From Africa to Newport: World Travelers and Social Entrepreneurs
Meet Katie Dyer and Jane Perkins, owners of Cadeaux du Monde
Mary Cate Kelleher
Issue date: 2/16/05 Section: Entertainment
J. Perkins: Wal-mart has changed shopping patterns. It changed how others do business and how people look at shopping. We hand-pick everything. We do a lot of research.
We look at trends and colors, we look to see what else is out there in the market. If we find a product that closely resembles something in chain stores, we won't buy it. We want to make sure what we are buying is unique.
WHAT IS THE MOST UNUSUAL PLACE YOU HAVE VISITED?
Dyer: The most different place we've been is Pakistan. They are still under Islamic law, [and] it's a very homogenous society. We would be walking down the street and bus loads of people would lean out the windows to stare at us. They would follow us for blocks. This was mostly the village people, not in the urban areas so much. You come back with a real appreciation.
DOES THE MEDIA ACURATELY PORTRAY THE CULTURES YOU'VE SEEN?
Perkins: Hollywood sensationalizes everything. People are people all over the world.
WHY THE PEACE CORPS?
Dyer: I always wanted to go to Africa and I wanted to travel. You know when you go to college and you're going through school and you're doing all this stuff, it's all very self, self, self, self, and so I decided that I wanted to do a service. I wanted to do something that was a little bigger than myself.
Especially when you're doing your education it's always you, you, you, you, and I thought, 'okay, it's time to think about somebody else'. So I wanted to do something like the Peace Corps.
WHY AFRICA?
Dyer: This is the corniest thing. One of the reasons I always wanted to go to Africa is because I used to watch Mutual Omaha's Wild Kingdom. I don't know if you've ever seen that on reruns or anything like that. It used to be on Sunday night. They had like, Wild Kingdom and the Walt Disney and we would watch it.
WHAT IS GALLERY NIGHT?
Perkins: We do it annually. It runs from February to December and on the second Thursday of every month we showcase a different artist for 11 months. It has to be work that we can hang on the wall.
Newport Gallery Night begins the second Thursday in February from 5p.m. to 8p.m. and runs monthly until November at Cadeaux du Monde.
"Art for the Heart" runs from Feb. 1 through March 8. Cadeaux du Monde is located at 26 Mary St. in Newport.
We look at trends and colors, we look to see what else is out there in the market. If we find a product that closely resembles something in chain stores, we won't buy it. We want to make sure what we are buying is unique.
WHAT IS THE MOST UNUSUAL PLACE YOU HAVE VISITED?
Dyer: The most different place we've been is Pakistan. They are still under Islamic law, [and] it's a very homogenous society. We would be walking down the street and bus loads of people would lean out the windows to stare at us. They would follow us for blocks. This was mostly the village people, not in the urban areas so much. You come back with a real appreciation.
DOES THE MEDIA ACURATELY PORTRAY THE CULTURES YOU'VE SEEN?
Perkins: Hollywood sensationalizes everything. People are people all over the world.
WHY THE PEACE CORPS?
Dyer: I always wanted to go to Africa and I wanted to travel. You know when you go to college and you're going through school and you're doing all this stuff, it's all very self, self, self, self, and so I decided that I wanted to do a service. I wanted to do something that was a little bigger than myself.
Especially when you're doing your education it's always you, you, you, you, and I thought, 'okay, it's time to think about somebody else'. So I wanted to do something like the Peace Corps.
WHY AFRICA?
Dyer: This is the corniest thing. One of the reasons I always wanted to go to Africa is because I used to watch Mutual Omaha's Wild Kingdom. I don't know if you've ever seen that on reruns or anything like that. It used to be on Sunday night. They had like, Wild Kingdom and the Walt Disney and we would watch it.
WHAT IS GALLERY NIGHT?
Perkins: We do it annually. It runs from February to December and on the second Thursday of every month we showcase a different artist for 11 months. It has to be work that we can hang on the wall.
Newport Gallery Night begins the second Thursday in February from 5p.m. to 8p.m. and runs monthly until November at Cadeaux du Monde.
"Art for the Heart" runs from Feb. 1 through March 8. Cadeaux du Monde is located at 26 Mary St. in Newport.