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Buyer guides
Guides for craft buyers
Seven guides covering the decisions that repeat on every craft order, whatever the country or the category.
How to source handicrafts: a buyer's route map
A working sequence for a buyer starting from nothing: define the product family and price point, identify producing countries rather than single suppliers, narrow to clusters, then to workshops, then sample.
GuideReading craft quality: handmade, hand-finished and machine-made
Very little in the modern craft trade is entirely hand-made, and very little is entirely machine-made.
GuideVariation and tolerance in handmade goods
Handmade means variable, and a specification that ignores this either fails the goods or fails the buyer.
GuideMaterials compliance for craft imports
A practical map of the regulatory regimes that catch handicraft consignments: heavy metals in glazes and paints, food-contact rules for tableware, nickel release in jewellery, azo dyes and formaldehyde in textiles, toy safety where an item could be used by a child, timber legality documentation, and wildlife and cultural property controls on shell, bone, ivory substitutes and antiques.
GuidePacking fragile handicrafts for sea and air
Ceramics, glass and stone dominate craft claim statistics, and most losses trace to inner packing rather than outer cartons.
GuidePricing, minimum orders and lead times in craft sourcing
Craft pricing is labour pricing, and labour in this trade is seasonal, dispersed and often part-time.
GuideProvenance, fair trade and artisan claims that survive scrutiny
Statements about artisans, communities and traditions are now a compliance surface, not just marketing copy.