On 2 December, the second day of the project’s on-site training took place, dedicated to experience exchange among artisans, as well as inspirational stories and practical advice on sales, brand building, and visibility in the digital environment.

Oskars Maculevičs, owner of the coffee roastery “KUUP”, shared his experience, emphasizing that producing a product is only half of the task: “Producing is not the problem — selling is harder. You need to understand who truly needs your product.” He spoke about choosing to focus on the local market and maintaining high product quality. As an important factor, Oskars also highlighted the “human face” of a company — the smaller the business, the more visible its owners should be.

Liāna Merņaka also shared her experience, speaking about selling on the Etsy platform and modern digital trends. She noted: “If craftsmanship is developed as a business, it must be approached analytically — trends and market demand must be monitored.” Liāna emphasized the importance of deliberately choosing a target market, creating product value, ensuring high visual quality, and regularly reminding customers about oneself. As a new trend, she mentioned that it is increasingly important for companies or products to be discoverable not only through Google, but also via artificial intelligence tools.

Ceramic artist Viola Anna Bīriņa shared her experience of working in a small family business, where all responsibility lies in their own hands: “This allows quick adaptation and changing direction according to demand.” She emphasized that “Cukrasāta” tableware “speaks for itself,” which is why advertising often spreads through word of mouth. Currently, the order calendar is filled until March, and the products are sold on-site at “Cukrasāta,” at fairs, in Latvian artisan shops, and also abroad.

Training participants acknowledged that the day provided practical knowledge, inspiration, and confidence to work more actively with their brand and sales in the digital environment.

The training was held within the ERASMUS+ project “CrafDi – Digital Skills and Craftsmanship.”
The project is implemented by Lūznava Manor in cooperation with partners from Greece and Turkey.

Photos: Daiga Laizāne, Madara Bērtiņa

On November 26, crafstmen from all over Latgale gathered at Lūznava Manor for ERASMUS+ project “CrafDi” training on digital marketing and entering global markets.

The day flew by Lecturers Katrīna Bartkeviča and Marta Vorkale from Sistering, together with Daiga Laizāne, shared insights useful both for beginners in social media and for those who create and publish content on a daily basis. In the afternoon, participants rolled up their sleeves and got to work themselves - taking photos, filming, searching for shots and angles, testing out their newly gained knowledge, and creating dynamic content that will help artisans become more visible. In the training evaluation forms, all participants gave the lecturers 5 out of 5 stars. We’re delighted you enjoyed it, and we hope the knowledge you gained brings great results.

Photos from project archive

Lūznava, The third meeting with project partners in person

16.10.-19.10.2025.

From October 16–19, an Erasmus+ project CrafDi “Digital Skills and Crafts: Bringing Artisans Closer to the Global Market” Learning, Teaching and Training (LTT) event took place at Lūznava Manor, gathering participants from Latvia, Greece, and Turkey.

Video materials, a website, and step-by-step guides were developed within the project and were tested and refined during the meeting to ensure maximum usefulness for artisans aiming to enter international markets.

Training sessions were led by partners from Helix – Social Innovation Hub (Greece), Hayat Boyu Eğitim Bilim Sanat Kültür Derneği (Turkey), and Lūznava Manor (Latvia), under project leader Iveta Balčūne. Marketing and communication studio Sistering and digital content specialist Daiga Laizāne also participated and will conduct practical training for local artisans in December.

Funded by the European Union. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the State Education Development Agency.

Erasmus+ Project for Strengthening Artisans’ Digital Skills Continues

Photos from project archive

Athens, The second meeting with project partners in person

19.06.-20.06.2025.

Partners from Greece, Turkey, and Latvia evaluated progress and agreed on the next implementation steps. Iveta Balčūne, manager of Lūznava Manor and project leader of CrafDi, represented Latvia in Athens.

On the first day, partners presented developed materials, including a handbook and video tutorials designed to help artisans and artists improve sales of their creative work in digital environments.

Project representatives also met with Professor Panagiaris Giorgos from the joint postgraduate programme “Museum Studies” of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the University of West Attica. He is an internationally recognized expert in cultural heritage preservation, with over 80 publications and extensive international project experience. Cooperation was agreed upon to integrate project results into university educational initiatives.

On June 20, the meeting continued at the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Greece, focusing on webinars, training activities, and upcoming implementation phases in Latvia, Greece, and Turkey.

Funded by the European Union. However, the views expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the State Education Development Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Photos from project archive