Landis brings vision to Artisans' Hope

Jon Styer

New Artisans' Hope manager Jon Landis brings experience and a restored vision for the store.

The Artisans' Hope operation rested solely on a handful of volunteers and EMU work-study students for most of the fall until new manager Jon Landis brought a new vision and philosophy in early January.

Artisans' Hope is part of MCC's new Gift and Thrift center located on the eastern edge of the EMU campus. The Fair Trade shop shares a building on Mt. Clinton Pike with the other members of Gift and Thrift, Inc.: Booksavers and A World of Good.

"The Artisans' Hope side was basically kept going by the students and volunteers. A manager did step in, but his primary function was to run the Thrift side," said Landis.

"Before, students had individual things they did well for the store." The work-study employees continue to have areas of focus, but operate in a more structured environment.

Landis's arrival brings security and a renewed vision to the store. "Having clearly defined leadership improves both the store and the experience of the workers," said sophomore Galen Wenger. "Jon puts a focus on effectiveness and profitability in the actions of the store. I feel more confident in the continued success of the store."

Landis's current focus is to collect and analyze data on which items sell. In addition, Artisans' Hope will be trying to determine just who makes up its clientele. One way will be to ask customers for their ZIP codes, said Landis.

The goal is not only to provide the stores with marketing information, but also to help staff better organize their merchandise.

"I work behind the counter some, but I work mainly on displays," said sophomore Beth Risser. "I merely re-organize things so they catch the costumers' attention and sell better. All this happens under Jon's guidance for how he wants the store to appear," she said.

"It's a lot of trial and error, especially with visual displays," said Landis. The goal is to balance the functionality and aesthetics of merchandise on the shelves, he said. "When it comes together is when someone buys something when a week ago they never would have seen the item. That's when you know its working."

Landis hopes to better understand what role the EMU community actually plays in Artisans' Hope's existence. "You have a gut feeling. It seems like professors and students - the EMU community - buy items, but you don't know that for sure," Landis said. "We want to get in the store what this community wants, whether it is jewelry or coffee, and marketing toward that - letting people know we're here."

In addition to making smart business decisions, Landis strives to work with trustworthy suppliers. "I limit myself to working with groups that I know have integrity, like Ten Thousand Villages and SERVE. I really like knowing where they're coming from." Landis points out that suppliers can gain Fair Trade status fairly easily, and that he likes to work with companies who have representatives in the countries the products are from.

In the case of coffee, this means working with Fair Trade Coffee, Level Ground and Equal Exchange. Sophomore Deborah Green is in charge of the Artisans' Hope coffee supply and works the cash register. "I'm basically looking at what coffee sells and if it's low, ordering it," she said. Green is the longest-standing work-study employee, with over a year of experience.

Landis brings over three years of experience from his time managing the Ten Thousand Villages store in Old Town Alexandria. In December he finished his studies at Eastern Mennonite Seminary and currently serves as youth leader at Mt. Zion Mennonite Church. He is a 1998 graduate of EMU and earned a degree in International Business in the first year it was offered.