Matassi Sulakauri / Mariam Akhvlediani

Meet the maker

Both of us  used to do different things throughout the years: textile design, ceramics, bookbinding, woodwork and renovation, jewelry designs, but last years mostly specializing in calligraphy and hand-lettering, so crafting is the field which connected us long ago. Those exact experiences were the trigger for us to start thinking about the business idea. Which is to create the series of collectible  silver spoons.

Why did you decide to take part of crafting business programme?

We, Mariam Akhvlediani & Matassi Sulakauri decided to take this course because of our business idea. The program was exactly what we needed for the first steps in entrepreneurship. Our professional experiences were mostly based in advertisement industry. 8 years of: Graphic design, art direction, photo and video production and their implementation through the different media – TVC, outdoor etc. Thus our strong side is to think out of the box and then visualize it – logo conception, brand-book design guidelines etc.

First stage of the program was about practicing and understanding how marketing works. We learned a lot about what are the basics for every entrepreneur at their starting stage.

At the end of the course we shaped and finalized the concept, created brand values, learned how to make Business Model Canvas. Based on customer and market research, we established our main 3 products and their prices.

WHAT ARE YOUR FEEDBACKS?

The course was intense from the very start, as we started to learn theoretical part and practicing/testing our ideas at the same time. Learning the process of creating a pitch deck and presenting it to the potential investor was the most important part for us. Also we have to mention our lecturers who gave us incredible knowledge in this short period of time. Their professional and business competences were a game-changer for each participant. We believe the knowledge that we acquired throughout the program will help creative people to evolve their craft into a business.