YOUR OLD TREASURE BRINGS ME PLEASURE

Executive summary

According to the research conducted, 86% of women clean their houses every spring, throwing away unnecessary objects. While throwing away old things, people keep buying new items, and a problem of excessive consumerismsurprisingly exists along with the financial crisis. Economic depression has led to a large amount of stores closing. But in 2012 more than ever we are consuming products faster than we can make them. A large portion of people think that used items are unwanted junk that no one would want, but as the saying goes “one man’s rubbish, is another man’s treasure” and this is more than true in the used goods markets.This problem is also acute in Poland, Belarus and Ukraine, where often people don’t have an opportunity to buy more things. At the same time we don’t know our neighbors, neither the ones close to us nor the ones further. We will help you find necessary objects with the minimum financial input, while providing you with an opportunity to acquire not just an object, but an on-going history, an opportunity to connect with your neighbors and leave your trace in history. We propose to connect people within the country, build the links locally but also internationally. We want a more sustainable world, consuming less, but provided with more financial opportunities, more knowledge about the region, stronger local and international connections and higher appreciation for singular, rather than mass-produced objects.

We propose a solution – pass on your object and write or tell us a story about it, a story that can be continued. We are going to collect objects that are no longer needed in one’s household. These objects will be organized and catalogued in a web-site that willbedeveloped into an internet-shop. Recycling these objects with stories, we are going to create connections between and within Belarus, Poland and Ukraine. These three countries are very strongly historically interconnected, and through an object exchange, we will revive historical and intercultural connections of people across the borders. Besides just reselling unwanted objects, we aim to develop an ethnographic collection of stories. Our customers will be people acquiring not just objects, but singular items with the story behind and a possibility to continue writing the story of an object. Customers will have to contribute to the collection first, later participating in a reward system receiving a possibility for an exchange of objects. Our beneficiaries will be people donating or exchanging their old objects, contributing to a good case and getting rid of unnecessary items, making this world more sustainable and less consumerist.

We will start off with three big launching events in big cities in each of the countries. These will be fundraising events with some food, music and entertainment where in order to enter one has to contribute with an unnecessary object.  From these collected items we will start working on the catalogued collection of items, launching it into a website. Our strategy will be advertise, invite, collect, refresh, photograph, organize, catalogue, write, resell, deliver and exchange.Besides, we also want to focus on books, as sharing of literature also connects people. We also aim to involve local non-governmental organizations, schools, students and children to collect objects and ethnographic stories. We want to promote local journalism and ethnographic craft, involving people into active learning processes. This project will also help people learn more about their local communities and the region at large. Later on we are planning to cooperate with cafes’ and restaurants, where the objects can be put on display.

We can’t keep buying new unnecessary things! But you can acquire a very special object with its own history. You can not only use it, but also learn from it and even leave your trace, continuing its story. Share, exchange and contribute to the sharing of culture. With our project you can be actively engaged into the world history writing and documenting processes!

 

Vision

We believe in a world of sustainable development with no excessive consumerism and more financial opportunities for smarter investments. We also believe in intercultural connections with your neighbors and learning messages that can be sent together with an object.

Mission

Promote the reuse of old objects that become socio-cultural artifacts, while fostering active learning processes for all on the local and global levels.

Values

• Sustainability and re-use, cultural connections and active learning on local and global levels;
• We want to prevent excessive consumerism and make our environment more sustainable, simultaneously promoting local journalism and socio-cultural connections within and across the borders;
• We want to exchange not only objects, but also life stories and messages;
• Your old treasure brings me pleasure – leave your trace in history!

The main product/service

• Old objects from households – furniture, books, dishes, clothes, any physical artifacts;
• Production of a collection of ethnographic stories – service of catalyzing active socio-cultural learning processes.

The general strategy

Promote and advertise, invite, collect, refresh, photograph, organize, catalogue, write, resell, deliver and exchange. We will start with three big launching events in every country that would also function as fundraisers. We will use the start-up money for registration processes and for the launch of events, creation of the web-site, cataloguing and arranging the storage spaces. We will collect items with stories, involving journalists, young artists, ethnographers and historians. From the web-site we will re-sell items with the costs covering the transportation and making little profit for further investment. We will cooperate with local NGOs, non-formal organizations and educational institutions. We want to involve students and children, introducing the active learning on local and global level. Through an exchange within the countries promote intercultural understanding and renew the socio-cultural connections within Poland, Belarus and Ukraine.

