Acrylic Headband Crafted with Andean Textile in Vibrant Blue - Road to the Andes

Artisan Organization: Silva Family

Country: Peru

"Seventeen years ago, my mother started everything. She felled and sold wood in the Amazon, where she is originally from. She came to Lima to sell huayruros seeds and the last strips of wood that she had left since she ran her own business. She began to sell key chains that her brother made in the center of Lima to offer to craft stores. She began making handicrafts with seeds, like bracelets and necklaces, until she entered the world of fine silverwork. In 2017 we started working with Andean fabrics. Then we were offered the opportunity to order products.

"We are a large family and we work together, which was initially out of necessity, and then as it was profitable. It is also a way of maintaining our legacy. One of the qualities of our workshop collaborators is that they love crafts or love making by hand. We have also always looked for mothers who live nearby and can contribute economically to their homes and at the same time raise their children.

"The tasks are divided as follows: Alice sees the entire issue of order management and contact with new suppliers. My mom, Tania, is the creative mind and the head of the workshop; she makes jewelry and weaves. My cousin Alexandra works with Andean blanket textiles, and my brother Gary, together with my father, oversees jewelry production and is in charge of distributing products to companies.

"The pandemic was one of the most difficult moments. Even before that, we had a lot of very aggressive competition. It hit us hard because we were left with many products that we had produced and we had to stop working with the artisans who support us in the workshop.

"One of our most important goals is to consolidate a group of women with whom we have worked for a long time; some of them are mothers. We would love to train them, and have an environment where they feel comfortable, appreciated and listened to. We would also like to open an NGO to help children read and for single women to learn crafts. For about 10 years now we have been helping NGOs during Christmas. Even from our sales, we give collaboration.

"As a family workshop, we try to offer our clients unique products, made with love and made with love for art. We want to provide a more original vision of Peruvian products, a new way of seeing crafts." "