Posts Tagged ‘Germany’

Who is behind FairMail now?

Monday, January 22nd, 2018

After the announcement of the takeover, FairMail founders Janneke Smeulders and Peter den Hond have been overwhelmed with messages of support and they are very glad about it. We guess many of you are probably wondering: “who is running FairMail now?” Well, everyone please meet Kira, Federica and Natalia.

Kira, Federica and Natalia met for the first time in 2015 when the three of them were volunteering for FairMail. Among all the volunteering opportunities that they could have picked, they were all driven to FairMail, somehow it looks like it was meant to be. During their time in Huanchaco, they got really enthusiastic about the project, they bonded with the teenagers and fell in love with Huanchaco, the small fisher village that hosts FairMail’s Peruvian headquarters.

After their experiences as volunteers, they felt their time in FairMail was, somehow, not over. Back to their countries, they kept in touch with FairMail, they engaged in different activities and became, eventually, sale agents. Receiving the email with the proposal of succeeding Peter and Janneke in the management of FairMail came as a total surprise, to say the least. They took their time to let the news sink in and eventually they overcame the fear of the unknown and decided to embrace the change.

Let’s get to know them better right now.

Kira works as a project manager responsible for Web-Marketing and IT-Development in a mid-size company close to Stuttgart, Germany. Thanks to her family’s love for travel and adventure, she developed a global mindset and she is convinced that her vision of a better and sustainable future will be achieved by sharing knowledge, creativity and the principle of capacity building.

Federica is a freelance English and Italian teacher and translator based in Turin, Italy. She is a word nerd at heart, communication is her main area of expertise. She believes the world can be made a better place by creating and fostering dialogue among people of all faiths and backgrounds. She acknowledges that traveling is fatal to prejudice, therefore she never stops exploring.

Natalia studied International Social Work in Ludwigsburg. She is a passionate globetrotter and admires to capture her traveling experiences with photographs. Beyond Germany and Poland, her homecountry, she feels at home in Kenya, Indonesia and in Peru where she volunteered as part of her studies. Natalia has the interests of the environment at heart and she believes that international exchange and the sharing of knowledge can make the world a better place.

They couldn’t be happier to start this adventure together and they look forward to everything that this journey will have to offer.

Results of European tour

Wednesday, July 15th, 2015
Anidela and Angeles, the stars of the European tour

Anidela and Angeles, the stars of the European tour

In July two of FairMail’s teenage photographers toured Europe to tell the unique story behind their cards to as many people as possible. And to learn more about their card market. The tour was a big adventure for Anidela and Angeles who had never been in an airplane before. They were welcomed like stars in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Tour d'Europe

Tour d’Europe

During the 17 day tour they drove more than 3.000 kilometers. Amongst which 25 kilometers by bicycle. Something that left a lasting impression on them. Not only because they felt quite tired in the end, but also because they noticed how it helps clear and relax your mind. They were also impressed by how creative people in Europe decorate their houses and how well things are organised over here. And that there are many, many card spinners in the shops which their cards have to compete with.

Meeting their customers for the first time

Meeting their customers for the first time

In order to do so they made a PowerPoint presentation for their colleagues in Peru with the most important findings of their market research and suggestions to improve the offering for their customers.

Click here to see the pictures of their trip

Visiting Greetz headquarters

Visiting Greetz headquarters

The most important results of the trip were:

4 articles in the media

7 visits to FairMail’s business partners

8 visits to shops selling FairMail cards

6 presentations about FairMail to a wide audience

2 photography exhibits

1 unforgettable experience for Anidela and Angeles.

Program announcement European promotional tour with Peruvian teenagers

Friday, May 1st, 2015
FairMail Peru photographer Angeles

FairMail Peru photographer Angeles

FairMail is organizing its 5th European promotional tour! This time guest starring FairMail Peru’s teenage photographers Anidela (16) and Angeles (17).

