Gift Focus inc Attire Accessories - September/October 2020

83 COMPANY PROFILE TILNAR ART +44 (0)1277 297 259 www.tilnarart.co.uk gift box. Hand finished & fair trade – Our re- usable Copper Water Bottles are hand finished by our Fair Trade Artisans in India in beautiful patterns that are designed in Great Britain. Health benefits – Copper drinking vessels are believed to have a number of health benefits including helping to remove bacteria from drinking water, helping arthritis and many more. Copper drinking vessels have been used for centuries and their health benefits are only now starting to be appreciated by health care professionals. Recent studies have shown how the natural anti-bacterial properties of copper may help reduce the spread of viruses, with COVID-19 only lasting around 4 hours on copper surfaces whereas it can last up to three days on plastic and two days on stainless steel. The copper bottoms of the bottles alone will help reduce the spread of viruses from surface to surface making our H2O Collection of Copper Water Bottles not only the environmental choice but the healthy one too. Have any styles taken you by surprise with their popularity? Even after 10 years our Soapstone ranges are as popular as ever, this may be because Tilnar Art has been ahead of the curve in relation to eco-friendly, recyclable products. Handmade Soapstone Carvings have less than 1% environmental impact from production and disposal compared to non-recyclable plastic or resin products. How do you keep your designs fresh and current? Do you follow trends? We don’t tend to follow trends so to speak but we do keep an eye on which images and animals are current. We listen to our customers and are always moving our ranges forward. We would like to think we are one of the market leaders in the fairtrade gifts sector. What sets you apart from your competitors? This is a tough one as we would like to encourage everyone who supports fairtrade. We try hard to design products that are handmade, unique and profoundly different to others in the marketplace. How are you finding the current coronavirus climate? What are your thoughts on the future? The current climate has been tough, but we can now hopefully see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have just taken delivery of our brand new H20 Collection of Re-Usable Copper Water Bottles, which was originally due in April, and customers are keen to receive orders they have placed at the shows for these, so this fills us with hope. Any orders placed helps us to continue to support our artisans. Are you active on social media? How is this important for the business? Yes, we are but could probably do better! It is really important as social media is a great way of introducing our products to new customers. Do you have any advice for new businesses starting out in the world of greetings and gift? Keep focused and believe in what you do, Without belief in yourself and your products why would anyone else? What can we expect from the company in the future? To continue to spread the word about Fairtrade and eco-friendly gifts and products and to strive to get them out into the mainstream gift sector.