INVENTING NEW WHEELS:
FOFA ASSISTS OAXACAN FOLK ARTISTS IN LEARNING TO SELL REMOTELY
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As the enormity of the pandemic’s toll on Oaxacan folk artists’ economic prospects became clear, FOFA created courses in selling artwork remotely. Thanks to a generous grant by board member Bill Scanlan of San Antonio, long-time collector of Oaxacan folk art, FOFA has twice offered an approximately 8-week course online to 138 awardees of our five young artists’ contests between 2008 and 2018.
Two groups of 25 artists each have acquired a wide spectrum of new skills. A third group of 25 will launch at the beginning of March. Instructors Lorena de la Piedra Ordaz and Diego Morales Toledo and FOFA’s board members continue to develop solutions to the new challenges that unfold.
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To make the fruits of this vast learning experience available to all artesanos -- and to serve as a reference for those who have taken the course -- FOFA asked Lorena and Diego to create a written record of the workshop’s comprehensive curriculum. The resulting step-by-step, 14-part online guide is accessible free of charge on FOFA’s website: https://www.fofa.us/guia
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Workshop Components
Through a combination of group classes and individual tutorial sessions, participants cover a wide spectrum of the nuts and bolts of selling remotely, along with the artistic and communication tools to succeed in what is for most participants an entirely new venture. Workshop eligibility depends on having a reliable wifi connection; a smartphone, tablet or computer; and time to devote to scheduled classes and tutorials and to complete “homework.” Participants learn to:
- Present their work attractively by taking quality photographs and, in some cases, creating a catalog of options for potential clients;
- Tell their stories by creating an artistic autobiography and, for some, video demonstrations of technique;
- Establish or expand social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, and develop the practice of posting new content regularly;
- Reach potential clients and keep in touch with past clients through social media;
- Create certificates to accompany each piece;
- Establish reliable means of payment;
- Offer excellent customer service which generates trust, including preparing shipping quotes in an informative and comprehensive form, keeping records of pieces sold and their destinations and documenting prepared packages prior to shipping;
- Pack their artwork in a secure and aesthetically pleasing manner;
- Understand shipping and insurance options and ways to maximize a smooth process of delivery
Each workshop series culminates in an Instagram exhibition of postings by all participants – a kind of “final paper” -- in which they demonstrate what they have learned about presenting their work and themselves, along with information that enhances clients’ decision to make a purchase.
The following two participants in the second course illustrate the panoply of impacts and the enthusiastic engagement of instructors and students in this experience.
BALBINA MENDOZA NAVARRO
(Santo Tomás Jalieza, Honorable Mention in Textiles 2016, 2018)
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Balbina is the third generation of weavers in her family dedicated to the creation of cotton textiles on a back strap loom. She has worked side by side with her grandmother, mother and aunts since the age of three, each loom tethered to a tree in their lovely yard. Individual members have specialties, but all contribute to the wide spectrum of family products. These include household items (placemats, runners, pillow covers) and personal accessories (tote bags, purses, backpacks, finely woven shoulder bags, belts). Balbina’s prize-winning piece in FOFA-MEAPO’s most recent competition was her back strap loom innovation of a traditional garment, a queshquemtl, worn by women. |
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As a result of the remote sales workshop, Balbina has become empowered vigorously to approach her sales as a business, “Balbina Navarro Textil,” the name of her Instagram handle. In contrast to her previous reliance upon clients who visited the home workshop of her extended family, Balbina has made numerous investments in more actively promoting her work. She has installed wifi in the home she shares with her husband and daughter, where she now works most of the time. She has reflected on ways to increase sales by nurturing appreciation of her products and the process by which they are created by regularly posting polished photos; she has also tweaked her products to distinguish them to increase marketability. |
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This has resulted in Balbina’s having more customers both within Mexico and internationally. Her upcoming marketing steps include creation of an enclosure card to accompany pieces she ships. It will bear the image of her multi-generational artisanal family and provide autobiographical information, accompanied by a small handcrafted cotton doll representing the passing down of traditions from woman to woman. She is also designing a seal for family recognition. |
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At the beginning of FOFA’s course, each participant is asked to imagine s/he is communicating with a customer, to present an image of artwork and to convey all necessary information to make a sale. Each presentation is reviewed by one of the instructors to determine the particular areas needing emphasis over the span of the course. This is Balbina’s initial exercise with commentary by Lorena: |
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There is a dramatic contrast between Balbina’s original photo of a piece (in her initial “homework” assignment) and the good light and clean backgrounds of the images with which she now promotes her products and process, as seen in photos of her pillows and loom above.
ESTEBAN DALÍ RODRÍGUEZ AGUIRRE
(Oaxaca City, Honorable Mention in Ceramics, 2016)
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In addition to his work in ceramics with which he entered a FOFA contest, Esteban Dalí creates jewelry and other accessories with silver. He mainly uses the lost wax technique that he learned from his father who, in turn, was taught by his elders who developed this technique with materials found in nature. Esteban’s silver pieces combine ancient processes with the new designs that he generates from his imagination. |
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What he enjoys the most is the moment when all his ideas transform into the freedom of the creative process that culminates in an object. He poignantly reflects on an inherent irony in the life of an artist:
The pieces I make tend to represent the desires, dreams and emotions of the cultural environment to which I belong. Whenever I manage to create a piece, I realize that being an artist is putting everything you have into an object that you love with all your being -- and knowing that you have to give it up for someone else to appreciate it.
The pandemic has had profound effects on Esteban Dalí’s economic prospects; materials soared in price, and many local orders in process were canceled because clients were unable to pay for them. Esteban Dalí made use of this crisis to reflect on his work, which has led to new proposals and different projects that he has enjoyed. In the FOFA workshop he has focused on the importance of packaging his pieces attractively to sell them remotely; customer service; and developing strategies to tell the story of his work.
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Using nothing more than his cellphone and IPad, he has taken advantage of the remote sales course to expand his promotion in many remarkable ways. He has created an attractive and informative catalog presenting the range of his products in images that are sharp with excellent contrast. |
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Course instructors Lorena and Diego also commend Esteban Dalí for his eager engagement with everything they have offered and his generosity in sharing promotional tools with his classmates.
Many thanks for your support and stay safe!
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Please consider supporting FOFA's ongoing efforts to enable talented young Oaxacan folk artists to achieve their dreams and maintain sustainable livelihoods.
For a comprehensive look at FOFA's programs, visit our website at: www.fofa.us
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Thank you!
275 Central Park West, #1-C New York, New York 10024
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