The area between Sylvia’s Pizza and North Residence Hall on Hillsborough Street is a haphazard collection of barricades and mesh fencing, but beyond the construction scars, a new business has taken up residence in the building shared by Planet Smoothie and Bruegger’s Bagels.Sugar Magnolia, a $15 or less fair trade store, opened late last week, and though the timing of the new venture could be questioned by some, John Cooper Elias, an alumnus who oversees the Raleigh location of the family-owned business, said the risk is a calculated one.”This is one of the prime spots in one of the nicest buildings,” Elias said. “We had the opportunity right now to get this space and we decided we were better off going ahead starting out now and weathering the storm of the construction because it was going to be worth it in the long run to have this space.”But what’s most interesting about Hillsborough Street’s newest business may not be its location, since all of the merchandise in the store is personally selected by Elias’ family, which runs five stores similar to Sugar Magnolia in cities ranging from Ann Arbor, Mich. to Nashville, Tenn.But beyond that, the selections don’t occur online or at a domestic trade show. The Elias family travels all over the world looking for the most interesting merchandise, visiting entrepreneurs in Ecuador, Peru, India, Indonesia, Nepal and other locations where the goods are produced.And while the family, through fair trade practices, makes return visits to certain producers, they’re never certain what they’ll bring back.”One of the things that’s so great about the store is we find new things all the time,” Elias said. “We don’t even know the direction our merchandise is going to go in.”But according to Carly Fulton, a freshman in business management, the colorful goods the shoppers see when they visit the store aren’t even half of the reason why after one visit she applied for a job at Sugar Magnolia.”With fair trade, everyone is working hard and the money is going where it’s supposed to,” she said. “People here benefit with beautiful products and people in countries where they’re not as lucky as us get paid for their work. I’ve worked for companies before where it seems like they get money for the wrong reasons.”And Elias said the fair trade structure also contributes to keeping the prices low.”We take out the middleman,” he said. “We’re the ones going on the buying trips. We find the merchandise.”And during Fulton’s visit, she said she found Elias to be more than knowledgeable of the merchandise, which ranges from women’s clothing to handmade instruments and artwork.”They know all their artists. They know the stories behind all the art and pieces of work,” she said. “It’s not some factory. It’s a family and a story and a person. It’s not ‘I read this in a bio,’ it’s ‘I met them and they told me this.’ “And while Sugar Magnolia is working to make it better for artisans in foreign countries, Elias said it’s also his way of beautifying his old stomping grounds.”As an alum, I’m happy to be doing this because I feel like it’s me doing my part to make Hillsborough Street succeed.”