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Percy Attafuah Appau

Percy Attafuah Appau

Position: West African Product Development, Sales
 
 
I was born in Ghana, West Africa. My mother always encouraged me to pursue my interests, so in the early 1990s, I obtained a degree in Industrial Arts and Industry.
 
My love for arts and crafts afforded me an opportunity to take up a National Service position with Aid to Artisans-Ghana. I was later hired as a field coordinator to do product design and development and to identify new products that could be marketable in Western countries. I was charged to source out artisans with the potential to produce for these markets. In order to meet the organization's target, I had to organize design workshops and business seminars to prepare artisans to interact with a savvy Western market.
 
Through Aid to Artisans America, I had the opportunity to further my study in product design through a project in Honduras. Central to the program was the development of appropriate technology, tools and equipment to streamline production processes.
 
In the year 2000, I gained admission to the University of Oregon, in my current hometown of Eugene, Oregon. I studied design and multi-media applications, and graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts.
 
I have now been working as a product designer for Swahili Imports since 2005. My cross-cultural experience from Africa to the Americas has helped me appreciate and understand people from the world's varied regions.
 
I am a team player and am always ready to learn more with every opportunity I get. My gratitude goes to all who help me in one way or another to arrive at where I am today. To mention a few, Holland Millis, Leslie Mittelberg, Ed Johnetta Miller and Papa Awori: thank you for your guidance and encouragement.
 
But most of all--thank you Mom, for everything.