Take a break from work and join us for an afternoon of guaranteed inspiration!
19September13, 2-5pm is the date/time to remember. We will be focusing on fashion accessories- talking about everything including how/where to source raw materials, fashion trends to watch and where the potential markets are. Want to know more about our panelists?Click on their companies to see why you will be in the company of greatness! >Aprelle Duany - Kiko Romeo >Annabelle Thom - Annabelle Thom >Anne Mpinga - Kipusa >Kevin Rombe - Mapambo
Charges are 500Kshs per person, payable at the door.
Yes indeed, your craft product does have a 'best by' date! Just like in the biology of life, craft products have a life cycle from the time they are created, to the time they lose their appeal.
For many craftpreneurs, missing this science can lead to frustration at continued low sales despite all the marketing efforts.
The product life cycle is perhaps the most important element when it comes to product design. It is what guides how and when to bring new products into the market.
"The goal of understanding your product's life
cycle is to enable you to maximize on its value
and by extent its profitability."
The product life cycle is divided into four:
1. Introduction
This is when the product enters the market.Revenue at this stage is low, although investment is heavy on distribution and promotion. As it is fairly common for most products to fail at this stage, you need a clear plan on how to enter and win in the market. Common entry strategies include penetration pricing, where you deliberately set low prices for rapid establishment and price skimming which involves setting relatively high price points to attract an exclusive target market.
2. Growth
This is the boom time for your product, and your goal should be to stay here as long as possible. At this stage, your product is relatively well known in the market and your sales have peaked. There is brand recognition and you begin to attract competition. As such, marketing campaigns must go beyond brand awareness, involving strategies that hinge on customer loyalty. You want to retain existing customers as well as attract new ones.
3. Maturity
Of the four, this stage stretches out the longest, sometimes for decades. It is a stage characterized by severe competition and declining profit margins.
As other players with cheaper and better products enter the market, focus should be on defending existing market share. This involves constantly looking for ways to remain relevant. The savvy designer will keep production costs to a minimum so as to maximize on profits, focus on product design and development and come up with new products to replace those on the decline.
4. Decline
This is technically the product's 'sell by' date. At the decline stage, the product's revenue trickles to a minimum and it is no longer financially viable. There is little interest from consumers and hardly any competition.
In the unlikely scenario that you have only one product, and that product is at the decline stage, you can see you would be in serious trouble. This stage can be likened to a product's saturation point, and while there are many ways to recover from it, a more sustainable strategy would be to have several product lines. Keep a keen eye on where each is on the life cycle. The craft sector is arguably one of the most competitive and taking expired products to the market is a sure way to bury your business.
Want to read more on the subject? http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newSTR_80.htm
(Sources: The Open University- Money and Management, Wikipedia. Image mybizoflife.com)
Much has been said about the cliche imagery of handicraft enterprises in poverty alleviation. However, there is no denying the social and economic impact this modest unassuming industry has had the world over. Furthermore, with an estimated 300million people living in extreme poverty in Africa, the means becomes less important than the end.
In highlighting these 7 African enterprises, i am challenging you to look beyond you. To begin to appreciate the potential your craft enterprise has in job creation, social inclusion, peace building, women empowerment, MSME growth and cultural enhancement. The enterprises featured below are by no means exhaustive, neither are they in order of merit.
In the 9 years Sole Rebels has been in existence, it has had the distinction of not only being the world's first Fair Trade footwear company, but also Ethiopia's leading exporter of footwear. When Sole Rebels was founded, its priority mission was to create employment by leveraging on local know, thereby creating a product that was authentically Ethiopian, yet universally appealing. Several years later and with 400 workers on its payroll, Sole Rebels' turnover is $1million, with export markets in 40 countries. Founder Bethlehem Tilahun (above) says that one of the reasons her company is so successful is because it is a self initiated and self directed enterprise- a homegrown solution to Africa's problems. It has become a model enterprise of what can happen when young and motivated African
entrepreneurs challenge the status quo of aid to Africa, demanding instead for more trade opportunities.
Returning to her native Rwanda in 1994 just after the genocide, Janet Nkubana, founder & CEO of Gahaya Links realized that she had to get involved in stemming the destitution that was post genocide. In this acceptance speech featured above (The Hunger Project), Janet says that while she was initially content giving handouts to starving women who came daily to her door, she knew that sooner rather than later, she would have to do more. Noticing that they came begging with beautifully woven baskets, she figured that the very item they were using to beg could be their means out of poverty. And so Gahaya Links came to be. Leveraging on the traditional weaving skills that these women had, Janet started buying baskets from them, selling them and sharing the profits. Today, over 4000 women are either directly or indirectly employed by Gahaya. Their 'peace baskets' are to be found in world-famous stores including Macy's and Kate Spade. "It is really amazing, Janet said in a recent interview with CNN African Voices, to see how a small piece of work, how culture can
restore values in people, how healing comes through a small basket."
