--- type: Brand title: "The Winding Road Wholesale · TN & KY" description: "The Winding Road fair trade artisan goods wholesale for Tennessee and Kentucky retailers, represented by AmyFay Chandler. $250 opening, $250 reorder." resource: https://amyfaychandler.com/brands/the-winding-road/ tags: [brands] --- Fair Trade Artisan Goods # THE WINDING ROAD Since 2011 Fair trade, handmade goods from artisan partners in Nepal, Indonesia, and around the world — sourced directly by a founder who spent twenty years traveling before she started the company. Represented in Tennessee & Kentucky by AmyFay Chandler for Tango Showroom Chicago Fair Trade Member · 200+ Women Artisans · Founded 2011 [Get The Winding Road Wholesale Info →](#afc-lead-form-el) To order The Winding Road wholesale in Tennessee or Kentucky, contact AmyFay Chandler — The Winding Road’s rep through the Tango Showroom — at [[email protected]](/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7f1e1206191e063f1e1206191e061c171e111b131a0d511c1012) or [865-217-6790](tel:+18652176790). ## The Winding Road Story Marla Showfer developed her passion for travel and global goods young. She studied abroad for two semesters in college, backpacked Europe and the Middle East for two summers, and made her way through markets in Cairo, Greece, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Portugal, France, Mexico, and Israel — mentally noting the goods and craftspeople she wanted to return for. Over the next twenty years, those trips took her to India, Nepal, Peru, and Morocco. In July 2011, she launched The Winding Road officially with a trip to Kathmandu with her mother. She brought back handwoven cashmere shawls, blankets, felt goods, and other handmade fair trade pieces, ran a “virtual shopping trip” with about 150 friends, then showed the line at the San Francisco Gift Fair — where museums placed the first orders. She built a following at local Chicago markets and grew the brand from there. Handwoven crossbody bags — Ata vine and rattan, made by women artisans in Indonesia. The global sourcing instinct runs deeper than Marla’s own travels. Her family history traces back to merchants in Venice in the 1500s and, further back, traders on the Silk Road in Central Asia. The Winding Road is the current chapter of a very old thread. Today the line has two anchor categories: felt goods from Nepal, handmade by a husband-and-wife artisan team in Kathmandu the brand has worked with since 2012, and handwoven bags from Indonesia, made by women artisans from sustainably sourced Ata vine and rattan. Scarves, shawls, and ruanas from India, Morocco, Peru, and Borneo round out the catalog. ### At a Glance Category Fair Trade Artisan Goods Products Felt goods from Nepal, handwoven bags from Indonesia, scarves, shawls, ruanas Founded 2011 by Marla Showfer Based In Geneva, Illinois (Chicago area) Certifications Chicago Fair Trade member · Direct-sourced from artisan partners Artisan Impact 200+ Women Artisans · Nepal & Indonesia For Tennessee & Kentucky Opening order $250 · Reorder $250 · Via Tango Showroom, AmericasMart Atlanta ## The Handwoven Bags from Indonesia Crossbody and handbag silhouettes in Ata vine and rattan. The Winding Road’s handbag program is handwoven by women artisans in Indonesia from two traditional materials: Ata vine, a wild-growing vine harvested and dried by hand, and rattan, sourced sustainably and woven using techniques that have been passed down in the region for generations. The silhouettes span crossbody bags, handbags, and totes, each woven by hand — no two are identical. In the brand’s own words: “traditional techniques and eco-friendly materials create timeless, functional designs.” The bags are the higher-ticket anchor of the line and a clean category tie-in for any store that carries travel, resort, fashion-adjacent, or sustainable-lifestyle goods. They pair naturally with the textile program (scarves, shawls, ruanas) and give the retailer a second price point alongside the felt. ## The Felt Goods from Nepal Handmade felt animals from the Kathmandu partnership. Since 2012, The Winding Road has worked with a husband-and-wife artisan team in Kathmandu whose workshop now supports more than 200 women artisans. The partnership is direct, long-standing, and built on the fair-trade principles Marla put at the center of the brand from the start: fair wages, safe working conditions, and consistent enough income that the artisans can plan around it. The catalog out of that workshop is broad — felt animals, ornaments, garlands, nursery mobiles, finger puppets, and seasonal items for every holiday on the calendar. Christmas and fall are the heaviest drops, but the line runs year-round. The Winding Road now distributes felt from this single workshop to hun