We ask the founders of four successful small brands about their experience of working with artisans from around the world.
What seems like such a novice concept these days of a brand working with artisans both near and far is quite retro and how our grandparents and ancestors sought their wares. Whether it was pottery from the local potter, a belt buckle crafted by the village blacksmith, ceramics, textiles, and spices from lands far away, these goods were made up primarily until the Industrial Revolution by artisans.
In a society preoccupied with consumerism, we have developed a ravenous appetite for fast fashion, furniture made of compressed wood, fast food, plastic tables, and kitchenware made with synthetic raw materials all made in faceless factories. These very products are bound to be disposed of quickly and wind up in either a landfill where it will take hundreds of years to decompose or end up floating and polluting our oceans. Houston we have a problem.
A possible solution to this dilemma is a return to working with artisans.
Many brands both small and even large are creating brands with the ethos of working with artisans both locally and afar. These brands have developed a mission to Fair Trade, reducing the carbon footprint as much as possible and helping artisans around the world who rely on their skills to keep their communities alive. This allows the local artisan to once again flourish and keep their skill sets alive and passed on to the next generations.
Many of these artisans are comprised of women around the world who with the collaboration of these brands not only take care of their families but develop agency in their lives ensuring education for their children and a brighter future for their families.
In this blog post, we ask the founders of four successful brands that rely on artisans the same five questions about their collaboration with these craftsmen and creating products in a responsible, ethical, and eco-friendly manner that preserves the skillsets of their artisans. What you will find in their answers are an equal love of travel, beauty, and craftsmanship, and their passion for helping preserve artisan skills whilst producing a more sustainable product. By collaborating with artisans they help improve the quality of not only the artisan's life but their communities. In return, the brand develops a unique product made to last with generations of skills behind it.
Elif Akaydin, Founder of Patent of Heart
Elif Akaydin, founder of Patent of Heart
What inspired you to work with artisans in the first place?
As a little girl, I grew up watching the women in my family create beautiful things like embroidery, lacy crochets, and hand-knitted sweaters and blankets. I saw them come together as a community to craft these items for their families and help those in need, all while sharing their stories. This early exposure instilled in me a deep appreciation for craftsmanship and tradition. Later in my career, working with artisans deepened my commitment to supporting sustainable and ethical practices. Artisans bring unique skills, techniques, and cultural heritage to their work, adding valuable elements to their products. Collaborating with them creates community development and empowerment by providing fair wages and improving living conditions. This alignment with social responsibility and the creation of one-of-a-kind products continues to inspire me.
What are some of the original skills they have brought to your products?
Precision hand-embroidered techniques have brought durability and a unique, personal touch to every piece in our Bona Amore; hand-embroidered bags, and Bonus Fortuna, our hand-beaded bags collections.
The process involves personal input and skill from the artisan at every step, from selecting materials to executing the design. This personal touch makes each product not just a functional item, but a piece of art with a story. The craftsmanship and care invested make it a unique creation that carries both value and meaning.
An artisan is crafting a hand-beaded motif for Patent of Heart's Bonus Fortuna Collection of leather bags using the traditional "tambour technique," resulting in a unique COFFEE Cross-body / Clutch Bag!
How has using artisans affected their livelihoods?
Collaborations with artisans offer them steady work, income, and financial stability, which elevate their living standards and support their families. These projects also help artisans develop their existing skills or learn new ones, boosting job satisfaction and creating future opportunities.
An artisan is crafting a hand-embroidered motif for Patent of Heart's Bona Amore Collection of leather bags using the traditional "chain-stitch technique" resulting in a unique and intricate JAZZY Clutch / Cross-body Bag
An artisan is crafting a hand-beaded motif for Patent of Heart's Bonus Fortuna Collection of leather bags using the traditional "tambour technique," resulting in unique HAPPY CLUTCH
How can other brands go about incorporating more artisans in their products?
I believe reaching out to artisans is much easier now thanks to social media. I've discovered many skilled artisan groups through online searches and encourage brands to do the same.
An artisan is crafting a hand-woven bag for the Patent of Heart's Femina Manu Collection of Macreme bags resulting in a unique and intricate hand-made sustainable handbag.
How do you convey that your product is made by others to the customer?
