This module is about how craft and tourism can work together to develop crafts for the tourism industry and opportunities for craft makers.
Over the past few years Craft Labrador has been helping craft makers in Southern Labrador to develop craft products that could be sold at local tourism sites. The need for authentic crafts for historic sites was identified by the tourism sector. Craft Labrador brought craft makers together to explore the historic sites and to develop new crafts inspired by what we saw there.
Using local skills, and materials that had a connection to the story being told at the historic site, we experimented and came up with new crafts to sell. We discussed pricing and met with the retail gift shop as a group. It was a new process for all of us, including the retail shops, and together we found ways to make new products that created a memory of Labrador for visitors and made money for people who love to make crafts.
If you read on, you’ll find out how we did it.
Thank you to the heritage site staff who helped facilitate the workshops at Point Amour Lighthouse Provincial Historic Site, Red Bay Basque Whaling Station World Heritage Site and Battle Harbour National Historic Site and District.
A cultural craft tells a story – the story of where it came from, who made it, the culture and heritage of the place. A cultural craft has an authentic relationship with the people and the place it comes from. What does that mean? It can mean a craft that has always been made in a traditional way, or something that is inspired by the people or the place. We will talk a lot about historical places in our discussion, but cultural crafts can also interpret present day culture and the natural environment.Authenticity is important to visitors who purchase crafts as a memento of their visit to Labrador. The materials used to make the craft need to have a connection with the place – whether they are traditional materials or materials used to reinterpret something from the culture or the historic site. Quality is important. And the most important factor is that the craft is made by a Labrador craft maker.
One of the most well-known traditional crafts in Labrador are Innu Tea Dolls. They continue to be made in the traditional way and are only made by an Innu craft maker. This is an example of a traditional craft that is the real thing. Other examples of the real thing include grasswork, skin boots, traditional knitting, and items like snowshoes that are part of everyday life in Labrador and are made in a traditional fashion.
Art objects, like paintings and carvings, and one-of-a-kind items like wall hangings or jewellery also fit into this category. They might be modern and not traditional, but they are original and they are part of the culture of the local area.
A reproduction is a copy of an original item. The intent of the craft maker is to use the same materials and techniques and make an exact copy. This is a type of craft that we see at historic sites. They are often difficult and expensive to make.
Reinterpreting an original item means that the craft maker didn’t make an exact copy, but added something of their own style, or design to the item. Sometimes this is done because the traditional materials or techniques aren’t available. Sometimes it is done to update the item for modern use. In our workshops we thought of this as “our interpretation of” the original item.
A craft maker can be inspired by something from nature or something from the past and use their creativity to make something completely new that still refers to the original thing. It might be an item that is made with traditional materials, but in a completely new design, or it might be something that uses an old design in a completely different type of craft. The possibilities are endless, but the story of the craft and its connection to Labrador should still be evident.
Visitors to Labrador want to experience what makes the place and the people unique and different. When they look for a craft item to bring home with them, they are looking for something that evokes a memory of their visit, or something that tells a story about Labrador.
We can find inspiration in traditions, in history in the natural environment and in everyday life.
Related: A Buyer’s Guide to Labrador Crafts
In 2013, The Labrador Craft Marketing Working Group undertook the Labrador Craft Study. Craft producers and businesses from across Labrador participated in the discussions. The study resulted in a craft development strategy that we are now implementing. The document is available on our Documents page.
The first item in the strategy is to develop a Labrador-wide communications network for the craft sector. We have set up a mailing list, Craft News, to communicate with the craft community throughout Labrador, as well as this website. You can also find Craft Labrador on Facebook and X.
In 2015, Craft Labrador hosted a workshop to develop site specific crafts at Red Bay World Heritage Site with participants from the Southern Labrador region. In 2016 we brought together some of the participants from the Red Bay workshop along with new participants from the Battle Harbour region for a workshop to develop site specific crafts for Battle Harbour National Historic Site. In 2017 we did the same at Point Amour Lighthouse Provincial Historic Site.
Each of these workshops presented local craft producers with a challenge – to draw inspiration from the historic site to develop new crafts to sell to visitors who come to the site. Our goal was to design new crafts together as a group and learn about the selling process together as a group.
The scheduling was different for each workshop, but the process was the same in each place:
Our schedule changed with each workshop, partly because the needs were different for each location, and partly because we learned from each workshop as we went along.
These workshops were held in the fall. For the Battle Harbour workshop we had several considerations to take into account. We had to have the tour on the last day of the tourism season, we had to work on the weekends so that all of our participants could take part, and we wanted a break to work on our crafts before the final day. As a result, we ended up breaking up the four days.
For our Southern Labrador workshops we were bringing together participants from many small communities over a stretch of 200 km or more. We had to consider travel as well as the participants’ schedules.
To develop our workshops, we began by consulting local partners. Depending on the place this might include the historic site staff, the craft shop staff, craft groups, key individuals in the craft sector and key individuals from the tourism sector.
It was important for us to begin with an understanding of the tourism site we were planning to create products for. We also had to learn about the people who visited the site.
Visitor profiles from the site staff gave us information about:
Information from gift shop staff told us:
It is important to know not only who the visitors are who come here, but how many, and how they get here. Visitors on a tour bus can only buy what they can fit in their suitcase, but individual travellers, in their own vehicle, are able to purchase larger items.
Another important thing we learn is what visitors take away from the visit:
Local tourism partners already have a lot of information about tourism and crafts. For example, in Red Bay we learned that there were a lot of traditional handmade crafts like knitting and hooked Matts in the gift shop, but Parks Canada had identified a need for crafts that reflected the artefacts that visitors saw when they visited the site. Our group concentrated on site related crafts for the workshop using materials we saw there and referring to the artefacts in what we created.
At Point Amour Lighthouse we learned that even though the site is a maritime history museum, visitors spend a lot of time outdoors at lookouts and on trails. The natural environment is a big part of the experience there, so we included crafts that were about wild plants and seabirds in our workshop.
During the consultation process we learned that bus tour visitors are looking for small items and often collect one small thing from each place they visit. We learned that large items tend to sell in the fall when there were more individual travellers.
