From Springfield to Africa to Webree!

The Simpsons movie has hit cinemas in a wave of publicity with merchandise assaulting the public from every angle. Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie have become one of the most famous American families. For the last 20 years they have both enthralled and shocked viewers with their takes on politics, family life, religion, and the American dream. The writing team behind this cartoon creation are easily the most influential satirists of our time, even impacting on the White House. During his presidency, George Bush Senior stated that American families should be “More like the Waltons, and less like the Simpsons”.

A village in Kenya has especially felt the force of the Simpsons, but in an entirely positive way. Since 2004, Craft Village UK has employed carvers from Kisii Tabaka in Western Kenya to craft sculptures modelled upon the characters from the hit show. Not only does this give fans a unique piece of art work to add to a collection, the carvers who work on the sculptures are able to earn a living which has had highly positive impact on this rural community.

Webree.com were asked to deliver an ecommerce website that not only enables these unique products to be sold to fans around the world, but enables the team at Craft Village UK to fully manage the maintenance of the site themselves. Staff in Kenya, the US and UK can edit the content of the site, add and revise products and update stock levels.

Using a design from Fox Media, Webree.com Ltd worked with Craft Village UK to shape a site that displays the portfolio of sculptures and their carvers and enables purchasing in multiple currencies.

As a new start-up business sandwiched between 20th Century Fox and a rural African village workforce, Craft Village faced an unusual situation requiring a website that is authentic to the Carver village, whilst meeting the strict branding requirements of The Simpsons/20th Century Fox. Webree have been very supportive and patient. They're proactive in terms of idea sharing and trouble shooting and have created a site we are extremely proud of, that has been well received in the UK, US, Kenya and beyond. We are confident it will help our business to grow and we look forward to working with Webree as our project develops
Paul Young from Craft Village

Webree were lucky enough to receive a gift of three sculptures, our favourites, Maggie and Lisa Simpson. These have taken pride place on the office coffee table, and all Webree visitors are highly impressed with the quality of the sculptures.

Webree are proud to have been given the opportunity to be involved with such a worthwhile project.