To support local producers and artisans, to popularize their products and goods made from natural raw materials by providing a platform for online sales - this is the function of the It`s Craft trading platform. Of course, there is also a larger mission - to support communities, particularly rural ones, by involving their residents in the creative industries, as well as to modernize the Ukrainian cultural heritage...
What are craft products?
“For us, craft is a high value-added product that must be made by hand. Craft is all the craftsmanship that Ukrainians create: from jewelry to carpentry, from food to drinks that are different, with a unique recipe or a twist, without mass production,” explains Viktoriia Kulakova, co-founder of the It`s Craft platform and head of the charity foundation of the same name.
Thus, It's Craft is an example of social entrepreneurship that operates on the model of “enterprise + charity foundation.” Simply put, it is an online platform for the sale of handmade goods and products that directs part of its profits to support craftsmen, manufacturers, creators, and small local businesses - craftsmen.
It's Craft started in Nova Kakhovka, Kherson region.
Co-founders Victoria Kulakova, Pavlo Yarmiy, and Oleksiy Chirkov wanted to support small producers who did not know how to sell online. This was very important during the coronavirus restrictions. Therefore, in the spring of 2020, they launched a social business project: they created a charitable foundation and opened an online store. Victoria Kulakova, along with P. Yarmiy and O. Chirkov, worked at the Regional Development Agency of the Tavria Association of Territorial Communities.
For 20 years, they organized the Tavria Fair, a large-scale event for 5,000 visitors a day... We decided to move this activity to the online space. Products (cheeses, sausages, drinks) appeared in the online store, and Viktoriia Kulakova also developed a souvenir business (wood, wool, glass, etc.). Having opened in the midst of the pandemic, we were convinced that the online platform helps entrepreneurs and artisans survive at a time when they cannot move around and sell directly offline.
We cooperated with entrepreneurs from Kherson region, and later decided to involve the whole of Ukraine. Not everyone could place their goods on the platform - there was a selection process, and if it was food, there was a tasting. Quality, originality, reviews, and packaging are still paid attention to today.
The beginning of the full-scale invasion.
After the full-scale Russian invasion, we started volunteering and for about two months, together with our partners, we provided humanitarian aid to our fellow countrymen in the occupation. We barely had time to leave, because there was already information that “they will come for such activists soon”
In May 2022, the it`scrafters (like the entire ARD of the Tavrian Association of Territorial Communities) were forced to move to Uman, Cherkasy Oblast, losing about 70% of the online store's suppliers
“I just took a backpack with my belongings and a bag of food. Only the notebooks with Ukrainian embroidery and small ceramic houses that were dear to my heart fit in with It`s Craft. Not only all my belongings remained in Nova Kakhovka, but my past life remained there. We gave away all the products that were sold in the online store when the occupation began... Even when we were at home, we were often asked to help with medicines, but it was almost impossible there. When we moved to Uman, we found such an opportunity. We helped to send medicines there, and it was very difficult,” said Ms. Viktoriia.
“But there was no thought of stopping what we were doing. Even in the most difficult times, they received orders from regular customers and had to explain: “We can't send it because we are under occupation.” And in the new location, they not only volunteered but also revived It`s Craft, managed to establish new connections and fill their online shelves with various categories of goods.
They received a grant from the Ukrainian Venture Social Fund to help them relocate to Uman. There, they also opened a classic craft store - where you can visit it not only “through the screen” but also in person. We found new cheese producers, got acquainted with local wineries, producers of pickled and dried cherries... We also established cooperation with an organization that helps export Ukrainian goods and souvenirs abroad. Sometimes they even send them overseas, to the United States.
Some craftsmen and producers from Vinnytsia region already cooperate with It`s Craft, and this online platform and the foundation of the same name are open to cooperation with other interested parties.
“We have two proposals for entrepreneurs. The first is to simply cooperate as manufacturers. And the second is to create a craft face for Vinnytsia region, that is, a local logistics hub, a kind of “craft basket,” because it is easier and better to sell,” says Victoria Kulakova. ”We are working on this, although in Vinnytsia region this year we have done a lot of work on training and creating new locations, working more with remote communities and with local governments and management teams.
