You want a hand-woven Kashmiri rug, pre-Incan tapestry, sculpture from Bali and an oil painting from Brazil. You also want it all without actually visiting Kashmir, Peru, Bali or Brazil. A few days later, the items arrive at your doorstep.
Novica makes this possible.
Formed in 1998 in association with National Geographic, Novica is a platform for artists and artisans from developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America to hawk their wares directly to customers worldwide. It has also formed alliances with Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR) in an attempt to boost business security for the 1,700 odd participating master artisans.
And yes, the artisans are happy. Like Syed Izaz Hussein, who deals in rugs, carpets, papier-mache and paintings. These traditionally reached buyers through exhibitions, wholesale markets, emporiums and retail outlets. Harish Kathuria, a Delhi-based mechanical engineer who deals in silver jewellery, used to sell his products either through direct exports or to local exporters and handicraft showrooms.
Neither thought about using the Internet as a medium for sales. As Kathuria points out, "We never gave e-commerce much thought since the costs involved would be too high for us to support." He recalls being approached by Novica's Delhi office in November 2000. "We saw potential in their system". A wide range of his jewellery is now available through the site.
Izaz did try to set up his own Web site, but was unable to maintain it. He, too, was approached by representatives of Novica during an exhibition at Connaught Place and agreed to put up some of his items. Today, he has consignments worth a few lakh rupees displayed online, and reports steady sales.
The site sorts product lines by category and country. Each product comes with a description, photograph and background information on the artist. According to Shivalika Singh, head of Novica's India operations, a database of local artisans is maintained and a consignment of their goods is kept for 45 to 60 days. During this period, a visitor can order a product and it is shipped within 7-10 days. In the case of priority orders, products reach in three days.
![[Cushion covers from Gujarat are a popular item on Novica]](17pillow.jpg)
Catherine Ryan from Novica's Los Angeles headquarters rates India among the top regions in terms of popularity and sales: "I've noticed this year that pillow cushions from Gujarat are very popular, and every purchase contributes directly to artisans affected by the terrible earthquake in that province." She also feels that though the site caters to a niche market, this hasn't proved to be a deterrent: "The market for world arts is tremendous, and continues to grow."
Artists earn more than they can locally, while customers benefit by paying less for beautiful works of art.
Talking about the difficulties involved, Ryan says, "We were breaking new ground with an international e-commerce venture that depended on the active participation of thousands of artisans and offices around the globe." It meant promoting limited edition crafts and shipping individual items from different regions to customers. "People said this would never work -- it was too complicated and time consuming. But it has worked because customers appreciate purchasing directly from the artists rather than buying anonymous, mass-produced home decor from retailers".
Izaz claims he did business worth approximately Rs 90,000 when he first displayed his products. While the sales volume has gone down since, this could be due to the current economic slow-down. "It's not bad, but it's not very good either. I cannot say our sales have gone up substantially yet, but I definitely see an increase in the scope of business online if publicised and marketed well," he remarks.
![[Harish Kathuria sells his silver jewellery through Novica]](17har1.jpg)
Kathuria is also satisfied with the material (and non-material) benefits but would like a better response. He enumerates the advantages of accessing the customer directly: "We get direct feedback and can redesign our products accordingly. We also get a clear idea about popular taste, liking and colours in vogue." He feels that if Novica can find ways of making the final selling price more affordable, overall sales may be much higher. Today, he can boast clientele from countries like USA, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Canada, Russia, Brazil and Holland.
Izaz is also keen on continuing the partnership in order to get worldwide exposure. Ingrid Fully, a customer, says she wouldn't consider shopping for arts and crafts from abroad if it weren't for the Internet. Luckily for a number of artisans around the world, a lot of other customers now agree.
Images Courtesy: Novica.com