EXPO-2017 guests prefer Made in Kazakhstan souvenirs
Yernar told Kazinform correspondent that when he was a child he was collecting figures of warriors. He noticed that there were no miniatures of Kazakh batyrs (warriors). He browsed through Internet in an attempt to find information how to make and paint the figures. This is how his small business started.
Presently, there are 6 craftsmen on Yernar's team. He admits: "Our market is booming. For instance, the miniature of a girl in a national costume is very popular among tourists. It sells out immediately."
"Most of the time we develop each figure from scratch. We order some of the forms used to make figures in Russia. It is a time-consuming process. We do everything by ourselves: make sketches, cast figures, paint them and so on," he points out.
The Arbat, the street of artisans, that has recently been unveiled in Astana offers free master classes. According to Yernar, at the master classes people can relax and learn more about history and traditions.
"You can' just paint the figure. You must know the color of uniform of warriors and other details. And that is how you get that urge to learn more about history, details of the costumes and uniforms," he says.
In his words, guests of Astana EXPO-2017 really like souvenirs Made in Kazakhstan.
"A client bought a souvenir for his friend from Germany. After he saw the excitement in his friend's eyes, he decided to buy souvenirs for other friends from abroad. A guest from Turkey bragged about the figure he bought at our stand. Later his friends showed up at our stand and bought an entire collection of figures," Yernar says proudly.