Tembo Group, an international arts and crafts boutique, has opened in Fells Point. 

The shop, run by Deborah de la Reguera, who describes herself as a "social entrepreneur," also includes studio space for artists.

Here's a sampling of the handmade merchandise, some made with recycled materials such as silk ties and tea bags: jewelry, men's and women's clothing, home decor, toys and baby items.

Artisans come from Myanmar/Burma and Rwanda, and other countries.

"Many of our artists had to flee their homelands due to war, famine and genocide and leave everything behind to make a new life for themselves and their families," de la Reguera said.

She said the store at 1706 Fleet Street is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

lorraine.mirabella@baltsun.com

Tatiana Fish lives in Pigtown, works a restaurant job in Fells Point, attends classes at the Community College of Baltimore County and usually visits her father twice a week in Montgomery County.

Meeting all her obligations requires the 23-year-old to regularly fill her gas tank, she said — making the sign advertising $2.99-a-gallon gas at the Royal Farms store on Russell Street a welcome sight Monday.

"It's definitely nice to think I'm not going to be spending $80 on gas this week," Fish said, which she did over the summer, when prices were closer to $3.60 a gallon.

While gas prices are normally lower in the fall than in the summer, they have dropped sharply in recent weeks in Maryland and across the country thanks to a dive in the global price of crude oil.

Crude oil is selling now for just over $80 a barrel, down from more than $100 as recently as July, driven by global supply and demand — a strong supply of crude oil, including in the United States, and weak international demand,...

Six new apparel and clothing retailers will join the Mall in Columbia for the holiday season, mall owner General Growth Properties announced Friday.

The new retailers are:

Victoria's Secret Pink: a 4,506 square-foot store will open in the lower level this month. The company sells apparel, undergarments and accessories geared toward young women. House of Hoops by Foot Locker: a 6,208 square-foot store will open on the lower level this month. The store is a specialized basketball shoe store. Watches

Many of the nation's biggest retailers plan to sharply increase hiring for the holiday shopping season as consumers look to spend more, according to reports out today.

Macy's, Kohl's, Walmart, Amazon and Game Stop are among the retailers planning seasonal hiring increases, by 45 percent for Kohl's and 47 percent for Game Stop. Target, Toys R Us and JC Penney plan to hire the same number as last year, according to figures compiled by outplacement company Challenger, Gray

It seems that the Thanksgiving holiday is well on its way to becoming the new "Black Friday."

Retailers already are announcing their hours for Thanksgiving weekend, the traditional kick-off to the holiday shopping season, and the shift toward opening earlier and earlier on Thanksgiving is continuing.

Macy's will open most of its department stores on Thanksgiving night at 6 p.m., two hours earlier than last year's 8 p.m. Thanksgiving opening.

The stores at Arundel Mills also will open at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27, but will close at 1 a.m. before reopening on the actual Black Friday at 6 a.m., the Hanover mall said today. Retailers among more than 200 at the mall include Best Buy, Coach Factory Store, The Disney Store Outlet, H&M, Michael Kors Outlet, New York

Get a haircut at Hair Cuttery on Veterans Day and help a veteran.

The chain of hair salons announced today that it will donate a free haircut certificate to a veteran for every adult haircut purchased on Tuesday, Nov. 11.

It will be the 15th year for the chain's Share-a-Haircut program, in which the company has offered free haircuts to the homeless, schoolchildren and victims of domestic abuse. This year, the 900-store chain will partner with local veterans groups in hopes of reaching 25,000 veterans.

"We hope in some small way we are able to help those who have sacrificed so much for our country," Dennis Ratner, founder and CEO of Hair Cuttery said in the announcement.

lorraine.mirabella@baltsun.com