The initial consultations with local partners gave us a picture of how the tourism industry and the gift shop work together and helped to identify opportunities for local craft producers to make and sell crafts to each site.
Not everyone who makes craft is interested in selling them. Our workshops were planned to design crafts to sell, but some of the participants were more interested in designing than selling. Some people surprised themselves though, and at the end of each workshop we had some producers who had never sold before bringing products to sell at the tourism site.
We found that contacting people individually was the best way to encourage craft makers to participate in the workshops. Our workshops were different from previous craft workshops offered in the region and it took some explaining. Posters and social media posts can be a starting point, but for us, a conversation seemed to work better.
Individuals who participated in the first workshop helped spread the word about later workshops. After the first one we always made an effort to include some of the experienced participants in the next workshop.
Instead of instructors we had group leaders – local individuals who could assist a small group of people to experiment with a specific craft. The group leaders were also participants in other activities during the workshop.
We had around 16 participants in our workshops. We always had a mix of skills, and a mix of experiences. We included a youth activity in each workshop and partnered with the school, the CYN or Youth Ventures to recruit youth participants.
Our starting point for the workshop was to become tourists ourselves – put ourselves in the visitor’s shoes. It was important for us to learn what tourists take away from their visit to Labrador and to each specific site. What do they experience while they are here, and what are they looking for in terms of a memento of their visit?
The first and most important part of our workshops has always been to visit the historic site as if we were tourists. We tour the site in detail with the site staff and our participants. We learn about the site the way a tourist would, but at the same time we use our skills as artists and crafts people to look at materials, textures, colours and techniques that we can later use to develop new crafts.
We take in the stories being told at the site, the artefacts and images associated with the stories, and we think about how to create a memento of the stories in craft.
We also visit the gift shop at the historic site and talk to the staff there. There we learn about what is selling now to visitors and what visitors are asking about.
Immediately following the tour, we have a brainstorming session. The brainstorming session is a discussion where we share all the ideas from the group and try to get them recorded in notes. The group leader asks a series of questions to help the discussion along and will list the answers on a flipchart. Later the notes from the flipchart will be typed up and emailed to all the participants.
We ask participants to bring some samples of crafts that they make. The group can look at the crafts before or after the tour. This was a good starting point for the group discussion and helped to inspire us when we considered what new crafts we could make.
We start with questions about what we bring – our skills and traditions. Then we talk about what we saw at the site. We end with questions about what type of new crafts we could make.
Here are some of the questions we use:
We take each theme or story and talk about how we could develop new crafts for the site. Our participants had a variety of skills and backgrounds – some were skilled at patternmaking, some had extensive experience working in the tourism industry, some were skilled at making traditional crafts. At this point we start identifying specific crafts that we can make in the workshop – taking into account the information we know about who the visitors are and what they are looking for, as well as what we have seen at the site and what skills we each bring to the group.
In each workshop we came up with more ideas for crafts in the brainstorming session than we could make in our craft design workshops. We identified the ones we would develop during the workshop but many of the other the other ideas were developed as well – after the workshop – by participants and other craft makers.
Rather than hiring instructors from outside the region, we hired local group leaders. They provided guidance to each group, but rather than a teacher-student type of interaction, we have more of a neighbour helping neighbour relationship. That relationship develops beyond the group leaders and throughout the workshop – anyone who has a skill that the group or another individual needs, will help out. Those who have traditional skills demonstrate and share them with the others. Individuals who could make patterns shared them with the group.
We identify local individuals to be group leaders – to guide specific activities in our product development workshop. Sometimes they will make patterns and samples beforehand, sometimes they will be guides to a more experimental approach where participants each experiment with materials. Our approach is to “learn from ourselves”. The group together has a wealth of skills and experience.
Often we identify our group leaders during the consultation stage. There are individuals in each community who are a natural fit for this role – craft makers who are highly skilled and willing to share skills and patterns. They are often the traditional knowledge keepers of the community as well.
Group leaders helped the workshop facilitator to identify what was needed. Sometimes this had to be done right after step 1 because of the length of time needed to bring materials in. Timing is important in Labrador!
We tried to order more materials than we needed so that participants could experiment in the workshop and take some home to make crafts to sell during the tourism season. Participants brought their own tools unless we needed something specific or new.
This is where we brought together our skills, the ideas we came up with after the tour, and appropriate craft materials and we designed new crafts. Usually the group leaders made patterns ahead of time, but there was also a lot of experimentation in the workshops. We tried to have extra materials to encourage people to try something new.
In every workshop we had an activity for youth. We partnered with the CYN and Youth Ventures to recruit youth participants. In the three workshops combined, we had about 30 participants.
This is where we talk about pricing for the specific new products we have made. Often we have taken a break for a week or two before this so that participants can work on their crafts at home. They then bring in finished products for the pricing discussion which takes about half a day. It is important to remember that pricing is a balance between what it costs to make an item and what the customer will pay for it.
For a full discussion of craft pricing, you can go to our Craft Pricing Workshop.
If we price our crafts too low we lose money. If we price too high we lose customers. It was important to take the time to figure out just how much it cost to make the new crafts we designed to ensure we would be paid properly. By working out the pricing as a group it helped give each of us confidence to set a fair price for our work.
Once we knew the real value of the item, then we had to look at what similar products were selling for, and what the customer would be willing to pay for that type of product, and then evaluate our price.
In our discussions we talk about pricing formulas and ways to include something towards overhead costs in the formula. Overhead costs are the extra costs over and above the cost of materials. Overhead might include the cost of your tools, the cost of the space you work in and the cost of running your business.
There are lots of pricing formulas and you need to experiment to find what works for you.
We found a simple and effective formula that was being used by one of our participants and we ended up using that in our two most recent workshops. This formula doubles the cost of materials and adds labour to get a wholesale price: Materials x 2 + Labour = Wholesale.
We used the pricing formula to price products that we made in the workshop. Here is an example:
Our workshop participants found that this was a simple way to price their work. By doubling the cost of materials we add something to cover overhead, but the wholesale price is kept at a reasonable amount. If you find that doubling the cost of materials isn’t enough to take into account your overhead costs, you could triple it or find a different formula.