We are now ready to announce an action packed programme for their visit to Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. During their 17 day visit they will be telling their personal story behind their unique fair trade greeting cards to as many people as possible, plus investigating “their” greeting card market. And not to forget, making their trip of a lifetime as they have never been outside of Peru or in an airplane before!

FairMail Peru photographer Anidela

FairMail Peru photographer Anidela

Below you can find their scheduled photography exposition, school visits, photography workshops, meetings with their clients, festival attendances and trade fair presentations. Please feel free to join along and meet Anidela and Angeles in person. Also if you have any tips and suggestions on how to get their story across in local or national media, please contact us here.

Below you can watch the video we made for the 2013 promotional tour. The video for this year will come out soon!

Program FairMail Promotional tour 2015

Date Activity Comments
Tuesday 16th of June 20.15 Departure from Lima, Peru
Wednesday 17th of June 15.40 Arrival in Amsterdam
Thursday 18th of June 10.00 sightseeing Amsterdam and interviews

15.00: Visit customer www.Greetz.nl in Amsterdam

Opportunity for interviews with press
Friday 19th of June 17.00 – 19.30 Official kick-off event at Naarden photography festival Opportunity for interviews with press
Saturday 20th of June 7.00 Driving to Bad Hersfeld, Germany

14.00 Presentation at fair trade fair in Bad Hersfeld

Sunday 21st of June 10.00 Driving to Hamburg, Germany

15.00 meeting with FairMail Distrubution partner in Hamburg

Monday 22nd of June 10.00 Marketing workshop with FairMail distribution partner

Sightseeing Hamburg

Opportunity for interviews with press
Tuesday 23rd of June 10.00 Drive to Ludwigsburg

18.00 – 19.30 Opening FairMail photo exhibition Ludwigsburg

20.00 Photo excursion Ludwigsburg

Opportunity for interviews with press
Wednesday 24th of June 10.00 Visit Mörike-Gymnasium

13.30 Visit Weltladen

15.00 Driving to Rosmalen, the Netherlands

Opportunity for interviews with press
Thursday 25th of June 11.00 Presentation to buyers of fair trade shops in FairPlaza, Culemborg, The Netherlands

13.00 Visit Dutch logistic center and visit selling points with Dutch sales representative in Culemborg, The Netherlands

Opportunity for interviews with press
Friday 26th of June Free day Opportunity for interviews with press
Saturday 27th of June Festival photography and card sales at Festival Mundial in Breda the Netherlands Opportunity for interviews with press
Sunday 28th of June Festival photography and card sales at Festival Mundial in Breda the Netherlands Opportunity for interviews with press
Monday 29th of June Drive to Gent, Belgium

Photo exhibition Gent

Opportunity for interviews with press
Tuesday 30th of June Drive to Fair trade Municipality in Tervuren, Belguim

10.00 Visit Oxfam fair trade store in Tervuren, Belgium

12.00 Sightseeing in Tervuren and Brussels, Belgium

19.00 Opening of FairMail photo exhibition in Tervuren

Opportunity for interviews with press
Wednesday 1st of July 11.00 Presentation at FairCraftCentre in Bierbeek, Belgium and sightseeing in Leuven Opportunity for interviews with press
Thursday 2nd of July Write marketing report and make presentation
Friday 3rd of July 12.30 Departure from Amsterdam
Saturday 4th of July Arrival back in Lima

New FairMail Valentine card collections

Monday, February 3rd, 2014
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New FairMail Fair Trade Valentine Card

Even though 2014 is only 1 month old we can already announce the launch of 3 new FairMail card collections!

Especially for Valentine’s Day 11 new FairMail cards can be personalized and ordered to print online via the website of FairMail partner Greetz.

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New FairMail Fair Trade Valentine Card

In cooperation with our Belgian distributor “Fair Trade Original” 12 new FairMail cards are available for the Belgian Fair Trade shops.

Our German publisher “FairMail Distribution Partner GmbH” started the year well with 27 new card designs to offer to their clients.

