Poompuhar, the retail outlet of the Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation, is organising concept-based exhibitions to give more focus to crafts from different parts of the country and the State, according to an official of the outlet here.
It is conducting at least two in-house expos every month, exhibitions in Kerala at least twice a year (for Christmas and Onam) and several events across the city.
It had an exhibition on the crafts of Tamil Nadu and plans one on paintings of India soon. Only the handicrafts from Tamil Nadu were displayed at the crafts exhibition and in the paintings expo, there will be traditional paintings from different States.
Revenues from the expos constitute more than 10 per cent of the turnover of Poompuhar here and it is only annually, the official says.
Exhibitions help the artisans too as they can reach out to more customers. The artisans come to Coimbatore and set shop at Poompuhar for the specific period. Thus, they are able to interact with the customers and get direct orders later too.
The focus on different themes and festivals bring focus on products and artisans who specialise in those items. For instance, this year, the Poompuhar plans to make the Kolu exhibition different by having the entire range of dolls on Ramayana, etc.
The e-commerce initiative launched in December last year is also bringing more orders to Poompuhar. It is not just buyers in foreign countries, there are many even in Tirupur and Salem who place orders for special products, or ask for quick delivery, the official points out.