Because we were working with a retail gift shop in each of our workshops, we had to determine a wholesale price. This is the price you quote to a retailer who wants to sell your work in their shop. The retail shop adds a mark-up – a percentage to pay for their own profit, labour and overhead costs running the shop.
Some shops are operated by non-profit groups and some are operated by businesses. The markup might be different at each shop.
If you are selling your crafts on consignment, the retailer doesn’t buy them and only pays for the items that are sold. The item remains your property until it’s sold to a customer. The retailer will return the unsold items to you. Make sure you have a receipt or contract for the items you leave with the retailer. Some retailers pay each month for the consignment items that have been sold, and some pay at the end of the tourism season. The shops we worked with were only open during the tourism season.
In Southern Labrador, the markup for consignment items varies, but 50% to 60% is common. Using the pricing formula example, the wholesale price is $32. With a markup of 50%, our craft item will sell for $48 in the retail shop.
If the retailer buys your products from you and owns them, they usually add a 100% markup. This is to cover their overhead, labour and profit. Using the pricing formula example, the wholesale price is $32. With a 100% markup, the retail price is $64.
Most retail store owners and buyers expect to be able to purchase your product at half of the retail price if they are interested in placing a wholesale order.
Some of the items we made in the workshop were difficult to price using the pricing formula. In those cases, we worked backwards. We started with the retail price and worked out if the wholesale price was enough to pay us for our labour and costs.
If the answer is yes, then this is a good item to make to sell on consignment. If the answer is no, we might want to either change the way we make the item to reduce costs, or decide not to make them for sale.
Part of our business discussion was spent describing each newly designed craft in a way that we could use on a hangtag. For example, on the tag for our duffel polar bear we wrote:
Every year polar bears travel with the spring ice and the seals. They are seen frequently in Battle Harbour and nearby coastal communities.
Handmade in Labrador of 100% wool duffel, a traditional material that has been used for clothing in Labrador for generations.
When visitors buy crafts in Labrador, they aren’t just buying a pair of slippers or earrings; they’re taking home a memory. Every craft has a story. It might be the story of the place, the craft maker, or the generations of makers who continue traditions. If the craft maker isn’t there in person, they can still tell the story to a visitor through a hangtag.
Visitors like to know that the craft they are purchasing is hand made in Labrador by a Labrador producer. Hangtags can also be used to tell the customer the story of the craft – the skills, knowledge and traditions that go into the making of it. Visitors can bring home the story and the handmade craft as a memento of their visit to Labrador.
To finalize the process we met again at the start of the tourism season to bring the products we made to the gift shop. This gave us an opportunity to have a group meeting with the retailer. The group meeting started a relationship with the retailer and took the pressure off of individual producers to introduce themselves and their products. The group meeting also provides an opportunity to have a final discussion about pricing, production techniques and quality standards.
The Red Bay workshop was held in May. Participants were given leftover materials from the workshop and we got together again a month later, at the beginning of the tourism season, to bring in the products participants had made to sell in the museum shop. The Battle Harbour and Point Amour workshops were held in the fall and participants were given leftover materials from the workshop to make products over the winter. We met again at the start of the season to bring those products to sell at the Battle Harbour General Store and Lighthouse Gift Shop.
After all of our work, we wanted to know how our crafts sold. It is important to learn as much as we can about how visitors reacted to the new crafts. That way we can perfect the products, or concentrate on the products that were most in demand for the following year.
After a season of sales, we made sure to contact the retailer to see how things sold and what we could learn for the next season.
Some of the things that we’ve learned are:
Visitor traffic can change over a few years and products can become more or less popular depending on what kind of visitors the site has. For example, if a location has a lot more tour bus traffic than in previous years, small items will sell better and it would be a good idea to have a way to provide more of them if the shop sells out of those items.
We have had several follow-up meetings since the workshop in Red Bay. The new products have sold well and each season new products have been developed, and new producers are making crafts based on ideas from the workshop. Site-specific crafts now make up over half the sales in the Museum Gift Shop.
The workshops at each of the sites have helped to develop a relationship between the historic site and the local craft community. They provided an opportunity for craft makers to experiment, to work out pricing, and to meet with the retailer. They have also provided the historic sites with unique, locally made, site related cultural craft products.What lessons did we learn in our workshops?
Whether you are an individual craft person or part of a craft group you can use the lessons we learned in your work. You can start by expanding your knowledge of tourism and crafts:
We can learn a lot from other regions of Labrador. In Labrador West, the Indigenous Service Centre hosted a craft workshop where participants shared expenses. You can learn about their process here.
If your local craft group would like to try what we’ve done, but it looks too complicated, you could try one craft idea at a time, and work within one community – so you don’t have to include travel.
If some members of your group want to learn to sell crafts, and try this process, you could:
We can learn from other cultural craft projects such as the Traditional Skills Network. See our interview with Serena Etheridge.
