That’s the one thing craft entrepreneur Nona Khan, an Picker’s Gill, Pomeroon native now resident in Georgetown, wants the world to know about her.
The self-described housewife says her craft-making is a hobby because she is very passionate about it.
But that ‘hobby’ has seen her supplying Guyana Stores and other craft retailers 
over the years. “I went to Guyana Stores and showed them my product…and they were like wow and took it on the spot…,” she recounted before noting that she no longer had that market, as the purchasing agent had changed. That lack of stable markets is one of the hazards of the crafts business.
Khan, who grew up in a single-mother household and had to paddle three miles just to get to school every morning, explained that her journey into the world of crafts started one day when she took the $1000 her husband had given her to buy groceries (“I had things to cook in the house,” she quickly reassured) and bought a hand towel and a crotchet hook, which she promptly put to use. Several years would pass before she took up crafts again as a business, but that first piece was prominently displayed at her booth at the Sophia Exhibition Centre during the Heritage Month craft exhibition as it is at every booth she sets up.
“I started because of love for it,” she declared. “You want to do things with your hands – being creative, being unique; when people see it, they must know it’s my product.”
Nice and unique would be two words uttered over and over again as the outgoing entrepreneur of Indigenous origin described what she strives to achieve in her hand-painted t-shirts, crocheted pieces and other handicrafts. She explained that her guiding philosophy was to make “something from something”. Khan, who has taken her crafts to Carifesta and other exhibitions over the past four years, noted that her work usually incorporated some aspect of Guyana.
“My daughter (Ubrina) said to me ‘Mommy, you’re so patriotic’,” she recalled, chuckling. “‘Is everything got to be about Guyana?’” For Khan, the answer is definitely yes. But she is always careful to ensure that her crafts match the season: they carry Independence themes during the month of May and Christmas themes during the festive season, etc.
She is inspired by love for her work and the feedback of customers, her daughter and her son, Randy.
“She tells me ‘Mommy, that’s nice’ or ‘Mommy, you have got to put a little more’,” she said fondly as she directed a proud glance at the elder of her two children whose head was buried in her phone. “People would ask me where I got the ideas. I just wake up with the vision.…As soon as you get the idea, just work on it so you don’t forget…”
Khan usually paints during the wee hours of the morning as the ideas come, and her family often awakes to completed pieces. She believes the most important thing for business owners to keep in mind is “it’s not about you, it’s about the customer” and to act according by relating properly to “customers”. The number one lesson she has learnt is when pricing items, ensure you account for all costs – labour, materials, transportation, etc, before you put on a mark-up.
The entrepreneur urged that systems be put in place to enable older Amerindians to pass their knowledge on to the young people “so that they can take it and start businesses”. She noted that in her own life, she has put that into practice by travelling back to her primary school in Abrams Creek to teach the students painting, and the school administration and pupils were so appreciative. “This is a dream. I have always wanted to give back to my school, because they are the ones who taught me…It was so emotional,” Khan related as she confided that she wanted to return and even expand to other schools.
The craftswoman also called for more emphasis to be placed on promoting the work of Amerindians, especially in creating markets for their work, both in Guyana and abroad. She added that low-interest loans should be provided with ease, once proper business plans are submitted, particularly to youths to enable them to start up businesses.
Contact: 270-6321, 684-2978; [email protected]
