This M’sian couple retains cultural handicrafts alive by their blog-turned-online store

Taking place upon tangankraf’s web site in the future, we have been intrigued. We’re no strangers to native on-line marketplaces like Poptron and Krayon the place artisans can showcase and promote their crafts.

However there was one thing that stood out with tangankraf. Usually, numerous the crafts on these marketplaces are usually an amalgamation of various kinds and media, however you may say many might fall beneath the trendy trinkets class.

tangankraf as an alternative focuses on showcasing conventional Malaysian handicrafts, and whereas doing so, additionally highlights the artisans behind each bit.

And the concept for it began with Play-Doh.

Picture Credit score: tangankraf

On a visit again to their hometowns, Adi and Aishah had forgotten to pack up their son’s Play-Doh. Understandably, their younger son threw a tantrum.

However by then, they have been already in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, which means the closest Toys “R” Us was a whole lot of kilometres away.

That’s when Adi noticed a signboard that learn “Muzium Labu Sayong” within the village of Sayong and had a lightbulb second.

Driving in, he turned to his son and stated, “You need to play with clay and make shapes, proper? That is next-level Play-Doh.”

In order that they went in and requested if there have been lessons for teenagers to make native pottery artwork. The reply was sure, and as they frolicked there, the concept for tangankraf started brewing.

Taking inspiration from in every single place

However earlier than it was a market, it was first a weblog. Adi started posting pictures and writing about topics he was captivated with. This included Malaysia’s wealthy multicultural historical past and heritage, which is usually mirrored in our handicrafts.

Picture Credit score: tangankraf

For instance, labu sayong is historically used as a water pitcher and to retailer chilly water, whereas beadwork as soon as performed a vital half within the native Peranakan Chinese language tradition.

“I took photos of [the artisans] and their merchandise, wrote about them, and once I informed them about my web site, it was them who prompt that I ought to begin promoting their merchandise on my weblog,” he stated.

Whereas at Muzium Labu Sayong, Adi and Aishah have been additionally amazed by how a lot of the artisans they met didn’t have an internet store.

With gross sales and networking relying solely on phrase of mouth on this technological age, it was attention-grabbing to learn the way they’ve been surviving.

One thing that additionally served as main inspiration for Adi and Aishah was a booklet titled “The Testomony of a Furnishings Vendor” by IKEA’s founder, Ingvar Kamprad.

They ended up intently finding out his philosophy and method to enterprise. Significantly, they admired how the Swedish model was capable of combine its meals, tradition, and life philosophies into the shop.

Deciding to strive the identical, they took a leap of religion and integrated a store into tangankraf, which on the time was nonetheless only a weblog.

Bringing conventional crafts on-line

As of now, tangankraf’s store showcases conventional crafts and merchandise from varied artisans round Malaysia. This consists of rattan merchandise from Melaka and Perak, textiles like batik from Kelantan and Terengganu, and in addition woven baggage from Sarawak.

And the couple don’t plan on simply stopping there.

“We’re actively searching for extra artisans from Sabah, Sarawak, Kelantan, and Terengganu,” Adi and Aishah shared. “If you’re an artisan from any of those states, please e-mail us. The extra artisans we now have, the higher!”

There aren’t any particular standards presently, so tangankraf is open to all kinds of handicrafts as long as they aren’t weapons.

Talking frankly, Adi stated, “Whereas we’re nonetheless rising, we’ve began to see some gross sales, albeit not that many.” Nevertheless, it’s wanting hopeful, as they’re actively receiving product enquiries on Instagram and Fb, some even from as distant as Australia.

Balancing the very best of each worlds

Enterprise-wise, tangankraf operates on a commission-based income mannequin, protecting the prices of promoting, customer support, and fee processing.

Because of this for every merchandise offered, they’ll deduct tangankraf’s fee from the sale and ship over the artisan’s share.

To place it merely, tangankraf acts as a intermediary platform between clients and native artisans. So you may liken it to Shopee or Etsy, however particularly for conventional crafts and merchandise.

The way it works is the artisans sometimes ship over their merchandise and the couple will deal with the advertising and marketing elements. This consists of product pictures, product itemizing, and product promotion to achieve gross sales.

When a purchase order is made, tangankraf notifies the artisans by e-mail with the shopper’s delivery tackle. The artisans are then answerable for delivering the product inside three enterprise days of receiving the order.

After all, this association does differ on a case-by-case foundation. Artisans who don’t have the technique of packing and delivery the merchandise themselves will probably be helped by tangankraf.

tangankraf’s store at present includes a brief product description alongside every merchandise on provide. However the duo goals to make it extra complete and give attention to getting “all of the little vital particulars” proper.

Apart from that, in addition they purpose to develop nearer to the collaborating artists to painting their tales higher. “This is essential to us and is why we began tangankraf,” the couple shared.

In the long term, it’s all about balancing the tangankraf model. They need to guarantee each the weblog and the store obtain equal consideration. The pair additionally hope to ultimately arrange a bodily retailer sometime.

Be taught extra about tangankraf right here.