Moduli hii inazungumzia jinsi ufundi na utalii vinavyoweza kufanya kazi pamoja ili kuendeleza ufundi kwa sekta ya utalii na fursa kwa watengenezaji wa ufundi. Kwa miaka michache iliyopita, Craft Labrador imekuwa ikiwasaidia watengenezaji wa ufundi katika Labrador Kusini kuendeleza bidhaa za ufundi ambazo zinaweza kuuzwa katika maeneo ya utalii ya ndani. Uhitaji wa ufundi halisi kwa ajili ya maeneo ya kihistoria ilitambuliwa na sekta ya utalii. Craft Labrador iliwaunganisha watengenezaji wa ufundi pamoja ili kuchunguza maeneo ya kihistoria na kuendeleza ufundi mpya ulioongozwa na kile tulichokiona huko. Kwa kutumia ujuzi wa ndani, na vifaa ambavyo vilikuwa na uhusiano na hadithi inayoelezwa katika tovuti ya kihistoria, tulijaribu na kuja na ufundi mpya wa kuuza. Tulizungumzia bei na kukutana na duka la zawadi la rejareja tukiwa kikundi. """Ilikuwa ni mchakato mpya kwa sisi sote, ikiwa ni pamoja na maduka ya rejareja, na pamoja tulipata njia za kutengeneza bidhaa mpya ambazo ziliunda kumbukumbu ya Labrador kwa wageni na kupata pesa kwa watu wanaopenda kutengeneza ufundi." Ukisoma, utapata jinsi tulivyofanya hivyo. Msaada wa kipekee kwa wafanyakazi wa eneo la urithi ambao walisaidia kuwezesha warsha katika Point Amour Lighthouse Provincial Historic Site, Red Bay Basque Whaling Station World Heritage Site na Battle Harbour National Historic Site na Wilaya. Ufundi wa kitamaduni unaelezea hadithi - hadithi ya mahali ulipoanzia, nani aliyeufanya, utamaduni na urithi wa mahali hapo. Ufundi wa kitamaduni una uhusiano wa kweli na watu na mahali unatokana. Hilo lamaanisha nini? Inaweza kumaanisha ufundi ambao umekuwa ukifanywa kwa njia ya jadi, au kitu ambacho kimependekezwa na watu au mahali. Kwa sababu ya kuvutia kwa utamaduni wa Labrador, ni muhimu sana kwa wageni kununua vitu vya sanaa kama kumbukumbu ya ziara yao huko Labrador. Vifaa vilivyotumiwa kutengeneza ufundi huo vinahitaji kuwa na uhusiano na mahali hapo - iwe ni vifaa vya jadi au vifaa vinavyotumiwa kutafsiri tena kitu kutoka kwa utamaduni au tovuti ya kihistoria. Ubora ni muhimu. Kwa sababu hii, ni muhimu sana kujua kwamba bidhaa hii ni ya Labrador. Mojawapo ya ufundi maarufu wa kitamaduni huko Labrador ni Innu Tea Dolls. Zinaendelea kutengenezwa kwa njia ya kitamaduni na hutengenezwa tu na mtengenezaji wa ufundi wa Innu. Hii ni mfano wa ufundi wa jadi ambao ni kitu halisi. Mifano mingine ya kitu halisi ni pamoja na kazi ya nyasi, viatu vya ngozi, kushona jadi, na vitu kama snowshoes ambayo ni sehemu ya maisha ya kila siku katika Labrador na ni kufanywa kwa mtindo wa jadi. Vitu vya sanaa, kama michoro na michongo, na vitu vya kipekee kama vile vitambaa vya ukuta au vito pia vinafaa katika jamii hii. Huenda ikawa ni ya kisasa na si ya kitamaduni, lakini ni ya awali na ni sehemu ya utamaduni wa eneo hilo. Toleo jipya ni nakala ya kitu cha awali. Kusudi la mtengenezaji wa ufundi ni kutumia vifaa na mbinu zilezile na kutengeneza nakala halisi. Hii ni aina ya ufundi ambao tunaona katika maeneo ya kihistoria. Mara nyingi ni vigumu na ni ghali kuzitengeneza. Kufafanua tena kitu cha awali humaanisha kwamba mtengenezaji wa ufundi hakufanya nakala halisi, lakini aliongeza kitu cha mtindo wao wenyewe, au muundo kwa kitu hicho. Wakati mwingine hii ni kufanyika kwa sababu vifaa vya jadi au mbinu si inapatikana. Nyakati nyingine hufanywa ili kuboresha kitu hicho ili kiweze kutumiwa kwa njia ya kisasa. Katika warsha zetu tulifikiria hii kama "fasiri yetu ya" kipengele cha awali. Mtengenezaji wa ufundi anaweza kuchochewa na kitu kutoka kwa asili au kitu kutoka kwa zamani na kutumia ubunifu wao kutengeneza kitu kipya kabisa ambacho bado kinarejelea kitu cha awali. Inaweza kuwa bidhaa iliyotengenezwa kwa vifaa vya jadi, lakini kwa muundo mpya kabisa, au inaweza kuwa kitu kinachotumia muundo wa zamani katika aina tofauti kabisa ya ufundi. Uwezekano ni usio na mwisho, lakini hadithi ya ufundi na uhusiano wake na Labrador bado inapaswa kuwa dhahiri. Wageni wanaotembelea Labrador wanataka kuona mambo yanayofanya eneo hilo na watu wake wawe wa pekee na tofauti. Wakati wa kutafuta bidhaa za ufundi za kuleta nyumbani, wanatafuta kitu ambacho kinakumbusha juu ya ziara yao, au kitu ambacho kinasimulia hadithi kuhusu Labrador. Tunaweza kupata msukumo katika mapokeo, katika historia katika mazingira ya asili na katika maisha ya kila siku. Labrador Craft Marketing: Mwongozo wa Mteja kwa Labrador Crafts Watayarishaji wa ufundi na biashara kutoka kote Labrador walishiriki katika majadiliano. Utafiti huo ulisababisha mkakati wa maendeleo ya ufundi ambao sasa tuna utekelezaji. Hati inapatikana kwenye ukurasa wetu wa Hati. Sehemu ya kwanza katika mkakati ni kuendeleza Labrador-wide mawasiliano ya mtandao kwa ajili ya sekta ya ufundi. Kwa mfano, kuna orodha ya barua pepe ya CraftNews, ambayo inasaidia watu wa Labrador kuwasiliana na