Crafts; business and overcoming

In January 2008 due to an economic crisis caused by unemployment and emotional imbalance, the Ramírez Bolívar family decided to undertake geographical change from their place of residence to the Anaco municipality in Anzoátegui state, accepting the help of one of their families, who lodged them gladly giving them all the necessary support so that they could settle in that locality.

With many expectations, the new family dynamic begins: job search, location of the children in the respective schools, new friendships, knowledge of the city, among others. They also had the support of a local Christian church and took advantage of consolidating family relationships because now they all lived together in the same house.

In the search for new opportunities, the wife participates in a course of painting techniques for decorative pieces in MDF, dictated free of charge in the facilities of the Christian church Luz del Redentor. In view that it was very productive, novel, and together with discovering that it has the skills to develop this activity, they decide to invest (with the little they had) to start this craft development enterprise, which came to represent an alternative income later on. the couple, which resulted in the well-being of the whole family.

A work centered on the excellence of the product is started, taking care of every detail and innovating with new techniques, looking for a place in the market to obtain the best sales and considering which designs have the best sale; this is how he manages to make paintings in a format of 20 X 30 cm in MDF with biblical messages and motivating phrases that were very receptive and gave them the impetus to believe that if it was possible to overcome financially.

In September of that same year they acquire a jig saw, a hand-held sander, and receive a drill from a friend, who was told what they were undertaking and the market they were discovering as a great possibility of income. With these new tools, made figures as flowers, stars, animals, among others, these products were marketed quickly and in good quantities.

For the year 2009 begins the real growth, the family was able to rent an apartment, the couple combine the work of crafts with their jobs, which by that time they had formally and stable; she worked in teaching as a classroom teacher in the School and he as an administrator in the private company. Looking to expand and improve the crafts, acquire other tools such as; presses, rauter, brushes, acrylic paints, sandpapers, among others.

In the search for new techniques and updating, the wife takes a course of decorative brush strokes. And with the work done with this new skill, they reach an agreement with the Luz del Redentor church to have a permanent exhibition every Sunday of paintings with biblical texts and motivating phrases.

In the same facilities, the community was given courses in handicrafts, designing objects such as chests, small paintings among others, all in MDF, this activity was a social contribution given by the family. For these courses the contribution of the husband (combining with his employment) was to elaborate the pieces and achieve the necessary finishing to show a finished piece, and the wife realized the art

Once the couple acquires experiences, skills and know the market, they begin to elaborate larger pieces, such as: trays, tables in other measures, cubes, pieces to divide spaces, among others.

Already in mid-2014, the family moved to their own house in a nearby urbanization and with enough space to assemble the workshop of crafts and painting. Once installed on their property, the couple evaluates everything achieved to date, and are prepared to undertake new challenges, which have to do with painting on canvas, as they know the craft market, art and also acquired relationships with artists and entrepreneurs in that branch, began to buy canvases of various sizes and also of various prices. Orders began to arrive by showing creativity to friends (who were the first customers), and their requirements based on colors and images.

To make themselves known to the community in general and show the finished product, the couple organized an exhibition in the street, in front of the house of the relative who had hosted them, invited all the people who could, friendships, the community of the sector and social networks, succeeding because they made themselves known and sales that day was very generous.

Having this experience, the couple visited a furniture sales center in a shopping center where they offered paintings of different sizes and designs, an interesting opportunity to show the work and have that trade as a showcase to exhibit the art.

The result was not as expected, because sales were few. They realized that the sales were greater in the house where the family resided, with this experience, using the social networks to publish and market the pictures, the couple created an account in Instagran (ARTEBLART), which has been used to sell in localities Nearby, it has also served to meet artists of the art of painting, in other countries.

It is appropriate to clarify that the first pictures that the couple made were made on MDF, and after they evaluated this technique and the requirements of the clients (who asked for them in cloth) they began to make the cloth canvases, this is the specific work of the husband in the manufacture of pictures. A disadvantage of the tables in MDF referred by the spouses, is that if they fall by any situation they are vulnerable to break easily; its parts are joined with white glue, staples and nails but even so they are fragile with the blows. Not so the cloth ones, even when their parts have the same thing the fabric helps to be united.

At the moment the couple product of all the prevailing economic situation in the country, has reduced the production of pictures of art and of crafts. The lack of paint and the high costs of MDF and fabric, has made the couple is analyzing, thinking and caressing the possibility of looking for other horizons outside the country but with the same artistic vision. Countries where the importance and value of art as a way of life and commerce is given.

Some of the art paintings created at the request of the clients, what they should say is the color, size and motive.