LOGAN, Utah — The closing of a Logan gift store known as a hidden gem by locals and run mostly by volunteers is set to impact people around the world.
Doors at Global Village Gifts will remain open for six more weeks until the shop closes at the end of August.
"I think it will be a loss to the community," said customer Carolina Brog.
The store isn’t your average gift shop as the back of every tag tells what country the came from, and everything is fair trade certified.
"We work with artisans from all over the world, making sure they get a fair and living wage, good working conditions, no child labor, things like that," explained store manager Whitnee Hatch.
"Each item was just beautifully made and actually put thought into it," added Brog. "You go to a lot of the stores now and it’s just a lot of cheap junk."
Despite being beloved, the store is closing due to lower crowd traffic and a volunteer staff that was cut by COVID.
"We’re also run by a board of directors, and some of them are ready to step away, and because we have that lack of a volunteer base, we have no one to like step into their place," explained Hatch.
Store employees are sad about the people behind the merchandise, but not themselves.
"All of our artisans have already been paid in full," Hatch added, "so we’ve at least like supported the people who we’ve already purchased from."