jamii ya ufundi. Unaweza pia kupata Craft Labrador kwenye Facebook na X. Craft Labrador ni shirika la utengenezaji wa ufundi wa mikono la Red Bay, ambalo limekuwa likifanya kazi kwa miaka mingi. Katika 2016, tulikusanya baadhi ya washiriki kutoka Warsha ya Red Bay pamoja na washiriki wapya kutoka eneo la Battle Harbour kwa warsha ya kuendeleza ufundi maalum wa tovuti kwa ajili ya Battle Harbour National Historic Site. Mwaka 2017 tulifanya hivyo pia katika eneo la Point Amour Lighthouse Provincial Historic Site. Kila moja ya warsha hizi aliwasilisha wazalishaji wa ufundi wa ndani na changamoto <unk> kupata msukumo kutoka kwa tovuti ya kihistoria kuendeleza ufundi mpya wa kuuza kwa wageni ambao wanakuja kwenye tovuti. Lengo letu lilikuwa kuunda ufundi mpya pamoja kama kikundi na kujifunza juu ya mchakato wa kuuza pamoja kama kikundi. """Mipango ilikuwa tofauti kwa kila semina, lakini mchakato ulikuwa sawa katika kila mahali: ratiba yetu ilibadilika na kila semina, kwa sehemu kwa sababu mahitaji yalikuwa tofauti kwa kila eneo, na kwa sehemu kwa sababu tulijifunza kutoka kwa kila semina wakati tulikuwa tukiendelea." Warsha hizo zilifanywa wakati wa vuli. Kwa ajili ya Warsha ya Bandari ya Vita tulikuwa na mambo kadhaa ya kuzingatia. Tulikuwa na ziara siku ya mwisho ya msimu wa utalii, tulilazimika kufanya kazi mwishoni mwa wiki ili washiriki wetu wote waweze kushiriki, na tulitaka mapumziko ya kufanya kazi kwenye ufundi wetu kabla ya siku ya mwisho. Matokeo yakawa kwamba tulivunja siku hizo nne. Kwa ajili ya semina zetu za Labrador Kusini tulikuwa tukileta pamoja washiriki kutoka jamii nyingi ndogo katika mstari wa kilomita 200 au zaidi. Ilibidi tufikirie usafiri na vilevile ratiba za washiriki. Ili kuendeleza warsha zetu, tulianza kwa kushauriana na washirika wa ndani. Kulingana na eneo hilo, hii inaweza kujumuisha wafanyakazi wa tovuti ya kihistoria, wafanyikazi wa duka la ufundi, vikundi vya ufundi, watu muhimu katika sekta ya ufundi na watu muhimu kutoka sekta ya utalii. Ilikuwa muhimu kwetu kuanza na uelewa wa tovuti ya utalii tulikuwa tukipanga kuunda bidhaa kwa ajili yake. Pia tulilazimika kujifunza kuhusu watu waliotembelea eneo hilo. "Mfano wa ""mzazi"" wa duka la zawadi ni kwamba, ni muhimu kujua ni nani wanaokuja hapa, lakini ni wangapi na jinsi gani wanafika hapa." Wageni wanaosafiri kwa basi wanaweza kununua tu kile wanachoweza kuweka katika masanduku yao, lakini wasafiri binafsi, katika gari lao wenyewe, wanaweza kununua vitu vikubwa. Jambo jingine muhimu tunalojifunza ni kile wageni huchukua kutoka kwa ziara: Washirika wa utalii wa ndani tayari wana habari nyingi juu ya utalii na ufundi. Kwa mfano, katika Red Bay tulijifunza kwamba kulikuwa na ufundi mwingi wa jadi wa mikono kama kushona na Matts zilizofungwa katika duka la zawadi, lakini Hifadhi za Kanada zilitambua hitaji la ufundi ambao ulionyesha vitu vya kale ambavyo wageni waliona wakati wa kutembelea tovuti. Kikundi chetu kilijishughulisha na ufundi unaohusiana na tovuti kwa ajili ya warsha kwa kutumia vifaa tulivyoona huko na kutaja vitu vya kale katika kile tulichounda. Katika Point Amour Lighthouse, tunajifunza kwamba ingawa eneo hilo ni jumba la makumbusho la historia ya baharini, wageni hutumia muda mwingi nje kwenye vituo vya kutazama na kwenye vijia. Kwa sababu mazingira ya asili ni sehemu kubwa ya uzoefu huko, tulijumuisha ufundi ambao ulikuwa juu ya mimea ya mwituni na ndege wa baharini katika warsha yetu. Katika mchakato wa ushauri tulijifunza kwamba wageni wa ziara ya basi wanatafuta vitu vidogo na mara nyingi hukusanya kitu kimoja kidogo kutoka kila mahali wanapotembelea. Tulijifunza kwamba vitu vikubwa huwa vinauzwa wakati wa vuli wakati kulikuwa na wasafiri wengi wa kibinafsi. Mashauriano ya awali na washirika wa ndani yalituwezesha kupata picha ya jinsi tasnia ya utalii na duka la zawadi zinavyofanya kazi pamoja na kusaidia kutambua fursa kwa wazalishaji wa ufundi wa ndani kutengeneza na kuuza ufundi kwa kila tovuti. Si kila mtu anayefanya kazi za mikono anayependezwa kuziuza. Maonyesho hayo yalipangwa kwa ajili ya watu wa makundi ya watu, lakini baadhi ya washiriki walipendezwa zaidi na kazi ya kubuni kuliko kuuza. Hata hivyo, baadhi ya watu walishangaa, na mwishoni mwa kila warsha tulikuwa na wazalishaji ambao hawakuwa wameuza kabla ya kuleta bidhaa za kuuza kwenye tovuti ya utalii. Tuligundua kuwa kuwasiliana na watu mmoja-mmoja ilikuwa njia bora ya kuhamasisha watengenezaji wa ufundi kushiriki katika warsha. Warsha zetu zilikuwa tofauti na warsha za zamani za ufundi zilizotolewa katika mkoa huo na ilichukua ufafanuzi fulani. "Pasta na machapisho ya media ya kijamii yanaweza kuwa hatua ya kuanza, lakini kwa sisi, mazungumzo yalionekana kufanya kazi vizuri zaidi. """ Watu walioshiriki katika warsha ya kwanza walisaidia kueneza habari kuhusu warsha za baadaye. Baada