Dating back to 1955 until very recently, Sudan has been involved in one conflict or another. From the first & second civil war to the War in Darfur, women have borne the brunt most severely. In response to this resulting despair, hunger and need, the French NGO MEDIC founded the Lulu Livelihoods program in 2000. Focusing on the Lulu tree, a resource that grew in abundance, MEDIC set about educating Sudanese women on sustainable extraction of Lulu oil - a lightly
scented oil that transforms readily into a creamy butter. However, it was not until 2005 that Lulu Works launched the Lulu Life brand label, manufacturing
body butter, soap, scrub and lip balm, and becoming the only producer of Sudanese Shea Butter in the world. To remain sustainable and maximize on profits, Lulu Works does not export the nut in raw form, which is unlike the case for many of Africa's natural resources. By adding value to the butter themselves and selling directly to the consumer, Lulu Works ensures maximum returns to over 400 women in Southern Sudan,
helping them maintain a healthy household with money for food,
clothing, education and medical care. InFocus Productions have captured in startling depth the story of Lulu Life in the documentary 'The Brilliance Of Oil'.
Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, Global Mamas has easily become one of the most recognized brands within the global craft sector.
Global Mamas is a network of individually owned businesses working
together to expand their collective global market share. From 6 founding
members in 2003, to a network of 500 producers in 9 communities, Global Mamas has proven that a business model based on principles of the cooperative movement is sustainable. Registered as a member of World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and Fair Trade Federation (FTF), Global Mamas ensures all sale proceeds go directly to
the women producing the merchandise, with steady
and continuous orders from North America, Europe, Asia & Australia ensuring a steady income. Additionally, Global Mamas works extensively with each producer on product
development and quality control, providing artisans with
personalized, hands-on business assistance to
strengthen their capacity in running their own enterprises.
'Do not despise the days of small beginnings'. There is rarely a story i have come across that amplifies this truth as much as Kazuri does. 38 years ago, Kazuri (which means small and beautiful in Swahili) began its operations. With a staff of 2 women and a tiny workshop as its base, Kazuri's idea at the time was to experiment on handmade beads, rather than going into full production. As time went by however, Lady Susan Wood- founder of Kazuri- realized that there was a large number of single mothers who were looking for gainful employment and who could potentially be the workforce in a full scale factory. Fast forward to today and Kazuri has become a powerful brand, thanks to the 400 women who handcraft each and every one of 5 million beads produced every year.
A member of the World Trade Fair Organization, Kazuri believes that her workers are her biggest resource and therefore strives to apply the 10 principles of fair trade while engaging with the mostly single mothers who constitute the workforce.
Founded by Halle Butvin in 2007, One Mango Tree works in Northern Uganda, a region that had been in the grip of terror group Lord's Resistance Army since the mid 80s. Realizing that economic empowerment would provide a solid foundation for lasting peace and development, Halle set about building a business model that centered on identifying skilled artisans, providing design training and creating direct access to foreign markets. Since 2007, One Mango Tree has trained and employed 30 tailors, all of whom are given a flexible work-from-home schedule that allows them to attend to other family responsibilities. Taking advantage of locally available organic cotton, the company has recently diversified into creating their own fabric, most notably the Ikat inspired textiles.
What began as a simple handicraft project with 12 members in 1985 has over the years morphed into an organization that has brought up generations. Working with sisal, a natural resource found abundantly in
Swaziland, Tintsaba has trained over 980 rural women in the art of spinning
and weaving; giving them purpose, transferable skills and an income
pegged on expertise. From the onset, Tintsaba was determined to make a social and environmental commitment
to her crafts producers, holding regular training sessions on pattern & quality
upgrading while encouraging environmental impact awareness. Tintsaba uses environmentally safe dyes, making sure that the raw material conversion utilizes no chemical and minimal amounts of water. The result is a wide offering of high quality and beautiful products that
have grown beyond traditional craft.
Is there another enterprise that you feel should be included on this list? By all means, do let me know, i will be happy to oblige:)
Curated by Christine Gitau. Sources (etsy.com, webaraza.com, ABNDigital.com, YouTube, Wikipedia.org, Swahili-imports.com, InFocus Productions, Globalgirlfriend.com Momfaze.com, Bridgeforafrica.com, Openafrica.org, OneSimpleask.com, wtfo.com, ftf.org and the respective brand websites)
I came across this article from about.com by Maire Loughran on the concept of saturation points- that is when there is too many people churning out the same product, or in other words, when supply far outweighs demand. She goes on to give tips on how to manoeuvre such a situation to your advantage...
Working Around Saturation Point by Maire Loughran
It happens to us all, one day you’re sitting there running the UPS
driver ragged shipping your orders, the next, the phone has stopped
ringing and while you have good traffic on your website, nothing is
moving. What’s up? Could be any number of issues: seasonal, economic or
shift in spending patterns. The constant research a business owner must
do will give you a heads up when these conditions are coming into play.
