A studio of artistic creation opens in Auroville to help promote local products
An increasing number of units in Auroville have started in
the recent years. However, it is clear to many that in Auroville
there is a growing need to work together on promotion and marketing
as well as on creation. Some Aurovilians have embarked on marketing
a selected range of products from Auroville units but the majority
of units market independently. With the recent reformation
of the Auroville Business Council (ABC) and the increasing
demand for Auroville products from outside, it is evident that
a higher level of collaboration is needed and possible.
L'etoile du Sud Studio was recently
opened by an inspiring young woman, Estelle, who works towards
carrying her dreams of a united Auroville production into
reality. Four years ago, at the age of 26, Estelle found
her home in Auroville. “I had
always had a strong desire to go to India ,” explained Estelle, “but
I knew little of Auroville, or of The Mother and Sri Aurobindo.
But when I landed in Auroville with my two sons, I knew it
was the place for us.” In time Estelle found herself involved
in Papyrus, an Auroville unit which produces a wide variety
of paper products for inside and outside markets. While working
on the creative side of the business, Estelle began establishing
contacts both within and outside Auroville concerning products
being made by unit holders in Auroville.
The creation of L'etoile du Sud Studio
was the result of many conversations as well as her own desire
to use her creative abilities in collaboration with others
which would benefit Auroville. “It came to my mind because
having worked for the past three years with different units,
I found that the unit holders are often busy with production
and do not have the needed free time to go into creation.
Also I could see very clearly that more and more people from
India and abroad are looking for products coming from Auroville.
They can feel through those products the unique qualities
of Auroville as an international city. So putting all that
together, it came to me that something had to be done to
make a bridge between Auroville and the outside, especially
with India , because India is a huge country, it's a huge
market and many possibilities are here.”
As a service unit of Auroville, L'etoile
du Sud Studio has two main goals: to enhance the range of
creative products being made by Auroville units and to help
promote and market these products. “The team of artists and designers of L'etoile du
Sud Studio offer free advice to the production units of Auroville
about aesthetics, which may then adapted to the unit's already
existing market,” explained Estelle. “We also organize exhibitions
such as with Amethyst in Chennai and Microsoft in Bangalore
and markets for festivals such as Christmas, Diwali, and Pongal
in those places. We invite the units to represent themselves
or we select people to represent them.”
The products that are sold through
the studio have a margin of 100% over cost price which, depending
on the quantity, is divided between the unit holders, the
artist of the studio who created the product, and a small
percentage goes to the studio to cover running expenses.
Also, 5% goes to education in Auroville and 2% to the arts
in Auroville. This is a very strong point for Estelle who
states, “I find that the largest
inspiration in Auroville is the children. When I look at the
children of Auroville, there is no doubt that something special
is going on here. Also, when you work like crazy in a business,
you need to take a break, go to see a play, a dance performance
or what not. Our artists in Auroville are creating that for
us. It has a cost and we have to pay for it.”
L'etoile du Sud Studio, being relatively
new, is still getting known and understood by the community.
But what have been the responses from unit holders so far? “I think people know there
is a need for more creation and design. They feel also that
some designers are there to create for themselves and they
are not so much helping the unit to grow. But as the aim of
the studio is to enhance the range for the units and benefit
Auroville as a whole, it is easier for the unit holders to
understand what we are doing and maybe think ‘OK, we can give
them a space, doing two or three prototypes.'”
Estelle already has contacts to exhibit Auroville products
in Chennai, in Bangalore (with Microsoft, IBM and Dell showrooms),
as well as with Himatzingka Seide Limited who have showrooms
called Atmosphere throughout India .
She is also working on a website
which will present the products designed by the studio as
well as having links to the individual websites of the Auroville
units with whom she is working. “If
a buyer wants a product that is already made in any unit, they
can go straight to them, they order and we won't take anything
for the studio. If they want something customized, then they
will come to the studio to get something special from and produced
by those units but designed by the studio.”
The enthusiasm and energy behind the creation of L'etoile
du Sud Studio has given it enough momentum to lift it off the
ground. Estelle hopes that in time more artistic individuals
and unit holders will join in its collaboration so that Auroville
as one can move more efficiently and with high quality into
the international world it represents.