And if an entrepreneur is already working, we can consider working with them on the principle of a social franchise, that is, for them to form a warehouse of goods from local craftspeople, and we would promote and sell them together. It doesn't have to be a cooperative, it can just be an entrepreneur, a sole proprietor, who signs a contract with us and minimizes logistics flows. Because if, say, Vinnytsia orders something from Tulchyn, it must first arrive in Uman, and only then in Vinnytsia. If there is a small logistics center (warehouse) in Vinnytsia or another community in the region, it will be much easier to distribute craft products. All the procedures for setting up such a warehouse are already laid out, we provide instructions, recommendations, training, even administration, advertising, sales management, help with accounting... And at the beginning, a person has to create a place, negotiate with entrepreneurs from his or her area, and then send the products, i.e. packages from the post office, or for locals, you can sell directly on the spot. It's already working in Ivano-Frankivsk region, and there are several other similar initiatives in other regions.”
The co-founder of the It's Craft platform advises small entrepreneurs to unite if not in every region, then at least regionally (Podillia, Naddniprianshchyna, etc.). This not only solves logistical problems, but also helps with popularization. For example, Podillia's craft embroidery, Podillia sausage, and Podillia cheese can become recognizable to customers more quickly, unlike a product or product named simply by the manufacturer's name or the name of a village.
Another interesting fact for micro-entrepreneurs and craftsmen is that half of the profits of the It`s Craft online store are invested in a charity fund headed by Victoria Kulakova. She is a certified social entrepreneurship coach and has studied the experience of other countries. And based on this experience, It`s Craft not only provides methodical assistance but also provides repayable interest-free loans (based on the principle of a revolving fund). Entrepreneurs invest these funds in scaling up their operations, increase their profits, and then repay the loan. By the way, the next wave of such lending will take place in January, and applications can be submitted until December 31.
Valeria Malanska, a student from the village of Stina, was one of the first in Vinnytsia region to receive a grant as the winner of the permanent competition of creators from It's Craft. Together with her mother, the girl makes eco-friendly shopping bags (eco-shoppers). Her mother sews them, Valeria paints and embroiders them and offers them to those who don't want to go shopping with cellophane bags.
Also, thanks to the cooperation with “It's Craft”, the original dolls made by Raisa Bila became even more famous and even got the opportunity to “travel” to foreign customers. Raisa lives in the village of Mitlyntsi in the Kunkivska community. She is a pastry chef by profession, worked as a saleswoman, then at a milk collection point, also baked custom cakes and loaves, and since 2018 has been working as an artistic director at the Mitlynets House of Culture.
She started painting in 2011. At first, it was folk-style paintings made of salt dough, then she switched to a more durable material - polymer clay. And when I saw an article about a doll maker, I was inspired to create something similar. I studied felting techniques, took online classes, and even ordered a doll to see all the details. She tried many techniques and materials, visited exhibitions. And soon she took part in the Kyiv exhibition of puppeteers “Fashionable Doll” as a master.
The “Internet shelves” of the “'It's Craft” marketplace also feature original ceramics from Tulchyn, made by Natalia Lavreniuk, a teacher at the local college of culture, and her creative team. Soon, embroidery from Klembivka, weaving from Stina and Busha will also be available here - cooperation with craftsmen from these villages has been established through this year's Mythologizing Trypillia project.
As for food, Iryna Riabokin, the manager of the online store, cited the example of the Vinnytsia-based candy brand With Love. It was created by a young family of Natalia and Serhii Halak. They are vegetarians who, not wanting to give their children sweets with animal fats, sweeteners, and other chemical additives, started making their own homemade sweets that do not contain sugar or even honey. This makes them suitable for diabetics, vegetarians, and vegans. The basis of the candy is handmade date paste, to which they add walnuts or coconut, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, dried apricots, cranberries, etc.
“We help an unknown craftsman to become a prominent Ukrainian craft producer, to grow in his professional and creative activities,” says Iryna. According to her, Pavlo Yarmii, co-founder of Tse Kraft, focuses mainly on developing partnerships in the regions, opening hubs, and finding local food and beverage brands. And another co-founder, Victoria Kulakova, successfully works with creative people.
“She is a creative person herself, a designer, so it's easy for her to communicate with manufacturers because she is on the same page with them and understands them quickly. Viktoriia also paints pictures, has even painted large objects, has a degree in music, plays the piano, and writes poetry. She even studied astrology to get to know people better. All these diverse areas of expertise and the constant broadening of her horizons help her understand different creative people and support them. Because it often happens that a person does something interesting, but does not yet understand how to create their own business. And Victoria helps to identify the main needs and interests of a person - how they see the future, what they want to do, who they want to become. Then we help this person to create their own brand, product description, and formulate why they are creating it, what they want to convey with their work.”
The author of the article: Yurii Sereda
We thank the Vinnytsia newspaper (https://www.facebook.com/share/18Ja7PhGPq/?mibextid=LQQJ4d) for publishing this article and helping to develop micro-entrepreneurs and community economies.
