The Pop-Up-Store at Park Street Mews is much more than an average crafts store. It’s the alloy of designers and craft artisans from the Sri Lankan rurality. It is part of AOD’s not-for-profit, social welfare mission that directs its efforts at a market for international and high end local market.

Select products have been exhibited at the Sri Lanka Design Festival, and proved to be largely successful there. At their outlet you will find everything from fashion textiles, saris, wraps, throws, kitchenware, cutlery, to designer crockery, ceramics and beautiful ornaments and hand-woven baskets. In an interview with Life, we learn how the Pop-Up Store is an income generator to the needy parties involved, how its products are highly fashion-conscious, and why it preserves traditional local arts and artisans.      

Tell us about the initiative behind setting up the store?

The Island Craft Pop-up-store is part of AOD design campus’ not-for-profit social mission to show the power of design and how it can be used to change lives for the better; this project is only one example. Here, we have linked designers with rural craft artisans to produce products that international and high-end local markets need.

There are over 500 artisans working with us in textiles, woodwork, basketry and many more from all across the country including Divulapitiya village in Gampaha (with the help of the Ministry of Economic Development’s Liya Abhiman Project), up north in Mallavi, Punguduthivu, Mullaitivu, in the South in Dickwella, Eastern coast’s Ampara and villages like Dumbara Thalagune in the central hills.

Generally, we work with commissioned projects for hotels, interior designers and foreign buyers etc. but there are some time periods when the artisans do not have commissioned work, and we commission them to produce these products with our designers and these are the exclusive items sold at the Island Craft pop-up-store at Park Street Mews.

Brief on the involvement of war widows, and AOD taking it up as a CSR project?

We work with Palmyrah weavers in the North and our design team has worked with them for two years now in new colours, dyeing techniques, new weaves and trendy products like handbags and hats for global markets. We have managed to secure them several projects with the hotel industry and we also keep a constant flow of their products in our pop-up-store.

Another special project is the knitting project where we introduced them to this new craft and trained them in it. We have featured their knitwear in the fashion shows of the Sri Lanka Design Festival and they have been a huge success. We have now empowered these women to lead their lives in better conditions and with increased incomes in their new lives post the conflict.

What can customers expect in terms of product variety, design and make?

There is a very interesting product variety from fashion textiles, saris, wraps, throws, kitchenware, cutlery, to designer crockery, ceramics and beautiful ornaments and hand-woven baskets. All hand-made by our own artisans in rural villages and all made in Sri Lanka.

It should be noted that the products are low-cost-margin items that directly benefit the artisans who made them. By December 2013, we hope to have more fashion items and to encourage more tourists to buy from us so that they can take a little bit of Sri Lanka back with them.

How is the Pop Up store a fashion outlet set out to withstand the competitive market? What makes it special?

The store provides people with an opportunity to not only purchase products, fashion and textiles that are designed by designers, but it also gives them a unique product that has come about through a designer-craft artisan collaboration. It not only gives them a product that is trendy internationally, but also gives them an opportunity to become part of enriching and safeguarding Sri Lanka’s craft heritage and helping our artisan communities who would otherwise be forced to abandon their traditional livelihoods in search of better prospects.

So, this is a way of giving back to Sri Lanka, of becoming part of a rural artisan’s life, and empowering design as an emerging industry that will contribute to Sri Lanka’s economic strength. This is our specialty and our edge, which will allow us to differentiate with more commercial boutiques.

By Nivedha Jeyaseelan