ya moja ya kwanza sisi daima alifanya juhudi ya kujumuisha baadhi ya washiriki wenye uzoefu katika warsha ijayo. Badala ya walimu tulikuwa na viongozi wa kikundi - watu wa mahali hapo ambao wangeweza kusaidia kikundi kidogo cha watu majaribio na ufundi maalum. Viongozi wa kikundi pia walikuwa washiriki katika shughuli nyingine wakati wa warsha. Tulikuwa na washiriki 16 katika warsha zetu. Sikuzote tulikuwa na mchanganyiko wa ustadi, na mchanganyiko wa uzoefu. Tulijumuisha shughuli za vijana katika kila warsha na kushirikiana na shule, CYN au Vijana Ventures kuajiri washiriki vijana. Kituo chetu cha kuanzia kwa ajili ya warsha ilikuwa kuwa watalii wenyewe <unk> kuweka wenyewe katika viatu mgeni. Ni muhimu kwa kila msafiri kujua nini kinachohusika katika ziara yake ya Labrador. Wamefurahia nini katika safari hii na wanataka kukumbuka nini? Sehemu ya kwanza na muhimu zaidi ya warsha zetu daima imekuwa kutembelea tovuti ya kihistoria kama sisi walikuwa watalii. Tunatembelea tovuti kwa undani na wafanyakazi wa tovuti na washiriki wetu. Tunapenda kuona maeneo kama watalii, lakini wakati huo huo tunatumia ujuzi wetu kama wasanii na watu wa ufundi kuangalia vifaa, textures, rangi na mbinu ambazo tunaweza kutumia baadaye kuendeleza ufundi mpya. "Tunachukua hadithi zinazosimuliwa katika tovuti, vitu vya kale na picha zinazohusiana na hadithi, na tunafikiria jinsi ya kuunda kumbukumbu ya hadithi katika ufundi. """ Pia tunatembelea duka la zawadi katika eneo hilo la kihistoria na kuzungumza na wafanyakazi wa duka hilo. Hapa tunapata habari kuhusu nini kinachouzwa na wageni na nini wageni wanauliza. Mara tu baada ya ziara hiyo, tuna kikao cha kujadili mambo. Brainstorming ni mchakato wa kujadili mawazo ya kikundi na kujaribu kuorodhesha. Kiongozi wa kikundi anauliza mfululizo wa maswali ili kusaidia mazungumzo yaendelee na ataorodhesha majibu kwenye chati. Baadaye maelezo kutoka flipchart itakuwa typed up na barua pepe kwa washiriki wote. Tunawaomba washiriki walete sampuli za ufundi wanaofanya. Kikundi hicho kinaweza kutazama ufundi huo kabla au baada ya ziara hiyo. Hii ilikuwa ni hatua nzuri ya kuanza kwa majadiliano ya kikundi na ilituwezesha kuchochea wakati tulipofikiria ni ufundi gani mpya ambao tunaweza kufanya. Tunaanza na maswali kuhusu kile tunacholeta <unk> ujuzi wetu na mila. Kisha tunazungumza juu ya yale tuliyoona kwenye eneo hilo. Tunaishia na maswali kuhusu aina gani ya ufundi mpya tunaweza kufanya. Hapa ni baadhi ya maswali tunayotumia: Tunachukua kila mandhari au hadithi na kuzungumza juu ya jinsi tunaweza kuendeleza ufundi mpya kwa tovuti. Washiriki wetu walikuwa na ujuzi na asili mbalimbali - baadhi walikuwa na ujuzi wa kutengeneza mifumo, wengine walikuwa na uzoefu mkubwa wa kufanya kazi katika sekta ya utalii, wengine walikuwa na ujuzi wa kutengeneza ufundi wa jadi. Katika hatua hii tunaanza kutambua ufundi maalum ambao tunaweza kufanya katika warsha <unk> kuzingatia habari tunajua kuhusu wageni ni nani na nini wao ni kuangalia kwa, kama vile kile tumeona katika tovuti na nini ujuzi kila mmoja wetu huleta kwa kundi. Katika kila semina tulipata mawazo zaidi ya ufundi katika kikao cha brainstorming kuliko tulivyoweza kufanya katika semina zetu za kubuni ufundi. Tulijaribu kuunda hii katika warsha, lakini tulipata matokeo mazuri baada ya warsha na washiriki wengine. Badala ya kuajiri walimu kutoka nje ya eneo hilo, tuliajiri viongozi wa kikundi cha mahali hapo. "Wanafunzi walipewa mafunzo ya ""mfano"" wa wanafunzi, lakini kwa kweli, ni zaidi ya uhusiano wa jirani-msaidizi." Uhusiano huo unakua zaidi ya viongozi wa kikundi na katika warsha nzima - mtu yeyote ambaye ana ujuzi ambao kikundi au mtu mwingine anahitaji, atasaidia. Wale walio na ustadi wa kitamaduni huonyesha na kushiriki nao na wengine. Watu walioweza kutengeneza michoro waliishiriki na kikundi hicho. Sisi kutambua watu wa ndani kuwa viongozi wa kundi <unk> kuongoza shughuli maalum katika warsha yetu ya maendeleo ya bidhaa. Wakati mwingine wao kufanya mifumo na sampuli mapema, wakati mwingine wao kuwa viongozi kwa mbinu zaidi majaribio ambapo washiriki kila majaribio na vifaa. Mbinu yetu ni "kujifunza kutoka kwetu wenyewe". Kikundi hicho pamoja kina utajiri wa ustadi na uzoefu. Mara nyingi sisi kutambua viongozi wetu wa kundi wakati wa hatua ya mashauriano. Kuna watu katika kila jamii ambao ni fit asili kwa jukumu hili <unk> watengenezaji wa ufundi ambao ni wenye ujuzi sana na tayari kushiriki ujuzi na mifumo. Mara nyingi wao pia ni walinzi wa maarifa ya kitamaduni ya jamii. Viongozi wa kikundi walimsaidia mratibu wa warsha kutambua kile kilichohitajiwa. Wakati mwingine hii ililazimika kufanywa mara baada ya hatua ya kwanza kwa sababu ya urefu wa muda unaohitajika kuleta vifaa ndani. Wakati ni wa maana sana katika Labrador! Tulijaribu kuagiza vifaa zaidi kuliko tulivyohitaji ili washiriki