This montage of photos shows the story of a design. At a trade show, the manager of a gift shop showed me a postcard of a traditional Navajo blanket design. She told me the design appeared often in the advertisements of the resort. If I could provide work woven with that design, perhaps she could sell the products in her shop. No promises -- only an opportunity to sell to a high-priced resort attracting rich international tourists. I made approximate drawings. When I worked in the village, I paid for several experiments with several weavers. Only two weavers succeeded on the first try. I sent those experiments to the shop manager. She ordered ten samples, I paid in advance for the samples and experiments with other products. The manager ordered 100 and requested samples of the other products. I put those orders in motion. The shop bought all the production displaying that design. When I talked with the manager, she told me she received calls from Europe and Japan ordering the checkbooks, coin purses, and pouches for gifts. Europeans and Japanese had seen the woven work from New Mexico. They wanted Navajo art. The gift shop in New Mexico sold all the production -- until the manager called and canceled all orders. She explained the CEO of the resort corporation had rejected the design as, too Indian. He only wanted products from European designers in his shops. However, I knew I scored an international success. At the next gift show, I discussed the success with the buyer for an international catalog. She gave me a minimum order -- with her colors, at a lower price, with a production deadline and penalty for late delivery. She needed the belts in time to sell with Navajo dresses. I went to Guatemala and worked with the weavers to fulfill the order. In less than a month, I perfected the design and colors to weave one hundred belts and ship those belts to New York. And the catalog refused the shipment. A Chinese factory had botched the Navajo dresses. Without the dresses, they didn't need the belts. I made money on the Navajo design. I sold some of the belts. I still hold some of the belts in inventory. I will sell those belts eventually. This story illuminates the advantages and the vulnerabilities of a design enterprise. An entrepreneur working with village artists can move fast, experiment, and market designs and products while companies only talk. However, the cancellation of one company order wastes the time and money of the entrepreneur. I made money selling thousands of products to a hundred shops. Now, with the internet, the entrepreneur can work in the village and sell thousands of products to thousands of customers in the world. The money will flow straight to the village.

 

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