Meeting the Carvers was not by definition an ‘obstacle’, but it was something of a culture shock. It was my first visit to Africa. The Carver groups made me feel very welcome, it was a great experience and I have been back to Tabaka many times.
Familiarizing the Carvers with Simpsons characters and the period of product design/development was difficult and expensive. Making the carvers understand the importance of quality control and the need for benchmark standard, uniform carvings was and still is a challenge.
Obtaining an official License from 20th Century Fox was challenging and a lengthy process. Being a new start up business with 20th Cent Fox on one side and a network of rural African producer groups on the other has been an interesting situation! I am thankful to Fox for supporting this project and what we are trying to achieve.
After obtaining an official Merchandising License, the process of developing branded packaging, print wok, website etc has been extremely challenging, time consuming and costly. All packaging and Printwork has been designed and is printed in Nairobi generating additional income for the Kenyan side of the business.
To learn more about this author, visit Craft Village 's Website.
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Craft Village
(Visit Craft Village's Website)
Craft Village is a small business based in
England. With the artisans of Kisii
Tabaka, Western Kenya, we have been
developing our unique sculptures and
nurturing this project since 2004.
Recognizing the skill and talent of the
Kisii carvers, Craft Village identified
the need for a new outlook in terms of
design. A progression from the
traditional soapstone statues saturating
the market.
Training rural Kenyan craftsmen to sculpt
caricatures of cartoon characters, and
introducing new production techniques and
quality control methods, Craft Village
have secured approval from 20th Century
Fox and achieved an exclusive license to
produce and sell our Simpsons sculptures.
We are proud to be in a position to supply
Simpsons fans with new, high quality,
unique, animation art, whilst
simultaneously having a positive economic
impact in rural Kenya.
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