lookbooks<\/a> have examples.<\/p>\nDo you create products to an original client’s brief or do you encourage clients to create briefs based on your artisans’ skill and abilities?<\/h3>\n
At the Swat Valley Guild, we have an experience of co-creating new and original products with our clients.\u00a0 However, we limit the new developments to a criterion that fits with the local heritage and specialisms. In this way, new products are created in a heritage sensitive way.<\/p>\n
This approach is organised in a win-win manner.\u00a0 We ensure our customers are supported at every step of the way.\u00a0 For instance, the minimum buys are organised to in such a way as to meet the inventory levels.\u00a0 The client’s IP is protected and\u00a0 Quality Assurance needs are met.<\/p>\n
Do the artisans contribute creatively to projects and developments?<\/h3>\n
This depends on the project. If it is an innovation project – yes, the artisans have a say.\u00a0 We cannot innovate without the input of the artisans and weavers.<\/p>\n
But if it is standard order, then our only focus is on delivery as per the brief and no additional creative interpretation.<\/p>\n
How do you ensure quality is maintained?<\/h3>\n
We often see a certain lack of understanding from non-European factories as to the high-quality, clients expect. Thus, QC becomes a contention point and leads to many problems and relationship breakdowns.<\/p>\n
We take quality assurance matters so seriously that it is part of our offering to our clients.<\/p>\n
Each item is individually inspected and verified to meet the needs of each order.<\/p>\n
If there is variation beyond that agreed with the client, the product is not accepted by SVG and the artisan has to either redo the order or it is passed onto another artisan who can deliver the standards accepted.<\/p>\n
This is the high standard of quality control embedded in the standard SVG process.<\/p>\n
What would be an amazing client brief to work on?<\/h3>\n
That would be a high-end handmade wool based textile product, that would incorporate precious gems like emeralds as part of the design.\u00a0 This would allow us to utilise the maximum number of local resources in one order.<\/p>\n
An example would be a wall hanging with precious gems added to the design or shawls with Panjra embroidery and embedded gems.<\/p>\n
This is a unique service offering wherein only a few skilled artisans can create and very few regions in the world can locally source and sustainably produce.<\/p>\n
What is your biggest lesson to date?<\/h3>\n
I would say the importance to earn the trust of the market we are targeting.<\/p>\n
Bespoke luxury is a high-end marketplace, so building a strong reputation is essential for us and that takes time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An interview with the founder of Swat Valley Guild, whose mission is to support local artisans, weavers and producers access global markets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":5550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3918],"tags":[4164,5366,4073,4072,4163],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fashioninsiders.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1670"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fashioninsiders.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fashioninsiders.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fashioninsiders.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fashioninsiders.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fashioninsiders.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fashioninsiders.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fashioninsiders.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fashioninsiders.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fashioninsiders.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}