural heritages ever-present throughout our city. For the holidays, or anytime of year, you should make at least one stop at Guercio's if you want to include some of the freshest and most delectable foods at your holiday parties or dinners. 

Whether you buy items for your meal, as hors d'oeuvres, or for dessert, you will be able to find something that will either bring nostalgia to you, or will introduce you to someone else's culture. Old world grocers that carry authentic foods have a distinct charm all their own and should be appreciated year-round. This is true especially during times of the year when we celebrate cultural traditions with our families, friends and loved ones.