• Company: Handmade Expressions
• Job Title: Intern for marketing, operations, design or sales
• Job Location: Austin, Texas, United States
• Salary: Unpaid (stipend nego

Job Description:

ABOUT THE JOB

Do you care about the planet and its people? Want to get hands on experience in an alternative business model that can solve environmental and social problems? Then we have the internship for you!

We are Handmade Expressions, a Fair Trade and Eco Friendly company that wholesales handmade products made in India by artisan cooperatives (comprised mostly of women). We are looking for interns for the following areas: marketing, operations/customer support, sales and fashion/product design.

VISUAL DESIGN AND MERCHANDISE ASSISTANT / FASHION DESIGNER: Our product designer is looking for a creative and energetic fashion designer to help her with our line of bags and accessories. He or she will also be asked to design store and booth displays. Design / Fashion / architect background preferred.

MARKETING: We need help with our social media marketing and communications strategies. Responsibilities include complete maintenance of our Twitter account and Facebook page, designing and writing monthly e-newsletters, maintaining our blog, web content writing, and more. Some knowledge of Photoshop and InDesign are a big plus.

OPERATIONS: Under our Operations Manager you will have projects on customer support, back-order coordination, inventory management and misc. daily tasks that keep the business running. Strong knowledge of Excel and ability to follow instructions are necessary.

SALES: Assist sales manager in the day to day operations of growing fair trade wholesale business. Contact and partner with new and existing customers. Work with sales manager on achieving sales strategy for the year. A quick learner who is organized, great communicator, and someone who has a passion for Fair Trade marketing/sales will be accepted.

This is a part-time position and is generally unpaid. A monthly stipend can be negotiated during the interview. To apply, please email your resume and a cover letter to marketing@handmadeexpressions.net. In the cover letter, please list 3 reason why you think you’d be the best candidate for the job.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Handmade Expressions is a wholesaler/importer of FAIR TRADE products from India. We work directly with artisan cooperatives and market their products around the US and Canada. The company has more than doubled in size every year since its inception 3 and a half years ago. We are a small but diverse team of professionals from different backgrounds trying to make a difference and following sustainable business practices.

The culture of the company is typical of an Austin company. The environment is relaxed and friendly, the schedule is flexible, but we expect everyone to be responsible and do their job. It is also a pet-friendly environment.

WHY YOU SHOULD APPLY

This will be a hands-on experience on how to carry out different projects to reach the goals of the entire company. You will not be doing the same thing over and over, and your ideas will be taken into account and have great impact on the whole business.

We will help you get college credit if necessary. We are also willing to take international students.

Finally, we are a sustainable business. Fair Trade is a growing industry, and many companies (huge and small) are adopting it as part of their sustainability goals and to improve their image. If you learn about this through us, you will have a huge advantage to show off in the future.

These qualities make up the ideal intern candidate: passionate, responsible, organized, thinks outside the box, creative, great communications skills, honest, hard working.

This is also an ideal job for anyone who is studying or is interested in sustainability for the people, the planet, and businesses. You don’t have to be a communications or business student to apply. We are more interested in your work ethic and other skills you have picked up during your experiences.

Application Instructions

Please e-mail your resume and a cover letter to marketing@handmadeexpressions.net.

In the cover letter, please list 3 reason why you think you’d be the best candidate for the job.

I will call you or e-mail you for an interview.

Extra information for marketing interns:

Your responsibilities would include (but are not limited to):

• Complete maintenance of our Twitter account and Facebook pages
• Programming and writing our monthly e-newsletter campaigns
• Maintaining our Fair Trade blog
• Market research to help improve our marketing
• Web design and web content writing
• Developing PR strategies and write press releases

Moreover, you will need to help me figure out marketing strategies to help our retail partners sell our products, and ways to encourage them to re-order our products.

If you can use Photoshop and InDesign, I can give you some important design projects as well.