Police Blotter 
Cause Of Fire Determined

Analysis 
Warring Democratic Duo To Smoke Peace Pipe 
Ray Musto Likely Believes 
Trinisewski Truce Would Be 
Politically Helpful To Brother Joe

Wednesday, December 23, 1992 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A QUICK WORDS: SHILAN CULTURE JEWELRY
EARTH ART 





CULTURE CRAFTS -- Jerry Shilan, founder of Artisians of the Earth, stands
in his makeshift hacienda in a rented store space in the West Side Mall in
Edwardsville. Shilan likes to tell customers something about the people who
make the items sold in his store. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ******************** &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; By MARY CHRIS JAKLEVIC &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Times Leader Staff Writer &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 EDWARDSVILLE -- Buy a trinket from Artisans of the Earth and you're likely
to get a quick lesson in South American geography, or learn a Spanish word. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 That's because proprietor Jerry Shilan can't help but impart a little lore
along with the crafts he sells from his hacienda-style booth in the West Side
Mall. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The independent tour director from Lehman Township started importing woven
"South American Christmas trees" from artisans in Ecuador four years ago.
Since then he's expanded his inventory to bread dough ornaments, manger sets,
wreaths, jewelry, clothing and other knickknacks for the holidays. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Shilan said he hasn't made a profit, but that isn't the point. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "My ultimate goal is to create an interest in other countries -- if you
will, culture through crafts," said Shilan, who has a 27-inch inflated globe
dangling over his cash register. "I find it appalling how little we as
Americans know about the rest of the world. Lots of people have no idea where
Ecuador is." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 When a young woman buys some Peruvian earrings, Shilan tells her the
Spanish word for earring, "arete," and gives her a card explaining how the
jewelry is made in the Andes Mountains and Amazon jungles, where ancient
Indians once "felt undressed without a bangle bobbing from their ears." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A Nanticoke couple selects some Christmas wreaths for their windows, and
Shilan tells how they're made from palm fiber, called "paja toquella." He
helps Esther Kocielnick, 61, pronounce the words. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "Nobody needs any of this stuff," Shilan said. "They're buying it because
hopefully they're getting something out of it. There's something to it that
shows other people's thoughts and lives." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The bread dough, for instance, crafted in an Ecuadorian village near the
Equator, symbolizes friendship and life. A figure of a tortoise conveys
longevity. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Shilan, 53, spent most of his adult life in Hollywood as a writer and press
agent. He is a compulsive storyteller and admits to going "a little overboard"
sometimes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Given the chance, he'll describe the time he bought shoes for children on
the streets of Peru. One of the kids, named Sonya, is now 12 and makes the
friendship bracelets he sells. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Or, he'll launch into the saga of how a young Otaveleno Indian named
Antonio Maldanado delighted his tour groups with woven Christmas trees, which
the Americans and British brought home to hang on their walls. It was Antonio
who sparked Artisans of the Earth by asking Shilan to sell the trees in the
United States. Photos of Antonio's family adorn the booth. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "You get involved with these people. You want to do it because you realize
where they're coming from, how they live. I don't mean to say they are poverty
stricken. They are very clever, very industrious, very hard working," Shilan
said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Maldonados have electricity, but no running water inside their house,
he said. There is one phone in the village, and $30 could buy the family
groceries for a month. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Christmas there is mainly religious, without lavish presents and garish
light displays, Shilan said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Shilan says he is distressed for the artisans in Peru because internal
strife has halted tourism there. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 For Shilan, world travel was a dream deferred. After two years in the Navy,
he attended Wilkes College for two years and sold Fuller brushes door-to-door.
In 1962 he hitchhiked to Seattle, intending to get a job on a ship and go to
Asia. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To make a very long story short, Shilan ended up a feature writer and
columnist at the now defunct Hollywood Citizen-News, then held several public
relations jobs, including press agent to Steve Allen, Gene Autry and Bea
Benaderat (of the television series "Petticoat Junction"). &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A kidney operation in 1985 convinced him to "start smelling flowers," and
launched his career as a tour director. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He started Artisans of the Earth with the help of an importer in Quito, and
business took off with the first shipment of hand-woven trees. "They were
unique. Nobody had ever seen them before," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Shilan finished that first season with $1,500 in orders for other
handicrafts to buy on his next visit. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Lehman native still owns a house in Hollywood, but started his business
here partly to be with his aging mother, and partly for business reasons. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I had a feeling this was a much better market because California is so
used to things from Mexico, it wouldn't be a novelty," he said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Most crafts come from Peru and Ecuador, though five other countries are
represented. Prices range from 99 cents for worry dolls, friendship bracelets
and bread dough jewelry, to $50 for sweaters. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The shop closes for the season after Thursday. Shilan's extended plans
include having scouts sell the crafts for fund raisers, rather than candy. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 He doesn't know whether his cultural lessons are getting through, but he
has managed to attract some repeat customers. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "I took some of the ornaments into work last year and everybody really
liked them. They said they were different, and I ended up giving them all
away," said a Kingston woman, who was buying bread dough and some other
objects. "Now I'm buying for myself." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 __________ &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "My ultimate goal is to create an interest in other countries -- if you
will, culture through crafts." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Jerry Shilan &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Proprietor of Artisans of Earth

Culture Lesson Tour Guide's Merchandise Is For Sale, But His Information Is Free ******************** Photo Times Leader Photos/lewis Geyer