The Linline Ukraine Company has started to sell its matted wool souvenirs on the Lithuanian market. The Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ULIE), which has stable contacts with the Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists, helped the company enter the market of the friendly country.
“Thanks to the cooperation with the ULIE and its partners, we made friends with Lithuanian craftsmen and found partners in Europe. Some of our matted wool souvenirs – cell phone cases, brooches, pins – generated great interest there. We came to Vilnius just to show samples, but it happened so that specialized craft galleries took them for sale at once,” Linline Ukraine Director Kateryna Yaroshenko said.
Lithuania actively supports the development of ethnic-oriented productions. The government and the European Union (EU) subsidize such programs, for instance, they cover rents for workshops, galleries and museums. There is no such diligent and careful attitude to handicraft trade in Ukraine yet. However, similar programs could be implemented as part of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. They could significantly increase tourist attractiveness, contribute to the revival of cultural heritage, and provide thousands of Ukrainians with jobs.
The company currently has forward-looking plans. It is gathering Ukrainian craftsmen for collective participation in Lithuanian fairs and trade shows. One such event – the Klaipeda Sea Festival – is to be held in the middle of July 2015. In addition, the craftsmen are ready to make new products – educational toys made of Ukrainian eco-friendly wood.
“Cooperation between Ukraine and the EU does not always mean large-scale projects implemented by large factories. Ukrainian small- and medium-sized businesses are ready to have their say on the European markets,” ULIE First Vice-President Serhiy Prokhorov said.
