SERRV: Fights poverty through design

Contact:

Serena Sato

SERRV

1.888.243.4423

serenas@serrv.org

Madison, Wis (10/25/2010). – Designers from fair trade organizations in Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and India will come to Madison and Chicago for an intensive design experience at Design Camp 2010. To fight poverty through design by increasing their understanding of the U.S. marketplace, participants will attend product and market trend workshops from October 30th through November 7th.

The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is participating by providing free meeting space, and several of their design professors will offer product critiques, insights on the U.S. market, and a tour of local retail stores to see current trends. Additional design professionals and industry experts have also volunteered their time to assist these young designers from developing countries who are working to reduce the impact of poverty.

SERRV believes it is vital to pursue ongoing design development to ensure a market for disadvantaged artisans who make products for the American consumer. It invests in staff with design skill and is pursuing a long-term strategy of drawing on volunteer designers to develop new, exciting products. Design Camp 2010 creates a direct, working connection between designers in the U.S and abroad.

“This is an innovative and unique opportunity for our partners to be immersed in the U.S. market,” emphasized Serena Sato, director of marketing for SERRV. “Participants will learn about U.S. trends in home décor and share that knowledge with artisans in their home countries. Through this connection and collaboration, SERRV will increase sales of artisans’ products and fulfill our mission of eradicating poverty wherever it resides.”

Asian participants:

Komang Adiartha from Indonesia: Komang Adiartha has worked in design for SERRV partner Mitra Bali since 2000, and his designs have been featured at the Tendence and Ambiente fairs in Germany.

Dinh Thu Huong from Vietnam: Dinh Thu Huong, who focuses on hill tribe textiles, is SERRV partner Craft Link’s Chief Designer. She has studied at the Hanoi Fine Art Design College.

Thuaiprue Khagendra Tripura from Bangladesh: Thuaiprue Khagendra Tripura has worked with SERRV partner CORR – The Jute Works since 1999. He holds a Masters of Fine Arts and a Masters of Sociology & Anthropology.

Amruta Sawant from India: Amruta Sawant has been with SERRV partner Asha Handicrafts since 2008. She visits artisans to work on design and to share information about processes and techniques.

Designers will be available for interviews between 10/31 and 11/5.

SERRV was founded in 1949 as one of the first fair trade organizations in the world with a mission to eradicate poverty using tools of sustainable trade and direct assistance. SERRV currently provides a market for artisan crafts made by 70 community groups in 36 countries through its direct mail catalog, e-commerce site and wholesale channels. SERRV is based in Madison, Wisconsin and New Windsor, Maryland. http://www.serrv.org