The Bhutanese Leading the way.
On the 3rd day of the 13th edition of Bhutan Echoes, Drukyul’s Literature and Arts Festival, Miss. Stacy Edgar, PhD, Executive Director of the International Folk Art market in Santa Fe, New Mexico, an award-winning social entrepreneur and educator and a writer had a conversation on women in leadership and social entrepreneurship with Aum Dorji Ohm, Executive Director of Bhutan Youth Development Fund and Chair of the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children.
Miss. Stacy Edgar shared that growing up in a small town in Elinor, she grew up in a village with a concrete factory owned by their father. After attending university, she pursued a journalism major and social work class, which led her to start a company.
Initially, she aimed to advocate for talented crafts women in her community. She worked with several nonprofits and met with women from welfare programs. In 2003, she convinced her husband to use their tax return to bring products from seven different women organizations worldwide.
After eight months, she sold everything to about 100 women, as she wanted to support other women in their creativity and livelihoods. The company became a real business, as people wanted to support other women in their creativity and livelihoods.
She shared that her journey of growing her business without taking a salary for the first five years. She faced challenges in securing investors, but poured her profits back into the business, working with over 250 women’s cooperatives in 40 countries. The business grew from $2000 to $3 million annually in fair trade handmade products.
She built a multimillion-dollar market for handcrafted apparel and accessories through commerce and partnerships with companies and 1500 boutique retailers nationwide. Her success is attributed to her global girlfriends, including friends, attorneys, web designers, and a woman at a whole foods market.
She shared that a small article in a local magazine about her business led to her being approached by a woman at a whole foods market who wanted to sell her products. Their experience in starting a whole foods business, helped them understand pricing, UPC codes, and bar codes.
Further, they had a fortunate accident when she gifted her girlfriend who worked at InStyle a unique Nepal bracelet. The magazine editor asked for the entrepreneur’s website and phone number, which they created within two weeks.
As their market grew, they expanded their reach to global girlfriends, allowing them to take on more women’s products and help them find a market.
She advises entrepreneurs to be more curious than fearful and to join hands with others in a community. She believes that success comes from supporting one another, which is essential for entrepreneurs.
She also highlighted the importance of authenticity in the handmade sector, which values creativity and handwork. She believes that in the age of AI, authenticity is essential, and the handmade sector is a real place to find it.
She has been working on writing eight principles from the artisan economy, which she believes are necessary for the world today.
“I hope to highlight the lessons learned from indigenous and artisan communities around the world, emphasizing the importance of purpose, creativity, and shared value in the artisan economy”.
