About Us
At a glance Kartimarket imports, retails and wholesales unique household and consumer goods made by artisans in the developing world. We develop products that blend contemporary design and functionality with local designs and skills, all under the framework of fair trade. Kartimarket was founded on the core principles of design and international development. The two go hand in hand; design increases the usability and aesthetic value of products for customers, and for artisans in developing countries it adds monetary value to products they make while bringing them to a wider market. In other words, it results in better products for customers and extra income for artisans and their communities, leading to an increase in living standards and social impact. |
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Mission
Vision
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What we do We work with artisans in developing countries and their partner fair trade organisations to provide a bridge between the artisans and markets in the United Kingdom and Europe. Building long-term relationships we work with these groups providing product design services, ‘tweaking’ producers’ existing designs or designing new products from scratch, and ensuring a high level of product quality. In addition, by doing the importing ourselves we shorten the supply chain and are able to offer unique products not available on the high street. As end-market buyers we have an important role in the value chain to transmit market information about final customers’ demand and preferences to the producers so that they make products that people want in terms of design, functionality and quality, at an affordable price. |
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Story The company was started by brothers Chris and Jaya Thursfield, based on their collective experiences working in furniture and product design, charity and fair trade organisations in Asia and South America, as well as in the private sector. Born in Australia to British and Indonesian parents – spending their youth between these three countries quickly led to a passion for travel and a love of visiting markets collecting interesting art and crafts from around the world. Finally finding themselves in London at the same time, having always dreamt about starting a business together, inspired by Jaya's time in Ecuador working with a fair trade organisation (Camari, now one of our suppliers) and mixing in Chris' design and creative skills Kartimarket was born. |
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Chris obtained a degree in Industrial Design at Monash University, Melbourne, cutting his teeth as a product designer in The Netherlands and Australia before going freelance in furniture and interior design. While working between Melbourne and London as an interior architect/designer he found time to start up a small restaurant in Melbourne, Australia (
Jaya studied Economics and Asian studies at Monash University before working for the Australian government in Canberra and Papua New Guinea. While working for a couple of years at an international development charity in Tokyo in 2003-2005, Jaya became interested in fair trade and subsequently went to Ecuador to work as a volunteer at a fair trade organisation before moving to London and working in the banking sector. Jaya has just completed an MSc in Development Management at the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE).
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