waweze majaribio katika warsha na kuchukua baadhi ya nyumbani kutengeneza ufundi wa kuuza wakati wa msimu wa utalii. Washiriki walileta vifaa vyao wenyewe isipokuwa tulihitaji kitu fulani hususa au kipya. Hapa ndipo tulipokusanya ujuzi wetu, mawazo tuliyopata baada ya ziara, na vifaa vinavyofaa vya ufundi na tulibuni ufundi mpya. Kwa kawaida viongozi wa kikundi walifanya mifumo mapema, lakini pia kulikuwa na majaribio mengi katika warsha. Tulijaribu kuwa na vifaa vya ziada ili kuwatia moyo watu wajaribu kitu kipya. Katika kila warsha tulikuwa na shughuli kwa ajili ya vijana. Kwa kushirikiana na CYN na Youth Ventures, tulipata fursa ya kuajiri washiriki vijana. Katika warsha zote tatu pamoja, tulikuwa na washiriki 30. Hapa ndipo tunapoongea juu ya bei ya bidhaa mpya maalum ambazo tumefanya. Mara nyingi tunachukua mapumziko ya wiki moja au mbili kabla ya hii ili washiriki waweze kufanya kazi kwenye ufundi wao nyumbani. Kisha huleta bidhaa zilizokamilika kwa ajili ya majadiliano ya bei ambayo huchukua karibu nusu siku. Ni muhimu kukumbuka kwamba bei ni usawa kati ya kile kinachogharimu kutengeneza bidhaa na kile mteja atakacholipa. Kwa maelezo zaidi kuhusu bei ya bidhaa, tafadhali tembelea tovuti yetu ya Craft Pricing. Ikiwa tunapunguza bei ya ufundi wetu sana tunapoteza pesa. Ikiwa tunatoza bei ya juu sana tunapoteza wateja. """Ilikuwa muhimu kuchukua muda wa kujua ni kiasi gani cha gharama ya kutengeneza vyombo vipya tulivyovibuni ili kuhakikisha kwamba tunalipwa vizuri." Kwa kufanya kazi ya kuweka bei kama kikundi ilisaidia kutupa kila mmoja wetu uhakika wa kuweka bei ya haki kwa kazi yetu. Baada ya kujua thamani halisi ya bidhaa, tulilazimika kuangalia bidhaa zinazouzwa kwa bei gani, na mteja angekuwa tayari kulipa kwa aina hiyo ya bidhaa, na kisha tathmini bei yetu. Katika majadiliano yetu tunazungumza juu ya formula za bei na njia za kujumuisha kitu kuelekea gharama za juu katika formula. Gharama za juu ni gharama za ziada juu na juu ya gharama ya vifaa. Gharama za juu zinaweza kujumuisha gharama za vifaa vyako, gharama za nafasi unayofanya kazi na gharama za kuendesha biashara yako. Kuna mengi ya formula bei na unahitaji majaribio ya kupata nini kazi kwa ajili yenu. Tulipata formula rahisi na yenye ufanisi ambayo ilikuwa ikitumiwa na mmoja wa washiriki wetu na tulimaliza kutumia hiyo katika warsha zetu mbili za hivi karibuni. Kwa mfano, kwa mfano, formula ya bei ya vifaa na kazi ya jumla, ambayo inatoa bei ya jumla ya vifaa, inatoa bei ya jumla ya vifaa na kazi ya jumla. Tulitumia formula ya bei ili bei bidhaa ambazo tulifanya katika warsha. Kwa mfano, katika warsha yetu, tuliona kwamba hii ni njia rahisi ya kuweka bei ya kazi yao. Kwa kuongeza mara mbili gharama ya vifaa tunaongeza kitu cha kulipia gharama za juu, lakini bei ya jumla huhifadhiwa kwa kiasi cha busara. Kama wewe kupata kwamba maradufu ya gharama ya vifaa si ya kutosha kuzingatia gharama yako ya juu, unaweza triple yake au kupata formula tofauti. Kwa sababu tulikuwa tukifanya kazi na duka la zawadi katika kila moja ya warsha zetu, tulilazimika kuamua bei ya jumla. Hii ni bei unayotoa kwa muuzaji ambaye anataka kuuza kazi yako katika duka lao. Duka la rejareja huongeza alama - asilimia ya kulipa faida yao wenyewe, kazi na gharama za juu za kuendesha duka. Baadhi ya maduka ni kuendeshwa na makundi yasiyo ya faida na baadhi ni kuendeshwa na biashara. Huenda bei ya bidhaa ikawa tofauti katika kila duka. Kama wewe ni kuuza ufundi wako juu ya consignment, muuzaji haina kununua yao na tu hulipa kwa ajili ya vitu kwamba ni kuuzwa. Kitu hicho kinabaki kuwa mali yako hadi kiuzwe kwa mteja. Mfanyabiashara atakurudishia vitu visivyouzwa. Hakikisha una risiti au mkataba kwa vitu unavyoacha kwa muuzaji. Baadhi ya wauzaji hulipa kila mwezi kwa ajili ya bidhaa za usafirishaji ambazo zimeuzwa, na wengine hulipa mwishoni mwa msimu wa utalii. Maduka tuliyofanya kazi nayo yalikuwa yamefunguliwa tu wakati wa msimu wa utalii. Katika Labrador Kusini, alama ya bidhaa za usafirishaji hutofautiana, lakini 50% hadi 60% ni ya kawaida. Kwa mfano, kwa kutumia mfano wa formula ya bei, bei ya jumla ni $ 32. Kwa kuongeza marudio ya 50% kwa bidhaa zetu, bidhaa zetu za ufundi zitauzwa kwa $ 48 katika duka la rejareja. Ikiwa muuzaji anakuza bidhaa zako na unazinunua, kwa kawaida huongeza alama ya 100%. Hii ni ili kufunika gharama zao za juu, kazi na faida. Kwa mfano, kwa kutumia mfano wa formula ya bei, bei ya jumla ni $ 32. Kwa kuongeza asilimia 100 ya bei, bei ya rejareja ni $ 64. Wamiliki wengi wa maduka ya rejareja wanatarajia kununua bidhaa yako kwa nusu ya bei ya rejareja ikiwa wana nia ya kuweka agizo la jumla. Baadhi ya vitu tulivyotengeneza katika warsha hiyo vilikuwa vigumu kutofautisha bei kwa kutumia fomula ya bei. Katika visa hivyo, tulifanya kazi kwa kurudi nyuma. Tulizindua na bei ya rejareja na kuamua