Geovana Pagel
São Paulo – Small company Bom Jardim Vasos, located in the city of Mairinque, interior of the state of São Paulo, started operating on the ornamental vase sector five years ago. In December, explains company owner Luis Cláudio Rodrigues, he and his wife had the idea of creating a product exclusively for export: glass vases of various sizes and shapes, decorated with Brazilian stones.
The project has been working out so well that in under three months work, they have already shipped to Spain and France. Now he wants to start contact with other potential markets, such as the Arab countries. "Our main objective is to introduce a product on the foreign market that shows the beauty of Brazilian stones. We also want to grow and generate jobs for people in the region," he stated.
To guarantee success "out there", Mr. Rodrigues has been counting on precious Internet help. "I did an online Sebrae/SP (São Paulo state Support Service to the Small Business) course in entrepreneurialism, entered shop and magazine web pages and got in contact with possible buyers via e-mail," he explains.
Negotiating by e-mail, in January, the entrepreneur made his first sale to Spain. He then closed a deal with a Brazilian who owns a store in France. "I sent a case containing 12 units to each importer. I used the Brazilian mail "Exporta Fácil" (Easy Export) system, currently one of the cheapest systems to send small orders," he stated.
Mr. Rodrigues only complained about the delivery time, on average 15 days, for the order to reach its destination. "We want buyers to receive their products sooner," he explained. "The French client has already sent an e-mail saying that the product is much more beautiful than the picture in the catalogue. This makes us very optimistic with regard to new orders," he proclaimed.
Stone by stone
According to Mr. Rodrigues, the work is completely artistic, and uses the most varied of Brazilian stones, like quartz, crystals, amethysts, and tourmalines, and each item takes four days to be completed.
"We put stone by stone on. We work in phases. In the last phase we apply a special resin for making stones, floors, and tiles impermeable," explains Mr. Rodrigues. According to him, the resin guarantees a glossy appearance and makes it possible to wash the vase without harming the stones.
The stone decorated vases are also very much used in the oriental art of Feng Shui, turned to harmonization of places, and also by mystics.
Contact
Bom Jardim Vasos
Telephone: (+5511) 4718.6076
E-mail: bomjardimvasos@srnet.com.br
