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Members of the QatArt Handmade Community staged the second instalment of their monthly handmade market at the Katara Art Studios Courtyard yesterday, featuring a variety of handicraft and food items. |
QatArt founder Dominika Bozic said the market showcased handcrafted products ranging from paintings, home decor, assorted jewellery and other trinkets, cushions, frames, baby soaps and tutus, designer flowers and teepees, among others.
“We plan to make this a monthly activity but for the summer season we might have to defer the event until September or October,” Bozic explained.
Aside from showcasing their wares, she added that the event aimed to promote QatArt as a group and to encourage membership from other artists and hobbyists.
“We want to be known as a ‘handmade community’. For our handmade market, it is open to everybody .We do not charge any entrance fees and we would like to encourage people to try their hand in creating various handmade products,” she said.
According to Bozic, artists or hobbyists who are into handicraft making are encouraged to meet with the group and mingle with members to exchange ideas “in the hope of inspiring them to start their own ‘small business’”.
Bozic said the group started as an online community and shared information and ideas through e-mail. But with only a mailing list containing some 200 addresses, she said there was no way to determine who were interested or had regularly produced handmade products.
It was in September 2013, when QatArt had approached Mel Shade, who runs Inspiration Station, that membership became stable and regular.
Bozic said that since their partnership with Inspiration Station, QatArt had attracted 51 members. “Becoming a member is simple. Interested persons can fill-out an application which they can get via e-mail ([email protected]) and then submit the form to Inspiration Station,” she said.
“With the help of Inspiration Station, we started to plan activities and the staging of market fairs because what is important for our members is for them to have an opportunity or a venue to showcase and sell their wares.”
The partnership provides QatArt members the opportunity to display their products for two weeks at Inspiration Station for free.
Other membership benefits include networking and collaboration with other members and groups, 10% discount on all workshops organised by the arts and crafts school of Inspiration Station, and online promotion through e-mail and social media, among others.
Bozic stressed that QatArt only advocates the manufacture of handcrafted products: “We do not encourage the promotion of imported products and we do not allow the reselling of local products.”
Below:
Assorted trinkets and novelties.
Painter, designer and QatArt founder Dominika Bozic with one of her creations.
