Alessandra Gardin

MEET THE MAKER

I create Murano glass beads with the lampworking technique and I create handcrafted jewels. All my creations are born from an attention to the design and to the detail of the finishes that lead to original and handcrafted jewels.

I was born as an architect and this allowed me to incorporate the skills and knowledge of design but also as a freelancer into the work of artisan. I would like to shape my business as a small company overcoming the limitations of the artisan workshop and small production numbers.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO TAKE PART OF CRAFTING BUSINESS PROGRAMME?

I think that learning how to manage the production of artifacts and also the planning of marketing strategies can give me the right turning point to implement the success of the project to enlarge the Kirumakata brand.

WHAT ARE YOUR FEEDBACKS?

I founded a well-organized course, full of ideas designed perfectly for the problems of small artisans like me. Having hit the salient points means that participation is continuous and not dispersive. I am pleased to know that some of my objective difficulties in dealing with many aspects of work are not only my personal limits that I suffer as failures, finding out that I’m not alone helping me to live them more lightly and leads me to share any solutions also with other craftsmen.

The participation in the course made me understand that a more careful approach to the organizational phase of the work can bring a more structured solution both in the search for any financial aid through the drafting of a business plan and through the knowledge of organizations that can help artisans to understand how to deal with commercialization of our creations in a market that is not only local but above all international. The enormous difficulty for us small artistic artisans is precisely that of reaching many potential customers outside the local circuit because facing the wider market presupposes being able to deal with production numbers of pieces that the micro-artisan structure is not always able to satisfy.

FIVE THINGS YOU’LL BRING WITH YOU FROM THE EXPERIENCE:

• I discovered the activities of Artex and its circuit
• The awareness that the artistic approach needs to be considered at the same level with the technical knowledge of the market in which you want to operate, seems trivial but until you understand it it is a concept that escapes.
• The discovery that the Passion for our craftsmanship allows us to overcome moments of difficulty, which if faced only with the eye of an economist expert in financial statements would lead us to close the business; instead, finding solutions to resist also assisted by experts less involved than us (but proactive) allows the resilient response that takes us beyond the obstacle.
• I was pleased to discover that there are people who believe in artistic craftsmanship and who create networks to help micro-productive realities like us, this discovery does not make you feel alone and abandoned to your destiny!
• I take home the awareness that if you manage to create a cultural network and not just an economic one, things can only improve towards more ethical and less speculative craftsmanship.