All of the artisans that we collaborate with touch a spot in our heart.  It’s a collaboration, that’s why we do it.  

I met Senor Enriquez Taipe in 2014.  He lives in Yauli, Huancavelica. Huancavelica is the poorest province in Peru. Agriculture and their handmade goods are how they survive. There is no internet in Yauli and very poor cel reception.  In 2016 I made the trip to Yauli, to see if somehow we could find a solution to our communication challenges and work together.  The journey entailed 2 flights (from Cusco), then an 8 hour ride by car from Ayacucho.  I finally understood the challenges and realized that patience and lots of it, would be required.

Sr. Taipe at his loom, with his family (we will write about these amazing women in another post).  At right, in Cusco, finally…with products to take to the US for Christmas 2017.  He travelled 28 hours by bus to bring his order to me in Cusco.

 

The alpaca wool for Sr. Taipe’s products come from his own alpaca.  All the colours are natural.  He works with his son.  Both Sr. Taipe and his son are renowned scissors dancers, a traditional dance from the province of Huancavelica.

 Sr. Taipe’s work being modeled by Vanessa Quispe and Sheila Cajigas in Cusco.

 

Please join us:  October 25, 26, 27 at Anne Henning Gallery, 19A, Duxbury, MA for a Fall Trunk show.  There will be a reception on Thursday, October 26 from 6-8.

 

New sweaters for fall from our artisan partners in Vive El Peru, Cusco. 100% alpaca, 100% handmade.

El Pequeno Colibri and the Association of Women knitters of Vive El Peru have been working together for 4 years. It has been a learning experience on both sides, but, I think we have really turned a corner. Very proud of our progress and proud to present our new styles for Fall 2017.

Our model, Vanessa Quispe Vidal is the daughter of a long time friend, Guillermo Quispe. Vanessa lives in Urubamba, Sacred Valley of the Incas. She has a 5 year old son and just graduated from University in Cusco.

Stay tuned…….we have more on the way!

We have introduced Sonia and Hilda Cachi in an earlier post. They are our favourite silversmiths with whom we were seemingly fated to work. As we wrote in an earlier blog, a shaman sealed the deal for us and how lucky for El Pequeno Colibri.

Hilda and Sonia learned silversmithing from their father, Gregorio, in his taller in Cusco. Hilda still works with her father in the Cachi studio. Both Hilda and Gregorio have won designations from UNESCO. They work using traditional tools, techniques, and designs. All of our beautiful tupos (basically silver pins to use with shawls)were handmade in the Cachi studio in Cusco.

Sonia now lives in Lima and has continued the family tradition.  She works with her husband, also from Cusco.  They create truly elegant and beautifully crafted jewelry, using the traditional techniques that she learned in her father’s taller.

For a couple of years, I had been accumulating small, antique, stone animal sculptures. These sculptures were used in ceremonies to bless the animals and to give thanks before the annual alpaca shearing. A ceremony always takes place before shearing the alpacas after which the animals are gently sheared. I fell in love with these little sculptures and thought they would make really fantastic and unique pendants.

I approached both Sonia and Hilda to see if they were up for the task. They were. Their styles are very different. Sonia’s style is elegant and perfect. Hilda saw it as an opportunity to be creative, every design is unique, and surprisingly quite rustic. Hilda’s work with her father is very colonial, yet she indulged her love for pre-colonial design with these critters.

Sonia’s treatment of the ceremonial critters is colonial and beautifully crafted. Both work in 950 Peruvian silver using traditional techniques. I think they are equally beautiful. Sonia makes gorgeous chains, made entirely by hand, the clasp is the head of a Pavo Real or Peacock.

We’ll be featuring more about the Cachi family and their art on our blog in the weeks to come.