Have a look at the new cards that are now available in FairMail’s webshop.

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New FairMail Fair Trade Valentine Card

Results of FairMail’s European promotion tour

Sunday, September 15th, 2013

Learning which cards sell well
On the 11th of September, after travelling through Europe with two of FairMail Peru’s teenage photographers for three weeks, FairMail’s fourth European promotion tour ended.

After flying to the Netherlands for the first time in their lives Yuli  and Yomira  drove more than 3.000 kilometers through Belgium, France and Germany.

Presenting at the FA!R in DortmundOn their way they:

>> Presented FairMail on the main stage of a B2B fair trade fair in Dortmund.

>> Met with 6 corporate customers who buy their pictures in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands

>> Gave 7 interviews to different newspapers and magazines (view here).

>> Saw their cards selling in 4 shops.

>> Learned what cards do and don’t sell well from 2 of their sales representatives.

>> Visited 1 music festival to sell their cards directly to the end consumer.

>> Took 2.400 pictures of Europe to show their family back home.

A dream come true: visiting the Eiffel tower>> Met up with nearly 40 ex-volunteers of photography trip travelers who visited Peru in the past.

>> Ended up with interesting 2 powerpoint presentation to present the results of their marketing studies to their colleagues in Peru and India.

Check out more pictures of the tour on FairMail’s Facebook page.

Program “Back to School” European tour with Peruvian teenagers announced

Tuesday, June 25th, 2013
FairMail Peru photographer Yomira

FairMail Peru photographer Yomira

After announcing the European visit of two Peruvian teenagers two months ago we are now happy to announce their travel schedule. During these programmed activities you can personally meet Yuli and Yomira between the 21st of August and the 10th of September 2013.

The two FairMail Peru photographers will visit The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany. We will start the tour and give a huge welcome to Yuli and Yomira during a special kick-off event in Utrecht, The Netherlands on Saturday the 24th of August 2013. Please click here if you would like to receive an invitation to come to this event with free FairMail/Ben & Jerry’s ice cream!

Dhiraj explaining German television the unique story behind his cards

Dhiraj explaining German television the unique story behind his cards

The goal of their visit is to investigate their greeting card market and promote the unique story behind the FairMail cards. We have set up the program to fulfill these goals. During the three weeks they will visit representatives of the fair trade community, product developers designing products with their pictures, publishers printing their cards and shops selling them. They have also been selected to present FairMail and their personal story at the central stage of the FAIR! B2B trade fair during two days in Dortmund, Germany. Also they will be meeting FairMail’s stock photography and “printing on demand” partners like Hollandse Hoogte and Greetz. On the 31st of august they will be meeting FairMail’s end customers while selling FairMail cards to the visitors of the free Westerpop music festival in Delft, The Netherlands. Click here to download the complete schedule.

FairMail stand at Mundial music festival in 2012

FairMail stand at Mundial music festival in 2012

This year the theme of the European promotional tour will be “Back to School”. In august most European children go back to school, with the media often reporting about school related novelties. This year we hope to interest them for the novelty that in Peru, India and Morocco teenagers are also going back to school. But not after a pleasant holiday like most kids in Europe, but in their case after a youth working as child laborers. Thanks to their hard work and the sale of their fair trade pictures they have been able to change their destiny. And now two of them are here in Europe, available for interviews. We are still looking for more media contacts willing to interview Yomira and Yuli. Please let us know if you have any contacts. You can download the press release here.

FairMail Peru photographer Yuli

FairMail Peru photographer Yuli

Click here to contact us if you would like to meet Yuli and Yomira or join us on the tour for a day or so.

Two Peruvian teenagers visit Europe for promotional tour

Monday, March 18th, 2013
FairMail India teenager Dhiraj during 2012 Promotional tour

FairMail India teenager Dhiraj during 2012 Promotional tour

For the fourth time FairMail is organizing a European promotional tour with the assistance of two of our teenage photographers. The goals are to spread the unique story behind FairMail’s greeting cards and to take valuable knowledge about the European card market back to the other photographers in Peru and India so they can adapt their product even better to the wishes of their customers. Who could do this better than the teenagers themselves?

