World Magazine showed up at the NYC furniture show last month to do an article on Parish Furniture. Here is a bit of the article written by Susan Olasky. It is a great summary of Parish Furniture and it's impact on the the lives of the Peruvian men involved.

"Parish Furniture's fine, high-end contemporary furniture attracted attention from architects, interior designers, and sales reps who stopped to admire the craftsmanship as they browsed furniture and lighting displayed at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair held recently in New York. These are people who don't blink to learn that an outdoor table wholesales for $6,000 because its level of craftsmanship required 120 hours of labor.

The designers were drawn to the furniture's clean lines and gentle curves, inspired by elements of the Peruvian landscape—sand dunes, weaving baskets, patterns in tile, downtown architecture. They were also drawn to the story. As Ball said, "It's fascinating to see, pretty much across the board, the interest in community development and nonprofit work in the Third World. . . . The Christian tradition has a lot to say about sustainable community development."

From its beginning the Peru Mission combined traditional church planting with diaconal projects like health clinics, language schools, and a micro-lending project for small women-run businesses. . . "

Click here to view the complete article.