The way ahead….

After a busy 2016 filled with much trial and error, 2017 will start off with me discussing tākiri  with EMERGE and WORKBRIDGE to see how they can become more involved as I am in need of their experience and drive in pushing ahead….

By December I had realised just how much I still have to learn in order to develop the concept behind tākiri. I have sorta got the manufacturing side of things pretty well sorted but the marketing…… an old friend of mine used to say: “should’a-would’a-could’ve” which says it all really. I should have been more aggressive at the outset in gaining support for tākiri ESPECIALLY in setting up a website and in marketing as at the moment I am playing catch-up. During the passing of the year 90% of my efforts went into sustaining the few work/income sources I had and the focus of tākiri became shifted off-course. I also focused all my efforts on making pieces as I knew that with my ongoing condition that goes up and down with the weather – literally, I needed to exercise forgotten muscles and try and get my brain to communicate with my right hand successfully again.  I sold a fair number of pieces towards the end of 2016 and I took-onboard any criticism and all useful suggestions which I have incorporated into the range, so I know that there is a potential market for the pieces even though I have not been at all aggressive in their promotion. 2017 will see the re-establishment of tākiri’s prime focus – providing sustainable employment and motivation for disabled people. I am very happy with the current range of what I can produce and I am well placed to create pieces on demand as needed. I know that without good photos nothing will happen and likewise without enticing descriptions the same. I toyed with using Te Reo words for numbers in naming the pieces but it became too cumbersome. What I overlooked, was that in the genesis of tākiri, one of the meanings of tākiri is to sprout and grow which leads neatly to Te Reo words involving plants and trees so early in 2017 I will re-launch the entire range featuring Te Reo again, this time with better pictures and descriptions!

Marketing is obviously of prime importance to tākiri and any similar concept, and it took a while for me to learn exactly what exactly social-marketing entailed and how to use it but now I am pretty confident in how to go about presenting tākiri to the world via Facebook and other social media sites. I am going to get some other people onboard from EMERGE or WORKBRIDGE who can provide impetus and momentum to the project through shared ideals and goals and hopefully some talent for either marketing or manufacturing.