That is why after a difficult selection procedure two Peruvian teenagers were selected to make the trip of their life to 5 European countries in August and September of 2013. Yuli and Yomira where selected on the basis of their English skills, their motivation and their ability to communicate the story behind their cards.

Yomira showing her FairMail Cards

Yomira showing her FairMail Cards

The tour will start on the 23rd of August in Amsterdam and end on the 12th of September in Amsterdam again. We are still working on the definitive program, but the idea is to promote their cards and visit their customers in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Germany. Stay tuned to our Facebook and this blog for the latest details about the program.

Yuli showing her FairMail Cards

Yuli showing her FairMail Cards

To make the trip a success we are still looking for people who can help us with:

PR and Marketing advise. We could use the help of a professional PR agency to help us make the tour more effective. We are investing a lot of money in getting the teenagers over here, but how do we make it a good investment?

– Television and media contacts. We are looking for journalists and other media contacts in Germany, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Switzerland to give them the opportunity to interview the teenagers.

Things to do for our teenagers during Promotion tour. We are looking for places to visit and people to guide us. Places that are interesting for the teenagers to see (schools, cities, landmarks), but also places where they can promote their cards (festivals, shops, fair trade towns). Do you live in Germany, France, The Netherlands, Belgium or Switzerland and would you like to help make this the teenager’s trip of a life time, then please get in contact with us!

If you have any suggestions, please get in contact with us by clicking here.

Indian photographers greet Europe

Wednesday, May 30th, 2012

Two Indian teenage photographers will travel to Europe to tell the unique story behind their fairtrade greetings cards: How by taking pictures for their own greeting cards they where able to improve their life and pay for their own education. During the last three years the teenagers sold more then 1 million cards in 14 countries. Now they have become inspiring examples for their surrounding showing that they have the will and creativity to break the chain of poverty themselves.

The teenage photographers from India will travel through the Netherlands, Germany, France, Belgium and Switzerland taking with them a photo exhibition, a documentary about their lives and participating in different public events. This will take place between the 11th of June and the 3rd of July. On the 12th of June there will be a kick-off event for the tour in Cafe Noorderlicht on the NDSM terrain in Amsterdam.

Download your invitation for this event here.

Both teenagers of 16 and 19 years old live in the Nagwa slum of the Indian city of Varanasi. It is in this part of the city that many inhabitants come from the lower castes in Indian society of which some earn an income collecting animal dung and leather tanners. Many of the youngsters are forced to work at a young age to supplement the family income. This means there is no time and no money to go to school. With FairMail they earn the money that is necessary to go to school by themselves.

FairMail is a company that produces fair trade greeting cards in Peru, India and soon in Morocco too! The pictures on the FairMail cards are taken by deprived teenagers from Peru, India and Morocco. On the back of each card you can see the name, age, email, age and picture of the teenager who took the picture. FairMail provides these teenagers with free photography training, part-time work, health insurance and guidance in making their future plans. The teenagers receive 50% of the profit made from the sale of their own cards to finance their housing and education. FairMail is a monitored member of the World Fair Trade Organization.

