Prototype III: A Hiccup

This month, the prototype for the new sandal design is behind schedule. The artisan producer I have been working with very efficiently over the last two years has had some personal troubles that have impacted on his business and consequently eaten into the prototype production schedule.

It is difficult to be upset with him, as he has always delivered without fail. Twice in the last week he has sent me text messages saying he has not yet made the prototypes. I did not respond to the second message, as I would rather discuss the difficulties in person. I hope it is something that can be resolved quickly.

In situations like these it is easy to slide into insensitivity. How I handle this first hiccup in our designer-producer relationship will determine how it will progress from here on. I will be meeting one of my local buyers towards end of March and it would have been great to have something new to show besides the designs that sell well from this particular buyer’s outlet.

This is one of the key perils of not having a designer-owned production stable.

Wish us luck.

The Artisan Producer: A Receptacle of Knowledge I

After working with various producers in Nairobi, actualizing some of my ideas into prototypes, ranging from jacaranda wood products and leather bags to sandals and recycled shopping bags imbued with immense added value, I have come to respect the artisan producer as a primary source of knowledge and high level of skill. Many of these products have made their way into the market as limited edition premium products.

For any designer who has no production capacity (that is machinery and sophisticated tools) or prefers not to (as in my case), the sketch remains an idea until it becomes a three-dimensional item from which the designer can earn a living. Each artisan has a creative ego-sphere that the designer must approach cautiously and respectfully in order to be accommodated in a mutually fulfilling collaboration. This creative ego-sphere is defined physically by the space the artisan works in – the workshop - into which the designer will be entering. It is also defined by the work the artisan is already occupied by, other suppliers he/she caters to, among other things.

In a sense, the two are training each other in a new skill – the new design – and the partnership will only work if both identify and recognize a point of synergy. I approach these artisan-designer partnerships, in this Kenyan market that knows no boundary for respect of copy right, in several ways, all of which are aimed at both sustaining my relationship with the artisan and making money from my design. Sometimes, it may require the designer to learn and understand any cultural peculiarities that may become a barrier to the partnership, especially when working with an elderly producer or in a cross-gender situation.

One way, is to come up with two concepts that if successful at the production and focus target group testing stages, I verbally agree with the artisan to produce the item with significant modifications for his/her own market as long as he/she can produce a certain number of my design for “my” target market within an agreed period. It’s a formal agreement that preempts the natural human inclination to copy an idea.

The other way is identifying a “lock-in factor” that will visually set your design apart from the copies. This is a mark or embellishment that only I, as the designer, know how to make or source. That way, I can ensure the longevity of my design on the market, as well as the uniqueness of the design, until I can modify the design or come up with a new product. It is one of the least stressful partnership methods.

The third way is to uniquely brand your design either using a label or in the case of leather goods, using a leather stamp with your unique mark. This is probably the cheapest approach.

The other approach is to define a period for the production of that particular item after setting a mark in terms of target earnings from that design, after which I abandon that design in favour of a new product or a modified version of the same design. This can be a capital-intensive method as it takes time to create a workable and market acceptable prototype. On the part of the artisan it also occupies more time in determining how best to produce accurately. This is simply staying innovative so as to stay ahead of the competition. If you are consistently innovating you will always find a new market for your product or invoke new demand for your products within the same market.

The other method that I use with more sophisticated producers, is an actual written contract drafted jointly in simple language (not law jargon). The contract must clearly stipulate the duration of the contract, price per product (inclusive of labour) and a detailed description of the product including a photo(s) of the prototype, among other things that make a written contract valid. Depending on the level of trust developed between the artisan producer and the designer, this is the least stressful of the methods.

In all the above relationship approaches, it is important to identify minimum quality standards, a strict adherence to timelines and a mutual vocabulary to define product peculiarities.

Patience and understanding is paramount as you develop this relationship.

PROTOTYPE II

The next stage is testing the product on the focus sample group. This could be two or three of your friends. I tested it on my two sisters (and house mates). They liked it… But good pals will tell you where it works and doesn’t work …

I identified the size of the chain link to be a major hindrance to how the parts of the necklace come together. A solution would be to use a single link from a bigger chain or to get the small jump rings that come in a packet of fifty. More money.

The latter option is easier on my fingers. So we spend a little more to get it right. I will also get the Maasai ladies in Ongata Ronkai to use a slightly stronger wire for the beadwork and add an extension to the beadwork for chain linking. I lost one of the beadwork pieces when the wire broke, but even after the wire broke the beads stayed on, which means it’s a solid design!

OF COPY RIGHTS and COPY CATS

The other day in a meeting with Export Promotion Council (EPC) officials who came to “my place of work” (read my living room) to follow-up on my readiness to export after a training I attended with them, I raised the issue of patenting and intellectual property rights.

I avoid the “Maasai Markets” and informal open-air markets to avoid copying of my designs. Recently, I bumped into a creative friend of mine who told me that a prominent bag design company in Kenya had copied my clutch bag concept and were even using the same kind of leather I use (a buffalo hide-like textured cow hide). Just two minutes ago my aunt called me saying she just saw a design by the said design house in one of the local dailies that was so similar to the one I make that she had thought it was mine until she saw the name of the featured company.

I acknowledge that though similar in design, both my clutch bag and the said company's bag are different. I would love to get a closer look at theirs though. 

In the conversation with the aforementioned creative friend, I told her that in our hand-made market it is difficult to own a design as patent and intellectual property laws (even the common sense ones) don’t protect the small producer. I also told the EPC officials that perhaps we should have a system in place that allows designers to acknowledge each others prowess and encourage paying of annual royalties … sort of like a product design Music Copy Rights Society of Kenya (MCSK). That way everyone gets paid.

Anyhow, I guess this is a challenge to me to up my visibility against the bigger players.

PROTOTYPE I

Tuesdays are my Uzinduzi (Innovation) days. Either I make a new sketch for a product concept or an altered image of an existing design. Sometimes it's the day I source the components for the prototype.

I found a good use for the blade on my Leatherman tool; to pry apart the gap in the tiny chain links for prototype of the new Maasai beadwork inspired multi-strand necklace I am making. My fingers are sore and I have a nasty paper cut on my right index finger.

Any product designer will tell you making the prototype is blood, sweat and money. It probably comes second in cost to product sampling to a prospective client who is on another continent, which only gets worse if no feedback comes from said prospective client.

I recall when my business partner and I made an awesome clutch bag prototype – the Laheri Clutch – and a lady who had been here conducting a training that my partner attended, loved the prototype which she bought at a pittance saying she would show it to Ralph Lauren. We have never heard from her or Ralph Lauren two years on.

The easiest part of  “protoyp-ing” is sketching. I have a small thick sketchbook of concepts ranging from soapstone candle-holders to sisal handbags to leather bags waiting to be prototyped. Once in a while I pick one and commit time and money into making a prototype.

It’s easier to prototype when you own your own production; it keeps your ideas safe while you work them out. The other way is to outsource the components and do the finishing yourself – the latter is the method I am using for the necklace. 

I will product test it on my two fashionista sisters this evening…