Acholi Beads
I've spent the last couple months working with my mom and older sister to set up a new, socially proactive business. We call it Acholi Beads. We've hired some displaced people from the Acholi region of northern Uganda to make beautiful beaded jewelry, which we are now selling in America!
Over the last week I've been setting up a website for Acholi Beads. I'll be slowly developing it in the coming months, but I'd love for you to take a look if you have a moment. I just changed the color scheme and added some photo ablums, for your viewing pleasure.
And by 'slowly developing it,' I mean pushing through my own e-ignorance like swimming thru molasses, then updating the site at Gulu-net speeds, which compare to internet speeds like a pogo stick compares to the Starship Enterprise.
BIG thanks go out to my good friend Aaron for his guidance and help in all of my e-dventures, and this one in particular.
Labels: Acholi Beads, Internet
posted by James at 04:34
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5 Comments:
A few thoughts...
-I like the look of the site. Clean and attractive.
-make sure that paypal is a payment option.
-I realize that there are at least two purposes behind this (ie. education and raising funds). I'm going to make an odd suggestion that you take a two-pronged approach. Develop this site for sure, and invest in the educational opportunities. But if the beads/necklaces are as beautiful as they seem, consider also placing them in some shops and perhaps an online site like 'etsy'. The product should stand alone. You could include a card with the product directing them to the website where they could learn more. If these folks are craftspersons, then their wares will sell themselves and provide a backdoor to their stories.
-make sure they're well-made. I've bought a few beautiful handbags from African-based mission groups, and they were so poorly-made that they only lasted one use. I certainly don't begrudge the money spent, but it means that I couldn't continue to use them... and so others didn't see them to ask where they could get their own.
-consider including extra cards, or offer to email a pdf to print off cards, so that when people ask about the lovely beads... one has a simple way to share where they can get their own.
Ahem. I think I'd better stop now :)
Thanks so much for the thoughts!
Right now we have beads in a couple shops in California and expanding quickly. This whole thing is growing as fast as we can keep up. The website for now is more of an information resource to bead purchasers. We want anyone who buys beads to be able to understand and connect to the stories of our bead makers. And hopefully invest in more and different ways!
I think we'll be looking into selling online soon as well, so I appreciate your wisdom on Paypal!
I love the idea of extra cards as well. That could really be helpful for spreading the word!
Blessings!
Let me know when you're selling online :)
Better yet, let me know if there's any way I can help.
Hi,
I can vouch for the product, i have even swum in these beads and they do not unravel, and are extremely hardwearing and well made.
I am from New Zealand and am looking to sell and distribute the beads here, I left a post on your website but have yet to hear back from you, looking forward to some dialogue soon. Cheers, Sara.
Hi,
I can vouch for the product, i have even swum in these beads and they do not unravel, and are extremely hardwearing and well made.
I am from New Zealand and am looking to sell and distribute the beads here, I left a post on your website but have yet to hear back from you, looking forward to some dialogue soon. Cheers, Sara.
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