We tell the story of the artisans behind our products, emphasizing their skills, traditions, and the craftsmanship that goes into each item.
Our products feature labels or tags that acknowledge the artisans and workshops involved, providing a personal touch with notes about their craftsmanship and origins.
We also showcase the artisans at work through photos, videos, and blog posts, sharing this visual content on social media, in newsletters, and on our website to give customers an inside look into the creation process.
John Robshaw, founder of John Robshaw Textiles
John Robshaw, founder of John Robshaw Textiles
What inspired you to work with artisans in the first place?
I studied a lot about Asian culture and was a fine art major so to me completely made sense. I’ve worked with the craft people because that’s actually what I kind of was like a crafts person making art and sculptures and so on.
What are some of the original skills they have brought to your product?
I’d say the unique skills of artisans, like block printers, often lead to adjustments in designs during the printing process. Their feedback can make the final design more interesting and refined. Workshop owners, deeply immersed in their craft, also provide valuable insights on what works well and what to keep. It’s truly a collaborative effort.
An artisan creating the age old hand block print techique for John Robshaw bedding.
Has using the Artisans affected their lively hood?
Yeah, I think I used to do consulting for Artisans where we did development craft around the world and the small groups that were starting and struggling and needed some design guidance. Some production guidance was helping them like sort of stabilize the business and we contact the rest and then with my production, you know some of the smaller art groups we use know their business and I think it’s also just with everything going to China and cheaper and you know people skip the artisan workmanship because it takes longer. It’s more expensive so I think that’s the trick you know the hard part for the artisan is that they are so well trained for their labor and time so you know sometimes the consumer doesn’t want to pay for that.
How can other brands incorporate more artisan artisan ship in there and their products?
I think that’s easy I mean, there are a lot of fairs, craft fairs lots of online artists and groups. Much easier to find people now than it was and because of everything online and the Internet and some companies that help Artisans, I think it’s easy. It’s sort of a "Do they have the brand with the deal?" With the artisan, you have to keep with it with consistency and it can just be one season in one season out that doesn’t work for them at all so that I think is the hard part. You know it’s like fashion in and out, changing bubbles keep moving, but you have to build a relationship and support them.
How do you convey that your product is made by others to the customer?
Excellent Natalie, yeah I mean something like your market, your focused marketing, your brand message, your photography, your videos, you have to tell the story. The narrative you have to know again and again. Like commit to that narrative I mean that’s it for me. It’s a core element of the brand so we do try to highlight crafts with craftsman, so it’s a conscious effort to tell the story document the story to give credit to the artisans in the groups so it’s not like I’m mysterious that comes out nowhere which is not of course not the narrative.
John Robshaw has a book, "John Robshaw Prints" that documents his travels, designs, and works with artisans. You can find his popular bedding and home decor at johnrobshaw.com
Heidi Kelso, Founder of Lido World
Heidi Kelso, founder of Lido World.
What inspired you to work with artisans in the first place?
I would say the excitement of discovery and my love of anthropology.
Before LIDO, I always traveled to exotic places and I would research heavenly to find unique things, and then find things on the ground once I arrived. It could be art, jewelry, clothing, etc. I was exposed to incredible crafts and culture, and this was probably my sub-conscience inspiration to start LIDO.
The other big factor was the cultural aspect of travel. My greatest inspiration was always traveling to the most distant, remote places that were as different as possible from Western culture and what was familiar.
These factors led me to discover heritage arts and want to work hand-in-hand with artists to create things together.
What are some of the original skills artisans have brought to your products?
Just about everything we do is touched by artists through education and application.
I realized at the beginning of LIDO’s journey how awe-inspiring and difficult the applications and processes were. We value these practices and incorporate as much of their work as possible into our products. The craftsmen and women were (and are) the keepers of hundreds of years of skill and knowledge and those skills are passed down within families and villages.
Nearly everything we produce relies on old-world principles. We work with collectives and individuals who do our custom weaving, wood carving, metalwork, stitching, embroidery, block carving, and block printing. We work with dye masters, color masters, bandhani artists, kantha artists, and the list goes on.
Most importantly, the process, the materials, and the application change from country to country. How we work in Morocco or Turkey is very different from how things are made in Kenya or India. And regionally within each country, it’s completely different as well.
