By Nola P. Andaya, NTFP-TF
At the NTFP-TF Crafts Center, we are going through the highs and lows of crafts marketing .. and we are very excited!
The high end of things
We are now implementing the HIGH VALUE, LOW VOLUME Crafts Marketing strategy— Yes, we mean coming up with products of high value but produced at low volume. Taking into consideration factors that are not usually present in marketing mainstream crafts, such as limited volume capacity, cultural value of crafts, environmental sustainability and community integrity, we decided that high value- low volume is the way to go. By concentrating on high end products, income requirements of crafts producers can be met without adding pressure to their traditional way of life nor to their environmental resources.
In general, production capacity of IP communities is moderate due to a way of life tied to traditions and a regulated access to raw materials. Due to the limited volume as well as other factors such as distance from the market, higher labour costs, etc. which results in high production costs, it is best to position the products in the higher end market, which is capable of absorbing this cost and will give a higher profit margin to the artisan.
It’s also a reality that indigenous handicrafts are faced with becoming commonplace, due to indiscriminate copycat practices of companies that use modern, mass production techniques. This has caused a decrease in crafts’ perceived value, undermining the intricate and tedious process that the artisans go through to create the masterpiece. The HV-LV strategy aims to add value to crafts by matching traditional skills and raw materials with top-contemporary designs and functions that highlight or bring out the innate value of the cultural craft. In this way, the strategy is expected to better compensate the labour and historical/cultural value that goes into the products.
FATE and FAME
It was at F.A.M.E. that the fate of the strategy was sealed. Through the invitation and support Mangyan Heritage Center, The NTFP-TF and partner, Mangyan Mission had the chance to present the Mangyan Crafts to an international audience and a sophisticated and modern lot of designers at last year’s FAME, the largest international trade fair on Philippine furniture and crafts organized by CITEM.
It was at this fair that we met designer, Tracie Anglo-Dizon. This young and pro-active designer shares our passion to elevate IP traditional crafts to the level it should be in – a level that will value the hand in handicrafts. Inspired by a brand called LOSA (London – South Africa[1]) that she came across with on one of her trips to the UK, Tracie, together with other three designers, readily teamed up with NTFP-TF to create a line that will be guided by the high value and low volume mantra; a line that shall promote the craftsmanship of IP crafts.
Hopping on the Brand Wagon
This line, which will open up new niches for IP crafts, thus increasing the demand for it, will range from fashion articles to house wear and lifestyle products. The line will be a blend of craftsmanship, perfected through generations and generations of practicing artisans, and sophistication and functionality of contemporary design.
The line will be launched under a brand that is currently being designed and developed with the help of 4 volunteer-designers. This brand will project a way of life that reconciles urban taste for sophistication and quality with an awareness of environmental and social issues — a lifestyle that a very demanding and intelligent consumer would want to adhere today.
The new line will be presented to the broader public by the third quarter of this year, during a Crafts Conference.
While ending this article, I remember a song that I grew up with… a song from the Disney animation Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – it goes: hi – ho, hi – ho, off to work we go… well, with a little revision, it can be a formula for the IP crafts marketing — High-low, high-low, off to market we go… (whistling sound).
[1] An initiative of top auction house Sotheby’s and South African artisans to create a wider market for South African craft workers by applying modern designs to the traditional South African crafts: beadwork, woven coiled grass basket-work, telephone wire work, wood carving and embroidery.
