Barak sandals. Hand-blown recycled glass from Morocco. Ornate, handcrafted jewelry from Guatemala.

At See Jane Sparkle in Skokie, the mindset for customers is to think of shopping at a global gift bazaar without getting on an airplane and clearing customs. This destination boutique in Skokie features artisan crafts from 12 different countries which affords customers an opportunity to find a perfect gift and, in some small way, change the world.

“I wanted to be a global gift boutique. I wanted someone to be able to find themselves a nice, sparkle-worthy gift. It’s going to be like, ‘Wow, this is cool. You really thought of me and gave me something unique, and we’re making an impact,’” stated See Jane Sparkle Founder Sara Jane Abbott, who refers to herself as the “Chief Sparkle Officer.”

“I am the Chief Sparkle Officer, because we need to bring sparkle to all,” Sara Jane said with a wide smile. “I’m focusing on fair trade in this business and empowering women from all over the world. They deserve to sparkle too, as well as empowering people here to gift with sparkle, to find their inner sparkle. Sparkle speaks confidence.”

What is fair trade?

In a nutshell, the term “fair trade” refers to the principal of buying and selling products for which there is a degree of certainty that the artisan who created the original item was paid a fair price and works in safe conditions. At See Jane Sparkle, Sara Jane works with Fairtrade International, which is one of the most trusted nonprofits that certifies fair trade products. Her store sells fair trade merchandise from artisans in 12 different countries including India, Guatemala, Uganda, Vietnam, Bolivia, and Morocco.

Dedication to a global sisterhood is at the very heart of this retail journey for Sara Jane, who views fair trade as a persuasive tool to affect change.

“When it comes to our global impact, we can pay it forward,” explained Sara Jane. “These women are third-class citizens (in their countries). Unfortunately, these women are married at 12, 13, 14 years old, and all they do is take care of their families, and that’s their life. There’s no choice. So, fair trade allows us to give them a choice.”

“It makes me feel so incredible to be fanning the flames of these amazing women that otherwise we would not know who they are,” Sara Jane explained with a smile as she recounted a story about one of her artisans.

“Marla from Guatemala just sent us an email saying that her daughter just got married at 26, not 12, and had her first baby. That gives me chills,” said Sara Jane. “I’m going to be able to tell that to our customers, and then they’re going to have pride because they’re like, ‘I bought something for myself or for a gift, and it meant something.

“We’re giving these women a fair opportunity to have a career, to send their kids to college, to not have to choose what their kids eat for the day, but meaningful things, as well as keeping them out of the sex industry, giving them mental health care, and letting them build their own homes, to have their dreams,” Sara Jane said with palpable emotion in her voice.

Through her work, Sara Jane has become a bridge between Skokie and third world communities across the globe, reaffirming that retail can be a change agent for good.

A sparkle in Skokie

Sara Jane said she feels adopted by Skokie, even though her hometown is a few miles away in South Evanston. Prior to opening See Jane Sparkle, Sara Jane sold fair trade jewelry for two years at the Skokie Farmers Market. She said that Skokie made her feel wanted as a vendor, even extending a formal invitation to her to open a brick and mortar boutique in this multicultural Chicagoland community.

“This community of Skokie is incredible. Over 100 languages are spoken here, and they are so welcoming,” stated Sara Jane who likes to share stories about the women who crafted the merchandise sold at See Jane Sparkle. “They (customers) know about Gloria in Guatemala. They really like knowing that Marta in Bolivia has been pulled out of the sex industry because of that earring (that she made). It’s a pay-it-forward thing for everybody.”

This is not the first fort in a retail redoubt for Sara Jane, who had owned a boutique in Evanston from 2012 to 2017 that focused on vintage and semi-precious jewelry that she upcycled.

“I absolutely love retail,” Sara Jane said with a playful laugh. “I went to school for fashion design, and I wasn’t going to end up in New York or in Europe. I didn’t see that path for me. And so where was I going to take this? I started designing in the corporate world for 17 years. I always knew I was going to have my own business.

“I love to talk to people. I love to hear the stories. I love to make them happy. I love to, find the perfect gift for them,” said Sara Jane with pride. “It’s just the best thing to be able to have this mission behind my boutique.”

Fair trade ambassador

Sara Jane said she travels to places far and wide across the globe to source what she sells.

“I have been very lucky. I traveled to Guatemala, and that is such a magical place, meeting these women,” Sara Jane recalled. “It is so cool to find these women that know how to empower without having professional development, like we all do here. They’re doing it on their own.”

One story that stood out for Sara Jane was that of Santos, a Guatemalan whose life has been transformed by fair trade.

“She has now has started her own recycling program in her village where most of the homes are dirt floors,” Sara Jane shared. “She has tile floor because of fair trade and making jewelry, with 17 women working for her. I was so excited to meet her.”

The Little Golden Book

See Jane Sparkle is in its infancy as a store, opening in 2024 to strong interest and with homage paid to the Little Golden Book series that taught generations of children to read staring in the 1930s.

“The Little Golden Book series were these books I read as a child, and it was “See Jane Play.” “See Dick Run.” See Jane Sparkle came to me as the name for my store, because “sparkle” just screams confidence.”

As a business, Sara Jane said that she matters in Illinois, because she is a woman-owned business. She noted that her artisans are primarily women and that the same is true with the majority of her customers.

“Females know that we’re taking a risk (with this business). I’m not getting a paycheck every two weeks. I’m making my own paycheck. I’m creating my business. And so we support each other. It’s pretty exciting.”