Feb 8, 2013

Artisan Resource Delivers Results for Exhibitors in Its Second Edition

Building on the success of its summer 2012 launch, Artisan Resource™ delivered valuable orders and contacts to exhibitors in its second edition, January 27-29, at New York City’s Passenger Ship Terminal 92. The semi-annual tradeshow for U.S.-based volume importers, direct import retailers and wholesalers, which ran concurrently with the winter edition of the New York International Gift Fair® (NYIGF®), featured artisans from 18 countries and attracted approximately 5,000 attendees.

“Increasingly, companies are turning to international artisanal resources to differentiate themselves from their competitors,” said Christian Falkenberg, NYIGF director and GLM senior vice president. “Artisan Resource offers a convenient one-stop-shopping opportunity for pre-qualified artisanal production resources from around the world.”

A total of 50 companies participated in the winter edition, representing 18 countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Bolivia, Cambodia, Egypt, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Laos, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Tajikistan, and Vietnam. Participants were selected based on their products and production capabilities, experience in meeting export demands, and commitment to design innovation, cultural preservation, social enterprise and sustainability.

“This was our second show and we made even better contacts than at the first,” said Pascale Faublas of ABN. “People now are aware of our company and our products. We have written $10,000 worth of orders with small businesses, and have generated a number of very good leads.”

Returning exhibitors also noted the benefit of establishing a consistent presence at the show. “We wrote orders at the show consistently and found that buyers who met us in August returned in January to place reorders,” added Ellen Fish of Tilonia. “We met a range of retailers from specialty stores to large stores who want handmade product and who appreciate the artisan story and craftsmanship as a way to distinguish themselves from the competition.”

New Artisan Resource participants realized additional benefits, including the quantity and quality of sales leads. “This has been an excellent show,” said David Purvis of Au Lac Designs. “We’ve seen medium to small companies from all over the United States, and we’ve made some valuable contacts with larger companies for development work. The intimate size of this show is a real benefit. The atmosphere is low key and gives buyers time to talk, to appreciate products and to place orders.”

In addition to market activities, value-added events included a series of buyer seminars covering importing and selling handmade products. A session on “Opportunities in the Global Handmade Marketplace,” moderated by Keith Recker of HAND/EYE and Peggy Clark of the Aspen Institute, featured a panel discussing current and future opportunities. In addition, daily “Importing 101” seminars, presented by Phil Hobson of Phoenix International Business Logistics and Carol MacNulty of BDH Global, offered essential information for buyers new to overseas sourcing.

To accommodate growing interest from exhibitors, the summer 2013 edition of Artisan Resource will relocate from the Passenger Ship Terminal’s Pier 92 to a larger space on Pier 94. It will run Sunday, August 18, through Tuesday, August 20, 2013, concurrently with NY NOW, the Market for Home & Lifestyle (formerly NYIGF).

Artisan Resource is a semi-annual tradeshow which offers a production-sourcing venue for overseas artisan enterprises to showcase their products and production capabilities – at export terms – from their country of origin. Artisan Resource is managed by GLM and organized with the assistance of ByHand Consulting. Information and registration is available online at www.artisanresourceny.com.

NY NOW, the Market for Home & Lifestyle will run Saturday, August 17, through Wednesday, August 21, 2013, at New York City’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and Passenger Ship Terminal Piers. NY NOW’s four comprehensive collections – Home, Lifestyle, Handmade and New – encompass 100,000 products in 400+ product categories. Some 35,000 attendees from all 50 states and more than 80 countries worldwide are expected. Information and registration is available online at www.nynow.com.