Schedule FairMail Promotion Tour June 2012

You are more then welcome to visit any of the activities below:

Date Activity
mon 11 June Leave Delhi, arrival in Amsterdam (05.45 am), Relax
Tue 12 June Amsterdam tour, visit World Press Photo 19.30 Kick-off event Café Noorderlicht, NDSM terrain, Amsterdam
Wed 13 June Waalwijk, Context Cards logistics & market research
Thurs 14 June The Hague: ASN Bank office Delft: Stanislas College, Delft worldshop & presentation
Fri 15 June Amstedam: Greetz headquarters & market research & interview
Sat 16 June Festival Mundial Tilburg – photo exhibition
Sun 17 June Festival Mundial Tilburg – photo exhibition
Mon 18 June Culemborg: Visit Cash & Carry Fair Trade Original. Travel to Hamburg, relax & welcome party
Tues 19 June Hamburg & Kiel: shop visit
Wed 20 June Munster & Halle: visit shop and distribution center
Thurs 21 June Wurzburg: shop visit and interview
Fri 22 June Geneve: Visit to Co-op supermarket in Zurich and interview
Sat 23 June Freiburg: Visit shop
Sun 24 June Freiburg: Visit Europapark
Mon 25 June Travel to Paris
Tues 26 June Free in Paris
Wed 27 June Paris: meet La Carterie marketing team, photographer and interview
Thurs 28 June Reims: meet sales team Reims & interview
Fri 29 June Rennes: meet sales team Rennes & interview
Sat 30 June Back to Amsterdam and free
Sun 1 July Amsterdam: Free
Mon 2 July Amsterdam: write marketing report and make presentation for FairMail India team
Tues 3 July Amsterdam: Departure to (11.30 am), arrival India (22.50 pm)

Two Indian FairMail teenagers visit Europe in June

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012

FairMail India photographer Dhiraj

FairMail India photographer Dhiraj

What’s happening?

In June two Indian FairMail teenagers are coming to Europe to promote their greeting cards and learn more about the European card market they sell their pictures to. If all goes according to plan Anil Rao (15 years old) and Dhiraj Kannaujiya (19 years old) will travel through Europe between the 11th of June and the 3rd of July 2012. During this period they will visit the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, France and Belgium.

FairMail India photographer Anil

FairMail India photographer Anil

Preparations being made:

We are currently busy preparing their travel schedule in which they will visit their most important clients, do press interviews, open picture exhibitions and sell their cards directly to consumers at different consumer festivals. If you have any suggestions or contacts to help get press coverage for the teenagers’s visit please contact us by clicking here!

Hope for the best & pray for the rest:

Now all we have to hope for is that also Anil gets his passport in time (he has already been waiting over 7 months!) and that the visa application on Monday the first of May goes well.

A big thank you for:

The Promotional tour would not have been possible without the kind financial and organizational support of: FairMail Distribution Partner in Germany, La Carterie in France, Fair Trade shop in Delft and the Fair Media Foundation in the Netherlands.

New FairMail collection hits Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Wednesday, April 25th, 2012
New German FairMail Card

New German FairMail Card

Sales of FairMail Cards in the German speaking countries have received a boost with a new tailor made German FairMail Card collection (click here for the new postcards, greeting cards and midi cards). To increase the quality of the designs and the service provided to the shops, the collection was developed in partnership with i) picture & concept provider “FairMail Cards”, ii) art house “FairMail Distribution Partner UG” and iii) card distributor “Cards & Arts”. By combining forces almost 150 new spinners have been placed in Germany, Switzerland and Austria in the first four months (click here to find a shop location near you).

New German FairMail Card

New German FairMail Card

FairMail’s German partners are very committed to making FairMail a success in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. That is why they will be attending many trade fairs with the new collection (click here to download the flyer), have developed German promotional materials, are working on a German FairMail site and will host one week of the European promotion tour with two teenage photographers from FairMail India (click here for more information).

New German FairMail Card

New German FairMail Card

We can still use your help though! Only with increased sales will it be possible for FairMail to train new teenagers in Morocco, South Africa and Indonesia. If you know of a shop near you that might be interested to sell German FairMail Cards, please send their details to us by clicking here. Then we will make sure the shop owner receives the necessary information about selling FairMail Cards. Or you can provide them with an information package which you can find by clicking here. Also if you have any useful media contacts that might want to report about the Indian teenagers’ visit to Germany, if you are interested in helping to volunteer during the preparation of the trip or during the trip itself please click here.