However, a major cause for a decrease in sales is that your art or craft
has hit a saturation point. By that, I mean that too many crafters are
making the same type product or you’ve totally covered the market with
your product. Here are some determiners of saturation and what the savvy
craft business owner can do to work around the problem.....
As someone who is so passionate about the arts- and crafts in particular- it baffles me that it has taken so long to initiate a policy paper on the creative and cultural industry.
This is an industry that has massive potential for employment creation, national cohesion, social inclusion, foreign exchange, cultural regeneration- the list is endless.
So why is it that we are not giving these industries due attention? I have to be quick to add that this seeming lack of interest is not unique to Kenya- many developing countries around the world are struggling to identify and harness their potential.
We recently hosted a sector (crafts) focus group during an industry mapping process facilitated by the The Kenya ICT board and carried out by an IBM CSC team. Reading through the just released proposal document, it occurred to me that the most important recommendation put forward was "to raise the profile and increase recognition of the creative industries" (theme 1), and to achieve this through "public declaration of support of arts and creative industries sector as a key contributor to Kenya's economic development and Vision 2030".
The reason i think it all starts from here is because our political system is still recovering from decades of top down leadership- which means that a public declaration is sometimes all you need to set the ball rolling. Couple this with a willingness to "implement government policies that support creative industry growth and its measurement" (theme 2), and you score a home run. Everything else will fall into place. Does it sound too simplistic? I dare say no- because the truth of the matter is, we (as practitioners in the industry) have been making inroads in the industry- showcasing at international fashion shows, creating world class games, gunning for top film awards- without this kind of public support anyway. In other words, i believe that if the creative/cultural industry was made a priority sector, Vision 2030's goal of maintaining a sustained economic growth of 10% per year from 2012 and beyond is achievable. Forget the oil and other mineral reserves lying undiscovered in Lokichoggio or some such place. We have a resource that is as much a part of us as is our very being- our creative and cultural heritage. It is a resource that can never be depleted no matter how much we exploit it. And it is a great equalizer- no nation on earth can claim monopoly. We all have it- and may i go on to add- Kenya and Africa as a whole has trillions of tonnes in reserve. Create the necessary support structures, and watch the industry take off.
Interested in the full Creative Industry Roadmap? Access the full document here.
Have you ever had a chance to watch this amazing animated video clip of the humming bird story as told by Wangari Maathai?
Only this morning i came across a quote by Leonardo da Vinci on his conviction that people of accomplishment
rarely sit back and let things happen to them. They go out and
happen to things.
I guess that is exactly what Wangari Maathai is saying in this clip- we must happen to things and therefore make things happen. We must do the very best that we can. And really, that is all there is to it.
Take Zachary Kimotho, 44. An ordinary guy who became extraordinary because he dared himself to happen to things.
You know i can only imagine what a strenuously difficult endeavor the whole Bring Zack Back Home campaign was or still is for him. From the onset, it must have appeared as the fire did to the animals of the forest in the humming bird story- insurmountable, unstoppable. Regardless, putting to test his sheer will, he personified the humming bird, taking flight and doing the little he could, the best he could. As i write this, Zack is back home having raised a whooping 73million in the first 60 days of the campaign. He is still on course to raise the 177million difference.
Come August 25th '12, we will be hosting Kenya's first craft party in honor and support of a man who has achieved more than a few good men put together. We as Craft Afrika are supporting Zack and the campaign because crafts are a natural entry point for marginalized communities worldwide- whether you are talking about People Living With HIV&AIDS, refugees, women, the disabled. The sector has that special and unpretentious characteristic of allowing marginalized groups assert themselves back into society. And so by hosting the craft party, we are not only fundraising for the spinal cord rehabilitation center, but also bringing into focus the inextricable link between crafts and emotional healing, crafts and economic empowerment and crafts and social inclusion.
August 25th is the day we celebrate the humming bird that Zack has become as well as take up the challenge to do the very best that we can, regardless of who we are or what we have in possession.
During the June 14th Jumpstart Thursday session, we got talking about how artists get emotionally attached to their work-so much so, that they are determined to create products that personify them rather than those that respond to market demands. There is much to be be said about the subject - depending on personal experience - but i came across this excerpt from an interview featured in the Design Trust blog on10 successful designers, crafts people and advisers. They give personal tips and insights on what they wish they had known starting out. This particular one by Sidsel Dorph-jensen caught my attention. For the complete article, click here
"When
I started out I wish I had known … how to feel comfortable selling at
shows. The whole experience of exhibiting your work to the public is
very intimidating. It is quite paradoxical, really, because you’re at a
trade show or craft fair to sell your work, but it’s also a situation
most creatives I know feel very ambivalent about. Yes – we want to sell,
but no – we don’t believe we’re any good at it, yes – it’s why we’re
there, but no – we don't feel comfortable.
There’s a mind shift between being in a designing, making and
creating state, and being in a sales situation. They probably live in
different parts of the brain – but I’m not going into that.
What I do want to pass on? The most important thing I’ve learned
about selling at shows, and being comfortable doing it, is – that it’s
not ‘about me’.