kama bei ya jumla ilikuwa ya kutosha kutulipa kwa ajili ya kazi yetu na gharama. Kama jibu ni ndiyo, basi hii ni bidhaa nzuri ya kufanya kuuza juu ya mzigo. Kama jibu ni hapana, unaweza kuwa na nia ya kubadilisha njia ya kutengeneza bidhaa ili kupunguza gharama au kuamua kutozitengeneza kwa ajili ya kuuza. Sehemu ya mazungumzo yetu ya biashara ilitumika kuelezea kila ufundi mpya iliyoundwa kwa njia ambayo tunaweza kutumia kwenye hangtag. Kwa mfano, kwenye lebo ya duffel yetu ya dubu wa barafu tuliandika: Kila mwaka dubu wa barafu husafiri pamoja na barafu ya masika na sili. Wao huonekana mara nyingi katika Bandari ya Vita na jamii za pwani zilizo karibu. Labrador Duffel ni kitambaa cha kitamaduni cha Labrador ambacho kimetengenezwa kwa nywele za nywele za nywele za nywele za nywele za nywele za nywele za nywele za nywele za nywele za nywele za nywele za nywele. Wageni wanaponunua vitu vya mikono huko Labrador, si tu wananunua viatu au pete za masikio; wanachukua kumbukumbu nyumbani. Kila ufundi una hadithi. Huenda ikawa hadithi ya mahali, mtengenezaji wa ufundi, au vizazi vya watengenezaji ambao huendeleza desturi. Kama mtengenezaji wa ufundi si huko binafsi, bado wanaweza kuwaambia hadithi kwa mgeni kupitia hangtag. Wageni hupenda kujua kwamba bidhaa wanayonunua imetengenezwa kwa mikono huko Labrador na mtengenezaji wa Labrador. Hangtags pia inaweza kutumika kumwambia mteja hadithi ya ufundi - ujuzi, maarifa na mila ambayo huenda katika kufanya hivyo. Wageni wanaweza kuleta nyumbani hadithi na ufundi wa mikono kama ukumbusho wa ziara yao ya Labrador. Ili kumaliza mchakato huo tulikutana tena mwanzoni mwa msimu wa utalii kuleta bidhaa tulizotengeneza kwenye duka la zawadi. Hii ilitupa fursa ya kuwa na mkutano wa kikundi na muuzaji. Mkutano wa kikundi ulianza uhusiano na muuzaji na kuchukua shinikizo kutoka kwa wazalishaji wa mtu binafsi kujianzisha na bidhaa zao. Mkutano wa kikundi pia hutoa fursa ya kuwa na majadiliano ya mwisho kuhusu bei, mbinu za uzalishaji na viwango vya ubora. Warsha ya Red Bay ilifanyika mwezi Mei. Washiriki walipewa vifaa vilivyobaki kutoka kwa warsha na tulikutana tena mwezi mmoja baadaye, mwanzoni mwa msimu wa utalii, kuleta bidhaa ambazo washiriki walikuwa wamefanya kuuza katika duka la makumbusho. Warsha za Battle Harbour na Point Amour zilifanyika katika vuli na washiriki walipewa vifaa vilivyobaki kutoka kwa warsha kutengeneza bidhaa wakati wa majira ya baridi. Katika kipindi cha kwanza cha msimu, tulikuwa na mpango wa kuuza bidhaa zetu katika duka la bidhaa la Battle Harbour. Baada ya kufanya kazi nyingi sana, tulitaka kujua jinsi kazi zetu za mikono zilivyouzwa. Ni muhimu kujifunza kadiri tuwezavyo kuhusu jinsi wageni walivyotenda kwa ufundi huo mpya. Kwa njia hiyo tunaweza kuboresha bidhaa, au kuzingatia bidhaa ambazo zilikuwa na mahitaji zaidi kwa mwaka uliofuata. Baada ya msimu wa mauzo, tulijitahidi kuwasiliana na muuzaji ili kuona jinsi vitu vilivyouzwa na kile tunaweza kujifunza kwa msimu ujao. Baadhi ya mambo ambayo tumejifunza ni: Trafiki ya wageni inaweza kubadilika kwa miaka michache na bidhaa zinaweza kuwa maarufu zaidi au chini kulingana na aina gani ya wageni tovuti ina. Kwa mfano, ikiwa eneo lina trafiki ya basi ya ziara zaidi kuliko miaka ya awali, vitu vidogo vitauzwa vizuri na itakuwa wazo nzuri kuwa na njia ya kutoa zaidi yao ikiwa duka linauza vitu hivyo. Tulikuwa na mikutano kadhaa ya ufuatiliaji tangu warsha katika Red Bay. Bidhaa mpya zimeuzwa vizuri na kila msimu bidhaa mpya zimetengenezwa, na wazalishaji wapya wanafanya ufundi kulingana na mawazo kutoka kwa warsha. Sasa, zaidi ya nusu ya mauzo katika Duka la Zawadi la Jumba la Makumbusho hufanywa kwa mikono ya watu wa eneo fulani. Warsha katika kila moja ya maeneo yameisaidia kuendeleza uhusiano kati ya tovuti ya kihistoria na jamii ya ufundi wa ndani. Zilikuwa fursa kwa watengenezaji wa vitu vya mikono kufanya majaribio, kutengeneza bei, na kukutana na muuzaji. Pia, tumewapa maeneo ya kihistoria bidhaa za kipekee za utamaduni zinazohusiana na eneo hilo. Kama wewe ni mtu binafsi craft au sehemu ya kundi craft unaweza kutumia masomo tulijifunza katika kazi yako. Unaweza kuanza kwa kupanua maarifa yako ya utalii na ufundi: Tunaweza kujifunza mengi kutoka mikoa mingine ya Labrador. Katika Labrador Magharibi, Kituo cha Huduma ya Wenyeji wa Asili kilikaribisha warsha ya ufundi ambapo washiriki walishiriki gharama. Unaweza kujifunza kuhusu mchakato wao hapa. Kama kundi lako la ufundi la ndani lingependa kujaribu kile tumefanya, lakini inaonekana ngumu sana, unaweza kujaribu wazo moja la ufundi kwa wakati, na kufanya kazi ndani ya jamii moja <unk> hivyo huna kujumuisha kusafiri. Ikiwa unajua jinsi ya kuunda na kuunda bidhaa za ufundi, unaweza kujifunza kutoka kwa mfululizo wa bidhaa za ufundi za kitamaduni. Tazama mahojiano yetu na Serena Etheridge.