SWOT analysis

Strengths

• Strong positive message of recycle, re-use, save the environment, stop consumerism;
• Connect with local and global environments through writing stories, collecting memories and passing them on to another country;
• New place on the market, no competition especially in Eastern Europe;
• Uniqueness of not just acquiring an old object, but acquiring an ability to contribute to the positive message and a possibility of leaving your trace in history;
• Much more interesting to buy an object with a story behind it rather than just an ordinary mass-produced object.

Weaknesses

• People not wanting to buy;
• People not willing to bring things;
• People understanding that we are making profit on re-selling stuff that people bring to us for free;
• Attitude of “I won’t use it but I also won’t let anyone else use it – if not me, then no one”
• Receiving trash instead of actual interesting objects and artifacts;
• Contradictory message – still encouraging people to acquire objects, therefore still consuming;
• Money don’t go to charity/project work – they are profit.

Opportunities

• New place on the market and with strong marketing it is possible to sell well and make people interested;
• Connections with cafes, shops, collectors to exhibit the items and promote the project,
• Strong marketing through image-oriented social networks and portals, such as  Pinterest, Tumbler, Facebook, Google plus;
• Possibility of developing “bonus system” of exchange of objects online;
• Involving volunteers and ethnographic collectors;
• Writing local stories, journalism, besides just acquiring objects you acquire a story that you can pass on;
• Objects that become artifacts – bringing and selling not just an object, but a message behind it;
• Passing books – connecting people through literature that is not usually exported in three historically related regions with similar language/culture;
• Communication through writes, journalists, ethnographers, artists, restaurateurs, antique-shops, cafes, collectors, local NGOs, musicians, schools;
• Promotion through events in big cities, fares, markets;
• Positive campaigns –help homeless people, people in need, etc;
• Possibility of creative events and other types of reuse and recycling of objects with participation of creative artists and architects, also cooperating with educational institutions and projects working in similar direction and producing intellectual analysis of such processes, for instance Cultural Artifacts program in European Humanitarian Universtiy (EHU in Vilnius, Lithuania);
• Many possibilities for marketing – involving famous people donating objects that can be later re-sold.

Potential dangers

• Logistic complications with storage;
• Transportation costs for large objects;
• Complications while transporting through customs;
• Complications in connections within three countries;
• Competition from real antique shops;
• Financial transfer within three different countries.

Beneficiaries and the customers

Our customers will be people acquiring not just objects, but singular items with stories behind and a possibility to continue writing the story of an object. Customers will have to contribute to the collectionfirstduring our events, and then they can access the database of objects. Our beneficiaries will be people donating or exchanging their old objects, contributing to a good case and getting rid of unnecessary items, making this world more sustainable and less consumerist.  The beneficiaries can also be a society at large, as we promote sustainable development and sharing instead of consumerism.

 

The social impact

We promote re-cycling and re-use of old objects instead of buying new ones and favoring unnecessary production.We want to introduce more sustainable attitude towards the environment, saving people’s money, while creating connections with local and environments, sharing cultural capital and developing understanding within countries. Write a story, collect memories and pass them on.

Overview of marketing

• We will start with three big events and focus on fundraising, and publicity. Throughout the project we will work on strong marketing and promotion of our mission and vision. We will publish a web-site, which will be promoted in social networks.
• We will also use social media resources that are image oriented, such as Tumbler
• Stumble Upon
• Pinterest
• LinkedIn
• Facebook – page/group
• Develop cooperation and find sponsors through information agencies, newspapers and magazines in local communities;
• Cooperation with local NGOs, and informal organizations;
• Cooperation with schools and universities;
• Marketing through public events that can function as fundraiser and markets;
• Cooperation with young professionals – artists, restaurateurs, journalists, ethnographers;
• Cooperation with cafes, shops, restaurants, art-galleries, collectors to exhibit the items and promote the project;
• Finding partners – similar projects abroad;
• Different level prices