Meet our Artisan Family

We are proud to work in partnership with our highly skilled Peruvian artisans, helping to preserve traditional crafting techniques that have been handed down through the generations. Each lovingly crafted garment and accessory that you buy helps to keep these ancient skills alive.

Our artisan family includes jewellers, knitters, and seamstresses, who all contribute in the making of the wonderful natural fibre products that are at the heart of Spirit of the Andes and are here on our website waiting for you to discover.

Judith – Arequipa, Peru 

Judith is our assistant in Peru, she and her artisan workers create some of our beautiful plain knit Alpaca clothing, breathable, long-lasting luxury.

I was born in Arequipa in Peru where I grew up in a traditional Peruvian family.

 

After I left school, I gained a degree in psychology and then spent several years learning the business processes involved in the manufacture of Alpaca clothing.

 

I decided to set up my own company along with my sister who also had knowledge of Alpaca clothing design.

 

We have worked hard to make our company successful, we supply high quality Alpaca knitwear in a range of styles to suit the requirements of our customers. We have core values of fairness, quality, communication and punctuality.

 

In 2020 after a lot of work, we gained our Fair Trade Certification, we are very proud for achieving this. Being a Fair Trade supplier means that we pay our artisan workers a fair wage for the work that they do for us, and that we adhere to the standards set by the Fair Trade organization.

Sonia – Cusco, Peru 

Sonia is our intarsia supplier, along with her son Johan she creates our amazing intarsia Alpaca knitwear, beautiful vibrant designs, crafted in small artisan workshops.

 I was born in Chucuito, a poor country village that sits 3,875 meters above sea level close to Lake Titicaca in eastern Peru.

 

I have been weaving since I was seven years old, my first job was to design woolen dolls and small doll clothes for the Christmas season so that I could give some money to my family. 

 

At the age of 14 I got a job designing women's clothing and then in 1984 I ventured to Cusco. I worked in several companies for more than 10 years in where I made garments for men, women and children.

 

In 2011 I founded the company I still run today that creates beautiful Intarsia garments; each piece of intarsia knitwear can take up to a week to make.

 

I am proud to work with people from poorer backgrounds, to give them the opportunity to learn skills that will allow them to earn a good living.

Nelly & Karen – Huancyo, Peru 

Nelly and her daughter Karen along with her family of artisan workers create our jacquard Alpaca knitwear, producing contemporary stylish designs many completed with decorative hand-stitching.

I was born in the city of Cusco, where I met my husband Jose,  and together in 1990 we moved to Huancayo to start a business to sell alpaca garments to our local market.

 

In the year 2000, we started to export products overseas. We started with small manual machines and other artisanal ones, over time our business grew and we managed to participate in national fairs such as Peru Moda and others, which opened the doors to new opportunities.

 

In 2015 we created  our current company together with my 3 children and my husband, since then our whole family has been involved in the business, my eldest daughter Sandra, my middle son Antony , and my youngest daughter Karen who works on our designs together with my husband Jose.

 

We currently work with local communities, we have 30  embroidering mothers, and 25 other local employees who work on the production of our garments. 

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