Interview with Lisa Meier, CEO of Artazza

Lisa Meier, Co-Founder and CEO of Artazza, identified an opportunity to bring overseas artisans of eco-friendly, handcrafted tableware to the US market to address a growing demand among US consumers for premium tableware that combines functional design with a certain “fun” factor, and is environmentally responsible and socially beneficial. In today's world of creating products with relatively short life cycles, mass-producing them in developing countries, sometimes with little regard for environmental and social impact, Lisa launched Artazza in 2006 to offer the customer an alternative choice. Artazza started with a single artisan of Swiss handcrafted, eco-friendly ceramic tableware and today has grown and expanded to become a successful online marketplace featuring artisans from Switzerland, Germany and Japan. It markets to retail and wholesale customers, features rich, interactive content to educate and entertain the customer, and is proud to offer many of its products as the exclusive North American distributor. Artazza's products have been featured in over 40 print magazines and dozens of blogs and online communities.