Business

Creativity key for handicraft boost

Domestic handicraft exporters would gain 30-50 percent turnover if they made efficient investments in design and enhancing creativity for meeting the demands and tastes of foreign markets, stated local experts.

Domestic handicraft exporters would gain 30-50 percent turnover ifthey made efficient investments in design and enhancing creativity formeeting the demands and tastes of foreign markets, stated local experts.

Vietnamese artworks and handicraft products have been favoured bymany overseas markets due to their high quality, said the deputy head ofthe Ministry of Industry and Trade's Trade Promotion Agency, Ta HoangLinh.

However, poor design remained the biggest weakness oflocally-made handicraft products, Linh said, accounting this to a lackof professional designers and inadequate capabilities of those currentlyworking in the industry, who have failed to update themselves at parwith the latest trends in the world market.

Handicraft producersagreed that creating new handicraft designs, which currently accountedfor 30 percent of the products' value, was an urgent requirement apartfrom ensuring good quality. It was also not an easy task for them due toinsufficient investments and shortage of experience in productdevelopment, the firms claimed.

Thai Dai Phong, the director ofDuc Phong Co, a firm that recorded an annual export turnover of 1million USD, described participating in domestic and overseas trainingcourses and projects on product designs run by ministries, associations,and international trade promotion agencies, as a good opportunity forthe handicraft producers to improve their capabilities and keep abreastwith the latest trends.

Ho Tan Duong, the Deputy Chairman of theVietnam Design Association, said that his group, along with the ADSInternational Design and Art Centre and Vietrade, were working on ahandicraft sustainable development project in collaboration withdesigners.

The association will help the designers in enhancingtheir corporate relations, customer research, and partnershipopportunities.

The designers will be provided up-to-date designtrends by the local and international experts via design education,training, and workshops.

Festivals, exhibitions, andcompetitions will also be organised. They will also have the opportunityto enhance their practical knowledge while working with thesebusinesses.-VNA

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