Far And Wide Collective Is An Online Store Dedicated To Bringing New Artisans To The Market Place

Hedvig Christine Alexander is the founder of what is now called Far and Wide Collective.  An online boutique selling artisan jewelry, clothes and home wares sourced mostly from Afghanistan and Western Asian countries such as Pakistan.  When her husband’s work took the family back to Canada, Hedvig looked for a way to continue working with Afghan artisans.  Turquoise Mountain was set up by the British MP and former diplomat Rory Stewart and Prince of Wales.  Hedvig explains that: “Turquoise Mountain was set up to revive Afghan arts and architecture and runs a three year programs in jewelry and gem cutting, architectural wood work, calligraphy and miniature painting and ceramics and tile making.

With the Afghan economy growing but still very weak and high unemployment I thought the only way to secure work for our graduates was to re-create Afghanistan’s trade relationships and connect to international markets through export. My role as business development manager was exactly that – to find buyers abroad. We had a reasonable amount of success, but it was hard. I now see – having started my own business here – how much work (and many people is involved) in for example creating a brand, sales platform and not least connection to buyers. This is very hard to do from a place such as Afghanistan.”
For Hedvig, running Far and Wide Collective isn’t just about running a business but continues the commitment she developed whilst working for Turquoise Mountain in Afghanistan: “I think that business is hugely important for emerging economies crafts sector. Business it is the only real driver and if we are successful and manage to scale we can connect a lot of artisans to markets. Donors most often focus on the production site – through developing programs that support capacity building, livelihoods, skills training etc. They rarely support the actually getting to market aspect. Today Afghanistan – compared to just a decade ago – have a small but very high quality group of producers, however they are still struggling with market access. This is what I want Far & Wide Collective is focusing – we help make the market connecting by designing a scalable supply chain including logistics, warehousing, pick and pack, online sales, marketing and administration, leaving the artisan to focus on creating the most authentic and high quality product.
Getting an artisan and their products market ready is part of the challenge and takes time, Hedwig says that: “it can take anything from thee months to two year to get an artisan market ready. We are still small we hope as we grow to be able to invest more in market readiness in the future. This is the objective of our Artisan toolkit. Some artisans need production design support (which tales longer) where others need quality control, help with costing, pricing etc.”
In her work with Turquoise Mountain, Hedvig came to understand that real economic value of crafts for local communities, she tells SPINNA that: “Crafts is the second largest employer after agriculture in many developing countries, the crafts industry provides the opportunity for the millions of underprivileged – many of whom are women – to potentially own their own successful business. Many artisans were never given the opportunity to go to school and are illiterate. But, craft production requires only the skills that, in many families, are passed on from generation to generation. With the ever-growing demand for handmade crafts, there is hope yet, that these artisans will be able to provide their children with privilege of education.
The internet has opened so many more opportunities for crafts workers and artisans, Hedvig explains: “The success of online marketplaces such as the American etsy.com ($525.6 million in total sales for 2011) and UK based notonthehighstreet.com (GBP 100 million in sales for 2012) confirms the growing appetite for handmade and unique items. However, because an artisan has to have access to a computer, have a credit card, speak English and have access to cost efficient shipping these portals leave out most of emerging market artisans. The ambition of Far & Wide Collective I to create a platform for all the talented artisans that currently are left out.”
In her work with different communities in the Western Asian region, Hedwig has collected some inspiring stories from the women artisans she has worked with: Below are some of the inspiring stories.

Who: Shamshad Solangi
What: Quilts
Where: Pakistan
Backstory: A wife and mother of eight children (five daughters and three sons), Shamshad lives in the Larkana district just outside of Karachi in South Pakistan. Her family does not have many resources and access to regular income is a challenge. Thanks to a recent visit by local organization Entrepreneurship and Community Development Institute (an initiative supporting small female entrepreneurs), Shamshad was part of a small group trained in business and design skills. Her group now sells their beautiful work to help support themselves and their families, and Far and Wide Collective is their first buyer. Shamshad now makes enough money to meet her basic needs and all eight of her children are attending school.
Inspiration: Family. Shamshad says, “My biggest achievement is that my children now go to school. I see my future as bright as my children are now getting an education.”

​Who: Nasreen Ismail
What: Scarves
Where: Pakistan
Backstory: A wife and mother of seven children (six girls and a boy), Nasreen lives in the Badin District in Sindh Province in South Pakistan. Due to recent political and economic turmoil there, it has been very difficult for her to run her home, cover basic needs and ensure an education for children. Although her husband works with a local sugar mill as a Lord Officer, he does not earn enough to meet the family’s needs. Nasreen, who has excellent embroidery skills but no links with outside markets, recently became part of a small group of women who were trained in business and design skills. Nasreen’s group now sells their beautiful scarves, and Far and Wide Collective is their first buyer. She now makes enough money to help her husband support the family and send her children to school.
Inspiration: Economic independence. Nasreen says, “I used to earn not more than $10-$20 per month before I joined this small business. Now my income has more than doubled. I work in a group with other women like myself and I’m happy because now I can support my family with my husband and spend a healthy life.”

Who: Shugufa Yousofzai Arts
What: Jewellery maker
Where: Afghanistan
Backstory: Shugufa Yousofzai is 25 years old, educated and grew up in a middle-class home first in Pakistan and then, after the fall of the Taliban, in Kabul. She is exactly the kind of Afghan woman Afghanistan need: intelligent, hard-working, confident and business minded – a champion and role model for others. Shugufa has vast experience in jewelry production and has worked with international designers and local Afghan workshops on design and production for years. She has recently launched her own jewelry and gemstone business. A happily married mother of one who is now running her own business, Shugufa continues to have a large interest is helping others forward. She advises several Afghan Women Associations and businesses in Kabul on product development.
Inspiration: “My dream is to become a successful business woman. Afghanistan needs strong women and I want to be one of them.”

​Who: Marya Seddiqi
What: Wood carver
Where: Afghanistan
Backstory: Marya Seddiqi was born in 1970 in Parwan Province in Central Afghanistan. Though only 15% of Afghan women are literate, Marya graduated from secondary school. She is now a carver (typically, in Afghanistan, this is a very male-dominated trade) specializing in beautiful Nuristani patterns – a very distinct carving technique from North East Afghanistan. Marya was married, but her husband died several years ago leaving her to raise and support her eight children (five girls and three boys) on her own. She had never carved before, but heard there were opportunities at a local factory. There, she trained as an apprentice for some time, eventually finding her way to Turquoise Mountain, where she has now worked for five years. One of her daughters is now a student at the Turquoise Mountain Institute, also studying carving.
Inspiration: “My family likes keeping up traditions, and they wanted me to revive traditional craftsmanship. Through the beauty of my work I can feed my family and support my community.”
Keeping a business venture that has both business and altruistic values is quite a challenge but Hedvig is achieving great things with her small team and a lot of hard work. “It really just me for now supporting by my investor and a number of people on contracts to provide creative direction, website support, social media , PR etc. The most important however are the are the ones that are supporting us from the field – introducing us to new artisans, help consolidate shipments from many producers in one country etc.”
Story telling is key to introducing artisans and their products to the market and is quite demanding, Hedwig says that: ”We actually hired a PR company to support the launch and are putting together a longer term strategy for PR, marketing, Social media etc.”

Far and Wide Collective are a partner with SPINNA, Hedvig says that: “SPINNA has already been very helpful. I think that we can build a very strong relationship where we can help get some of the artisans you work with to markets and [through SPINNA gain] access to new artisans in the textile industry,” and in return Far and Wide Collective can offer SPINNA Market access and a sales options for members.