How has using artisans affected their livelihoods?
We hope that we play a part in a few different ways.
The first is educating the Western world on how precious and fleeting these skills are. We hope that helps amplify their work. Many people will never travel to these countries and have no idea how hard these artists work.
In a world of fast fashion and mass production, we are in danger of losing these skills which were traditionally passed down through the generations. Now in the age of digital, everyone wants to work on computers. These processes are slow and methodical which is the opposite of a fast-paced world where people want instant gratification and quick results.
We also hope we help them financially too. We pay a fair wage and we make sure to know the supply chain all the way through.
Lido World artisan weaving a rug.
How can other brands go about incorporating more artisans in their products?
Research. There is plenty if information to be found online, but nothing substitutes travel to meet people and see the practices and facilities firsthand. In our case, we traveled and found people on the ground. Our network grew from there. There is nothing more inspiring than seeing things made in person and understanding the enormous amount of skill, work, and time that goes into these respective crafts.
How do you convey to your customers that your product is made by artisans?
We make a great effort to let people know how our goods are made, where they are made, and the process for each type of art form. A big part of the education is explaining that with handwork, no two pieces are exactly the same. Any “flaws” are part of the process, and not considered imperfections. Perception comes in mass production.
You can find Lido World online or at their boutique in Greenport, NY.
Ian Gonzalez, Founder of La Casa Guatemala
Ian Gonzalez, founder of La Casa Guatemala.
What inspired you to work with artisans in the first place?
I am the son of a cultural anthropologist an industrial designer, an American, and a Guatemalan. As a child, I accompanied my mother frequently when she did fieldwork in Latin America and the Middle East, where the making of crafts was intimately bound up with how communities survived and identified themselves. My father designed hardwood furniture with a Scandinavian appearance and often commissioned hand-loomed textiles to upholster designs. He keenly enjoyed visiting indigenous markets. So I grew up seeing, comparing, using, and loving handmade objects.
What are some of the original skills artisans have brought to your products?
Well, of course, hand-eye skills developed throughout childhood watching and imitating their elders transform often the humblest raw materials into useful, necessary, effective, and beautiful tools and accouterments. Weavers have a keen intelligence about the structure of a fabric and how colors will show differently across its surfaces, a little like the ability of trackers to look over a huge empty landscape and discern a pattern of life. Potters, woodworkers, and basketmakers know by touch the pliability of their materials, their moisture and plasticity, and their extreme possibilities.
One of La Casa Guatemala's artisans weaving.
How has using artisans affected their livelihoods?
Most artisans in Guatemala are also subsistence farmers with cornfields apple or peach trees, and chickens or pigs, but the income their crafts production brings gets more food on the table, keeps their children several years longer in school, allows them to install electricity and indoor plumbing in their homes.
How can other brands go about incorporating more artisans in their products?
Brands are often nervous about artisan production because it takes place outside of factories and is difficult to audit for aspects such as workplace safety, child labor, wage guarantees, and the host of concerns about quality control, sustainability of the enterprise, and so on. They might want to partner with a foundation like Nest (www.buildanest.com), which has pioneered methodologies to link retailers to artisan groups around the world.
How do you convey to your customers that your product is made by artisans?
We say it as loudly and as often as we can and show our work with artisans via social media continuously. We also welcome visits from clients who wish to work with artisans, and we spend as much time as we can fostering that relationship between makers and buyers.
You can find La Casa Guatemala online at lacasaguatemala.com
All four founders have origin stories that exhibit how their brands evolved organically along the way to create unique products drawn from the artistry and skill set of artisans. Their passion for traveling the world and experiencing cultures has made these labels embrace skillsets that could have easily disappeared if for not the collaboration between the brands and the artisans. It enriches the communities when done responsibly with a fair wage and long-term investment by the brands.
This win/win combination of utilizing artisans benefits the brand's clientele who also share a love of travel, craftsmanship, beauty, and a story while rejecting the mass productions made with no soul by a faceless factory worker.
Thank you to Elif, John, Heidi, and Ian for sharing their stories and helping inspire other brands and customers to experience the product of a collaboration with artisans.
By Natalie Rivera
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