17 Artisans attended 10 days of Business & Marketing training under the OAS Craft Enhancement Project of the Ministry of Tourism Heritage and the Creative Industries, facilitated by the CDF’s Director of Business Development & Marketing, Finola Jennings-Clark.
The final phase of the training will be further development of products in response to the market research and an expose at the end of October where further market research will be done with targeted audiences. This will be followed by one last session to review implications of implementing changes to products in response to customer feedback and to prepare for the 2015-16 ‘High Season’.
The Project includes the creation of an online resource for artisans that will contain training materials; resource contacts; artisan contacts. This will be supported by an online catalogue of participants’ work with links to their own online sites.
The following is a review of the workshop by Wanda Octave:
Hard to believe but every participant who attended the OAS Craft Enhancement Business & Marketing Training did not want the workshop to end.
‘This workshop has taught me so much more than I expected it to. It has challenged me to think outside the box with my marketing and has opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of social media’ says participant Desrie Walcott.
‘The Marketing and Pricing aspects were a lot of information to take in, in one or two days. We needed more time to process what we learnt to ensure that the principles could be properly integrated into our business. Many of us do not have Facebook or twitter accounts so we needed some more time to navigate the web and understand the process.’ She continued.
Ordinarily, artisans would cringe at the thought of another training session, but every one of the 17 participants ware requesting a follow up to the last two training sessions.
For the past two years the OAS Craft Enhancement Project has been seeking to build capacity among local artisans, with training programmes, to help develop their skill and make them more marketable in a competitive global environment. Some artisans already struggle to compete on the local market, so the exposure to business training and developing a marketing mindset was critical.
‘The first workshop broadened our views on the methodologies that artisans use to develop their products while this workshop has helped us cost and market our business.’ Anthea John
But while it is critical that the crafters understand marketing and finance, some participants admit that they are not business oriented, and feel the need for more marketing support. One participant fantasized about an agent/manager type service for Artisans, akin to that of an actor, where the agent is able to solicit, work and sell his client’s goods or services while the client focuses on his craft.