KARACHI: The Crafter’s Expo, the fair which set off a series of craft pop ups and bazaars in Karachi is back after two years. The event boasts a feat of two days with participants from Karachi, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Lahore, Bahawalpur, and Multan 4th and 5th December. The event is a much needed platform after the implications of COVID on countless businesses.
The 9th Annual Crafter’s Expo, at The Royal Rodale Club is a culmination of nearly a decade of efforts by The Crafter’s Guild under the lifestyle brand Firefly for crafters, artists, designers, creatives, and makers. 90% of the participants being women with home based ventures.
Partners for the event include Flaire, Salma’s Club, and Featherhead Baby. Their support for the craft show is symbolic of community and belief in handmade. Other partners include Drape for styling the photobooth, Flash Logistics Co, and Food for your Face.
This is also the first craft show in Karachi for Esnaf, an online marketplace for makers and creatives in Pakistan by The Crafter’s Guild. The concept is to economically empower and make feasible e-commerce for crafters and home based ventures across Pakistan.
The Hive at Clifton has also supported the event by facilitating space to host The Struggles of an Entrepreneurial Creative Workshop pre event for all participants. The workshop is conducted prior to every craft show by The Crafter’s Guild to assist participants in preparation for the event as well as to assist their understanding of branding, marketing, personal development and Interpersonal skills for business.
The Crafter’s Expo this year has also contributed to stalls for local crafters and artisans, as well as organizations working with them. Stalls by RLCC, Karachi Down Syndrome Program, Orange Tree Foundation, as well as individuals from Kotri and Multan are represented at the event as part of social responsibility by The Crafter’s Guild. This ties strongly to the values as a platform to support and facilitate crafters in Pakistan. To date 1200 craft based ventures have benefited from such platforms.
