4 min read
Pakistan is a country which prides itself on some of the most finest handicrafts in the world. People from all corners of the world have admired the handiwork of our native cottage & small scale industry with respect to pottery, sports goods, surgical tools and carpeting being some of our most significant contributors to these industries. Markhor & Popinjay recently rocked the internet on their mission to preserve the world of art and culture in Pakistan through their products, Blue Saint is another such start up that is looking to revitalize the world of art in handicrafts, with their pilot project focusing on rejuvenating the lost art of Kashi Kari .
Let’s take a look at one woman’s journey through the world of saving a form of art from the near jaws of extinction and how she plans on giving it and other forms of handicraft art, a new life with the help of the internet and her skill set.
Blue Saint has chosen to enter the fast paced and competitive world of e-commerce by selling their first line of products, blue pottery made with the art of Kashi Kari available on their site. This start-up caters to a premium audience which is evident through their prices. Ordinarily, someone would have to come to Pakistan and be able to see and buy these kinds of wares, however the internet has given this ambitious start-up the opportunity to show their current and many more upcoming works to the world and be able to show global audiences that Pakistan is still one of the most culturally and artistically rich countries of the world.
The first product line that is available on Blue Saints website is, Kashi Kari, this product isn’t necessarily all they have up their sleeve. Blue Saint plans on growing the product range by highlighting other artistic handicraft talents across Pakistan. Ambreen will help these artists gain recognition through Blue Saint by promoting their handmade goods on her portal, thus enabling forgotten handicraft arts to be revived and reaching the right audience.
Just as how Popinjay has become known for their ability to sell their goods digitally and physically, Blue Saint is looking to enter the same level of consumer interaction through their portal. E-commerce has opened up a gate way that will help connect various art connoisseurs throughout the world and be able to witness the amazing handiwork through this start-up when they expand their product line in the coming months.
Ambreen Malik, CEO Of Blue Saint, attributes the recognition of her brand through a couple of overseas exhibitions, She handled primary product testing for her Kashi Kari range in Philippines. She has chosen to make her target audience exclusive to the International market. Till now, Ambreen’s products have traveled to The UK, Philippines and USA (East & West Coast). The latter consists of her larger consumer base and continues to deal with them on a healthy basis despite being a fairly recent start-up.
The biggest barrier that is faced by Ambreen is how local customs and shipping authorities are over priced and charge her an arm & a leg to ship fragile goods. Ambreen has sought the viable solution of going straight to the source and is now dealing with direct shipping channels to allow her goods abroad without going over budget. Ambreen’s long term goal is to eventually add Pakistan to her consumer base. Her plans aren’t restricted to selling goods locally, but also has the dream of her platform acting as an enabler to other artists in the similar field as her to come out and put themselves on the internet.
Ambreen is a determined and passionate entrepreneur with a true eye for art. She chose to target a product line that was practically non-existent in Pakistan and utilized the skills she had to help save a diminishing art, and with her plans on introducing more products down the road, she will be able save many more. While her start-up has yet to reach its full potential, we are confident in her ability to overcome this adversity with the help of e-commerce. Her achievements till now are indeed admirable and her commitment to help put Hadndicraft artists across Pakistan to be recognized is truly an admirable trait of hers.
UPDATE: The earlier version of this story had missed some information and has been added.
