Meet some of our artisans
Mites is a group of female artisans create handwoven baskets with natural fibers from the Colombian pacific coast.
Currently displaced from their indigenous communities, they reside in Bogota and keep their cultural heritage alive with their handiwork.
Eduardo and Lucia
Matarratón trees are planted as live fencing and can be seen across the pastures in Antioquia, Colombia. Eduardo and Lucia take advantage of the annual pruning process to extract cross sections of Matarratón that only require a touch of cleaning and sanding to reveal exquisite colors and markings.
Maestro Gilberto Granja
Click to watch Maestro Gilberto Granja carve an exclusive Madre Monte piece. He has dedicated his life's work to the delicate depictions of the pre-hispanic and natural world that you enjoy in the Barniz de Pasto pieces. Every piece of this process is plant-based: the vase, the appliqué, and the dye. Gilberto was awarded the Medal of Artisanal Mastery in 2009.⠀
IDA is a group of women, from various tribal communities, who live in an Indian reservation in northeastern Colombia.
After gathering leaves and fibers from the moriche palm, they sit together to hand-weave these baskets in unison - continuing the tradition of their ancestors and sustaining their community. They only use natural dyes.
Taller sin Borde, Ana Maria Jimenez
Ana did an investigative deep-dive into the tools used by tribal communities that once inhabited Colombia (Tumaco, Calima, San Agustin, Tairona, Muisca, and others). She returned committed to conserving the pre-columbian process of heating and hammering away at rock, metal, copper, and silver to create modern pieces.
More to come…
……
