When I first moved to Bangkok from Switzerland in 1991, I was amazed at the range of handmade craft supplies available around the country, at the Chatujack weekend market, and in Sampeng (chinatown). Somehow, even then, I had a feeling that someday, I was going to have to get involved with this as a business. At the time, I was working for a swiss company, Siber Hegner (Thailand), importing watches, so it was not exactly the line of business they were looking for, though we did export a few baskets for one of their other businesses, chocolate making in Singapore.

I climbed up the corporate ladder, ending up as  managing director of the local company, watching the Thai economy boom … and bust in 1997, then the  internet boom…. and bust in 2000, but all the time thinking that handmade craft supplies from Thailand would be a great online business. The opportunity came when I got a new boss, someone I had known for a long time, but never really liked. One day we had a very direct conversation on the ‘phone, which may have included words beginning with f and ending in k, appended by “off”: it became clear that my future with this guy as my boss was limited. We  had at the time taken on the distribution agency for DMC cross stitch yarn, and I offered to take over that business along with stock and staff, which was accepted.

That was the beginning of Bernico in 2001. The DMC floss business was a nightmare, being sold in 400 outlets dotted around Thailand: we were constantly running after unpaid bills and printing reams of invoices, but never made any money. In hindsight, I suppose my nasty boss was right!

Work on Unicraft.cc started almost immediately after Bernico opened, and the website went live in September 2001. We got our first order for around 30 USD a week later.  Unicraft continued to grow, slowly at first, but then took off, as we gained customers’ confidence, and the word got around that we were for real. We tried lots and lots of different craft items, and in general we always came back to the idea that craft supplies for cardmaking and scrapbooks work best for us. Perhaps it is because they by definition are flat and light, so they are easy to ship.

At first we started by buying from the weekend market as soon as we got an order: as orders grew, we started stocking the most popular items. Soon the stock filled up a spare bedroom of our flat in Bangkok, and my wife was packing and sending the orders from home. As the business developed, soon the bedroom was full, so the sitting room also filled up with craft supplies, and it was clear that someone or something had to go. Once again, luck played its part, as someone else offered to take over the DMC floss business in Thailand, and we were happy to move on.

So Unicraft moved into our 5 floor shophouse in central Bangkok, and we concentrated only on Unicraft.cc, which fortunately grew rapidly at the time. So fast in fact, that we soon ran out of space there too, though we were all really fit from running up and down 5 flights of stairs all day long!

We moved into our present premises in 2006, still on 5 floors, but more space on each floor, so a bit less excercise for everyone. At this time we started manufacturing our own range of craft supplies, particularly diecuts and card toppers, which required more space, which we found on the outskirts of Bangkok. There we have a team of skilled ladies making diecuts, card toppers, and other craft supplies: they are a really dedicated bunch, and in a way are the heart of our company.

We still buy mulberry paper flowers, wire charms and craft embellishments from a number of suppliers around Thailand, usually individuals and cooperatives who are happy to make small quantities of unique craft supply items in relatively small quantities. We do also source craft supplies in bulk from China, but this can be difficult at times, so occasionally even popular items have to be discontinued, which is heartbreaking!

Unicraft.cc changed into easycraft.com in 2008, driven by a need for multiple currencies, multiple languages, a strong database and a swanky .com address! Apart from that, we are still the same team as unicraft.cc.

The pace of growth slowed quite considerably last year, and this year we have had to shrink a bit, especially in the range of craft supplies we offer, but now we are more in growth mode again. We are always looking for new craft supplies, and are always happy to hear from our customers. In fact, input from customers is by far the most important source of ideas, as we sometimes feel a bit cut of from happening craft trends in europe and the US, since we are based in Bangkok, Thailand.

Recently, we have had some bad experiences with my brother in law  ripping off our products, after stealing anything not nailed down, but have been hugely encouraged by the loyalty of our customers. What seemed to be a major problem turned out to be a minor hiccup! I suppose there is a moral in that….DON’T PANIC!!

In the end, we feel that what really counts is Easycraft’s customer service, value for money and integrity when it comes to the sort of  little problems/mistakes that inevitably crop up. We hope we keep delivering … up to you to judge!