Handmade Beaded Stretch Bracelet - Rara

Artisan Organization: Atelier Calla

Country: Haiti

Based in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Atelier Calla offers a plethora of exquisitely handcrafted necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and home décor items created with ethically sourced animal horns, teeth, and bones.

Inspired by the artistry of Indigenous Taíno people, Atelier Calla's tooth and bone pieces are hand-carved by skilled craftspeople. The Taíno inhabited Haiti for thousands of years before European contact and were known for adorning themselves with tooth, bone, and shell ornaments. Now, artisans carve jewelry and décor items using a simple, eco-friendly process: the tooth or bone is boiled to kill all the bacteria, then cut and sanded until the desired shape is obtained.

"I consider it a privilege to create a workshop where I work alongside Haitian artisans to innovate the designs of traditional horn and bone products," founder Christelle Chignard Paul says. "I am proud to welcome you to the world of Atelier Calla."

Horn material is responsibly collected in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince and the Artibonite and Central Plateau regions of Haiti. Collecting horn feeds a sustainably designed supply chain, using material that would have otherwise been discarded and employing workers in need of a livelihood. In 2019, Atelier Calla upcycled 5,000 cow and bull horns into one-of-a-kind objects.

More than ten years into this adventure, Atelier Calla has gone above and beyond innovating traditional products. The company is steadily improving the lives of artisans by welcoming them into a structure that values and respects their skills, educates them about international production standards, and champions the culture of handmade products. As of 2021, thirty artisans are employed in the workshop."