Opportunities and challenges of e-commerce platform
By Guest Blogger Rumi Takama (Founder, Jalak Bali) Originally from Japan I have spent half of my life overseas and have always been inspired by people, culture, traditions and food in different regions of the world and what nature has to offer to us. I currently live in Bali, Indonesia and have launched Jalak Bali, […]
Trade & Cross-cultural influences in the crafts industry
On a recent visit to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, I was reminded of how over the centuries, trade and commerce has played a role in cross-cultural influences on craft production and development. An exhibition titled, Made in the Americas: The New World Discovers Asia, focused on the influence Asia had on the […]
7 E-commerce Trends to think about
With more and more shopping and commerce happening on-line, it is becoming increasingly important to be aware of both the challenges and opportunities that e-commerce can provide. While e-commerce might not be feasible or appropriate for not all artisan groups and producers, it is important to pay attention to buying behaviour. However this doesn’t necessarily […]
Artisan Resource: A trade show specifically for international artisan enterprises
Trade shows are often a great way to connect with retailers and wholesalers and to expose oneself to the marketplace at large. While they are an investment, there are those that cater specifically to certain products and markets. Artisan Resource (founded by ByHand Consulting) is one such trade show that works specifically with export ready […]
Artesan Profile: Child’s Cup Full, West Bank
Founded on the principle that when you invest in a woman, you invest the larger community, Child’s Cup Full (CCF) is a non-profit social enterprise that creates sustainable economic opportunities for Palestinian refugee and impoverished women artisans in the West Bank. By providing career-relevant artisanship training programs and sustainable employment to low-income women artisans who […]
Application – Visualising home decor
We recently featured a post by guest blogger Nishant Das, who shared with us 6 Simple Product Development Tips. By providing us insightful tips about product development and design, he showed us how to look at a product critically in order to develop relevant and well designed objects. A recent article in Brit + Co […]
Artesan profile: Darzah, West Bank – These shoes are made for showing off!
Darzah, an initiative of Child’s Cup Full, a non-profit social enterprise based in the West Bank, is a collection of tatreez embroidered products, hand-stitched by talented women artisans. By creating sustainable economic opportunities for refugee and low-income women, Darzah is building a consortium of artisan centers to not only have a long term economic impact […]
Artesan profile: Basha, Bangladesh
By Guest Blogger Robin Seyfert (Founder, Basha) Mila* had worked in the garments factory for 3 months without being paid when she turned in desperation to a woman offering to help. This woman instead sold her to a brothel. Farhana’s* husband left her alone with their son and large loans. She could just eke out […]
Brown Paper Packages Tied Up In String…
Feeling particularly organized this year, I have started my Christmas gift shopping. A recent purchase from Boston based Project D Knits arrived all ready for presentation! I was impressed by the personal touch and I know the recipient will be too. How have you packaged your products? Please share your techniques and ideas!
Insights into Ethical Fashion continued
Last Monday, I published a post on the growth of sustainable and ethical approaches within the fashion industry and I thought I’d follow up this week with an article I came across on the Ethical Fashion Initiative. The Initiative, which is a part of the International Trade Center, ‘partners leading designers with artisan producers […]