The spring edition of the craft fair series by The Crafter’s Guild and Firefly took place on 4th March at The Royal Rodale as Bohemian, a Fair for Creatives.
Bohemian welcomed 79 participants from all over Karachi, Sukkur, Bhawalpur, Lahore and other nearby areas to showcase their work. This year, 22% of the crafts on display were by male artisans / craftsmen. The fair offered a platform to several new participants to not just display their crafts, but allowed them to grow, offered training and mentoring in addition to skill preparation for their endeavors.
The show was well attended by notables and was a great motivation for participants. Guild Award recipients recognized for their efforts include Reflection, The Bowtique Studio, and Rabeela Uqaili. Not far behind were beautifully created art pieces by Naeem Siddiqui, Paper Talks, and Arteefied. Other brands which drew crowds were Cuckoo, Hunerkari, Bodycare Essentials, U&I by Aneesa Unus, Sigil and Bisma Creativity.
The variety on display included indigenous crafts, traditional textiles, home decor, handmade skincare, gifts, accessories and more. Prior to the show, a mentoring and training orientation session took place at Co Pakistan. Guest speakers included Adil Moosajee (EGO), Khizra Munir (Co Pakistan), Mohsin Faruqi (MOCCA), and Mustafa Humayun Baghpati. The training accounted for significance of women in the entrepreneurship arena, innovation in business, importance of branding, and the impact of marketing. The Struggles of an Entrepreneurial Creative workshop series is extremely useful to participants to help acquire insight on important areas of expertise for their brands.
This year is significant for The Crafter’s Guild as the summer fete, The Indie Art and Craft Show turns five, and The Crafter’s Expo which started it all, celebrates seven years this December.
