Submitted by Et Cetera Inc.

Click to enlarge photo. L-R) Book Reviews:  Jim Enneking, Joyce Daniels, Danielle Hodges, Tim Byers, Lori Nester. Ten Thousand Villages: Jim Enneking, Lowell Hostetler, Wendy Chappell-Dick, Tim Byers, Lori Nester, Ray Raeburn.

On December 3, ribbon cuttings were held at Bluffton’s Ten Thousand Villages and Book Reviews Et Cetera as part of 50th anniversary celebrations by Et Cetera Inc., which is also the parent company of the Et Cetera thrift store.

Most noticeably, Ten Thousand Villages has a new awning on the 115 S Main St, Bluffton storefront. Also in 2024, the retailer also received a new floor, lighting, paint and signs. In the renovation process, a mural painted by Beth Boehr in 2000 was uncovered. The artwork shows a map marking the country of origin of many products, along with pictures showing the diversity of artisans who benefit from the sales at Ten Thousand Villages. The mural is now restored for shoppers to enjoy.

Book Reviews, 123 S Main St, has a new checkout counter, back room floor and kitchenette, and renovated bathroom and processing area. Volunteers painted the space with a new color scheme and artist Carolyn Hodges created a mural showing the fantasy world of books. 

These makeovers follow on the heels of a major facility project for the Et Cetera Shop, 327 N Main St. In 2018, Et Cetera Shop purchased the old glove factory on Main Street Bluffton. Over the next 12-14 months, the thrift store got a major upgrade, offering its customers a large boutique-style shopping experience. The renovation cost a total of $750,000. 

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In 2024 the capital campaign committee raised over eighty thousand dollars to renovate the two remaining stores.

Holiday shopping at the three Et Cetera, Inc. shops has the shared result of being “gifts that give twice”: once for the loved one who receives the present and secondly for the charitable organization or fair trade artisan. Proceeds from Book Reviews and the Et Cetera Shop go to international relief and development work through the Mennonite Central Committee. Ten Thousand Villages provides a market for artisans in the poorest parts of the world to sell their items for a fair price to better their lives.