A Look Back at January 2023

Welcome to our NEW monthly e-letter series, Aid to Artisans Monthly, where we update you once a month on projects and events! Explore our stories from January below and we look forward to continuing to share our successes as well as those of our community!

México

Our staff in Mexico went out into the field to complete over 500 individual assessments in Chiapas, Yucatán and Campeche. These assessments were done to better understand the financial situations of the families participating in the Manos Vivas 2.0 project funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

We learned that the majority of household budget decisions are shared by husband and wife in all 3 regions. By carrying out these assessments, we will be able to measure how much our project has impacted household economic well-being.

Dos Tierras x Aid to Artisans

We announced our new partnership with exporting company Dos Tierras, a collective of artisans and designers that grew out of our Manos Vivas project. As our exporting agent, Dos Tierras will link activities in México to international markets.

Winter Las Vegas Market

Dos Tierras debuted products from Chiapas & Yucatán, México at the Winter Las Vegas Market. The head of Dos Tierras, Guillermo Jester, told us, “It’s been nice to get to know new customers while connecting with current customers. Buyers really love the new collection, especially the dresses and hammocks. We are excited to expand to new buyers!”

Our booth also featured the beautiful handmade products from Dancing Yak Handicrafts with traditional Chinese designs. Last year, the VOTE Tote (right image) was such a huge hit, that Dancing Yak decided to create other products with inspirational words like BOSS and WORK (bottom right) and add bright new colors to their collection.

Preparation for the TFO Canada Market Familiarization Trip

In February, 22 artisan businesses from tropical Madagascar and Uganda will be traveling to New York City under the Market Familiarization Program sponsored by TFO Canada. We held 2 orientations to help them prepare for their visit, including how to prepare for New York’s winter weather.

The first orientation provided an overview of the US handmade market and a list of what they need to bring (stressing the need for warm jackets, hats and gloves). The second orientation was for the market support staff where we shared tips on how to support the artisan businesses at the tradeshow.

Stay tuned to see how the trip went!

Webinar with Sayali Goyal

We love educating artisan businesses on how to get themselves and their products in front of customers. Artisan Business Lab hosted a webinar discussing how to work with the press and media with Sayali Goyal, the Creative Director and Founding Editor of Cocoa & Jasmine.

One key learning was making connections and sharing your story in a creative way with local magazines and press can eventually increase sales.

Want to hear Sayali’s advice? Access the free webinar replay HERE.

What is Coming in February

Interested in what’s happening this February? We will be featuring: