So far at Manos Amigas, we’ve worked on their website, visited five artisan groups in and around Lima, and prepared for the remate (clearance sale) by unpacking and cleaning products, looking up prices, and creating displays. We are in the process of putting together a presentation on product trends for a capacity building training for all of their artisans later next week, about which I'll post separately. But perhaps the biggest aha moment for me so far has been working on their product catalog.
Several weeks ago, Yannina mentioned that Mario was almost done with the new product catalog. “Would you be able to make it into a smaller file size so we can send it to people and post it on the website?” “Of course,” we said. I assumed he was creating a document with product images; that he sent this document to their clients; and I needed to PDF it or otherwise shrink the file size.
That will be pretty simple, I thought, and we moved on to another project.
Last week, Mario told me he was done with the catalog. Could I come look at his computer while we discussed the catalog? Of course!
We sat down in front of his monitor. He opened a folder on his computer that contained 1,116 images. “Here is the catalog,” he said. “Where?” I asked. “Here.” He gestured to the images.
I didn’t think I understood correctly. “No, what do you send to your clients?” I asked. He looked at the computer. “These images, several at a time.”
What?!? After several more exchanges, I realized that he sends up to 50 emails to one person, with 15-20 individual product images attached, and it’s up to each of his clients to open each email, look at each image, and then tell him what they would like more information about. He then gives them dimensions, prices, etc.
Yikes! I’m surprised that any of their clients are so motivated to actually order products! It has worked fine for them so far, of course, but still.
After realizing that we needed to pull each of those images, plus the file name, into a document, Sam and I went back and forth for a day, researching ways to do it automatically and perhaps using Excel as the final document. Then we realized Mario wanted the catalog ASAP and wanted us to wait to research options until the next catalog issue.
So, back to the basics: we put each of the file images into a table in a Word document, typed out each file’s name below it, and then PDF’d the final result. It took us two days to get it done, and a weekend to get it uploaded to the website, but it’s available now as a private link they can send to their clients.
Everything takes longer than we think it will, almost always because of some computer or other technical issue. And since we are the ones who know computers the best (another yikes!), we’re trying to figure these things out at the same time as we’re trying to meet deadlines.
Part of me always wants to research more options and tinker around to have a more polished final product, but I keep reminding myself that a) there isn't time, and b) I need to keep working on solutions that are sustainable for them after we are gone. Having a slick way to produce their catalog now won't mean much if it's not feasible for them to replicate it next year.
It’s been fun to be working and problem solving with Sam on this. I get to a certain point on a project in the morning and fill him in over lunch; then he works on it in the afternoon and fills me in on where to start the next day.
And just when we think we’re almost done, we find out that everyone has to drop everything and sew product care labels inside woolens for an order that is late in arriving to Manos Amigas but must be shipped in two days. As we joked often at a previous job, referring to the line that was included in everyone’s job description: “Other duties as assigned!”
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