Clocks…lots and lots of clocks – in different sizes, shapes and colors.

And they’re all designed by two enterprising young women from Yerevan – Anoush and Mariam.

When you enter their little production facility in Yerevan, the walls are adorned with their handmade wall clocks.

The operation was launched one year ago when Anoush and Mariam decided to start a business on their own.

They tell me that they weren’t interested in making ‘girly’ ornaments but something ‘serious’. And thus was born Nuri Design.

The women have now branched out into fabricating decorative boxes and lampshades, along with the clocks and candle holders. And they’re setting their sights on becoming a veritable source for all types of home décor items.

Anoush and Mariam started fashioning the wall clocks as a hobby, working out of the house. A friend then suggested that they rent a space and devote full time to the business.

The two would come up with the designs and make the items themselves. Khachik, a mutual friend later joined them in the business and now he’s teaching Armen, a helper, his skills.

“Everyone can make these clocks. There are many in the Vernisage Market making them. Our advantage stems from the fact that we come up with the designs too,” says Varouzhan, another friend who urged the young women to rent a space of their own.

At first, the clocks were marketed via their Facebook page. Later, they left their wares in a few stores on consignment. But the women confess that many weren’t sold in the stores since, as they explained, there was a marked difference in the quality. They also peddled the clocks at the Vernisage Market, but pulled out because their designs were being copied by other sellers.

That’s when they came up with the idea of exporting the clocks. A customer had placed an order for a clock for a business colleague in Belgium. The man was so pleased with the product that he offered to sell them in Belgium. Today, Nuri Design wall clocks are sold in Belgium and Luxembourg.

The clocks range in price from 4,000 to 30,000 AMD, and the candle holders from 3,000 to 8,000. Varuzhan says he wants to target the middle class customer.

“If we produce for the middle-class, a middle-class will take shape her in Armenia,” he argues.

When I asked the women if they had competitors, they answered that most likely they did but their business doesn’t feel the impact. Varuzhan then chuckled and said they didn’t have any real competition.

The young entrepreneurs had set their sights even higher, and plan to produce furniture sometime down the road.

Photo: Narek Aleksanyan