Month: July 2016

Reflections on product development: developing a recycled sari skirt line

Product development takes place in different way, including suggestions from consumers. Meg Gerbrandt-Weibe,Member of the Board of the Fraser Valley Mennonite Central Committee – Canada, recently shared with us her experience of developing a line of recycled sari skits with Sacred Mark Enterprise. I grew up in a Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) family in Manitoba. […]

Artesan Profile: Sacred Mark Enterprise, Bangladesh

Guest blogger Ishrat Jahan Deepa, Unit Manager – Sacred Mark Enterprise Established in March 2009, by the Mennonite Central Committee in Bangladesh (MCCB) Sacred Mark Enterprise provides alternative employment for former sex workers. The stories of these women involve abuse, victimization, trauma, and pain. A widow, an orphan, a rape victim, a mother with no […]

Artesan Profile: Madia & Matilda

Madia & Matilda is a developing business and has been established for 3 and a bit years, employing one to ten people. Working as a team, each one specializing in a different area bringing out the best of each of their skills individually to achieve their goal of growing the brand. Madia & Matilda which […]

Importance of packaging

As we know, packaging is an important part of the consumer experience. We delight in opening aesthetically pleasing and unique packages, even when we know what’s inside! It is a good way for brands to not only distinguish themselves, but keep them at the forefront of the consumer’s mind. It is an important part of […]

Coming soon to N. America – Lai Designs!

Artesan Profile: Lai Designs. A conversation with founder and designer, Puja Bhargava Kamath. Lai is a India and California based indie jewelry label under which we design and manufacture unique, culturally inspired collections of handcrafted sterling silver jewelry. Cultural and historical references reinterpreted with a contemporary touch is the DNA for Lai which means ‘the […]

Songa Designs launches the Basket Collection

An Artesan Gateway Alert! We recently caught up with our friends at Songa Designs to learn more about their launch of their new Basket Collection. Founder Sarah Sternberg, brought us up to speed on how the collection came about. AG: How did the Basket Collection come about? What prompted you to diversify your products? Handmade […]

Importance of packaging

As we know, packaging is an important part of the consumer experience. We delight in opening aesthetically pleasing and unique packages, even when we know what’s inside! It is a good way for brands to not only distinguish themselves, but keep them at the forefront of the consumer’s mind. It is an important part of […]

Separating humanitarian mission and business

  The struggle between meeting humanitarian and development needs with that of building a retail business, is one with which we at the Artesan Gateway are all too familiar. In fact, the tension is all too real for many a social enterprise and NGO, who have the dual mission of providing skills training and employment […]