Polly and Other Stories brings its product lines to a brick and mortar store in Lahore.
The newly launched store front reads, “change the narrative”. The founders of Polly and Other Stories, Amneh and Angela indeed like to keep their vision where they can see it. The two have a dream to promote Pakistani craft on the world stage and give back to the community. Until recently, they were working at it through Polly and Other Stories’ e-commerce website – connecting talented artisans, artists, makers and small entrepreneurs from communities across Pakistan with consumers around the nation and around the world.
With the success of a six-month long pop-up store in Islamabad and several exhibitions, the duo realized the potential for growth and the opportunity for further development that was untapped. Knowing that sales offline are double of online sales, they knew that setting up a brick and mortar store was going to be the next step. The cofounders participated in the Karandaaz Pakistan’s Women Entrepreneurship Challenge in 2017, which is sponsored by the UK’s Department For International Development (DFID), and won investment funding to set up their dream store.
Today, the store at Y Block, Lahore has over thirty brands of handicrafts and art, including clothes, homewares, accessories and toys, that partner with Polly. One can spot hand poured candles, hand painted table runners, shawls designed by Chitrali women, skincare products and much more; the common thread is that everything takes one back to the basics. They have more coming in but Angela says that she’s most excited about a bag collection with Shehzil Malik where she designs illustrations and the duo gets them printed and packaged.
Angela and Amneh met while working on development projects and tell Instep at the launch, “We realized it’s such a shame that there’s nowhere to stock these products after our projects. We personally know all the people we work with so while most people are creating products that are great on their own, we help some work on their products to fit better under the Polly and Other Stories brand. By also creating a market pathway for them and handling their marketing and logistics, we free them to focus on what matters most for their individual brand.”
In a world where there are so many mass produced products, with no record of who made them, organizations like Polly and Other Stories give us the choice to support businesses at a grassroot level, and to vote with our wallets for a happier world. They connect local artisans to a global marketplace of socially conscious customers. Angela shares that some people may find their product line to be pricey but because most things are handmade with the highest quality additions – they do end up falling into higher price brackets.
The profits are shared with the artisans for it’s both the right thing to do and the wise thing to do. It’s right because it honors the time, skill, artistry, and expertise that goes into the making of each product and treats people with the respect and dignity they deserve. It also empowers artisans, especially women, and is a powerful way to drive economic growth and sustainable development in communities around the globe. The artisans become skilled, confident and independent businesswomen.
As for the future, Polly and Other Stories wants to continually expand its product range and work at more partnerships. “We would love to take local craft and turn it into a wonderful, globally recognized brand for Pakistan, but we are also excited to do the same thing here. Rather than simply expanding abroad, we want to show that there’s a large enough market in Pakistan for products proudly produced in Pakistan!” says Amneh.
