Meet The Artisans

Luisa Soto discovered the world of jewelry making in 2009 when she became a mother. Leaving the corporate ladder, she started a course in jewelry design, opened up her own workshop, and founded Luisa Soto Joyeria as a way of keeping her family united, involving all her family members in various aspects of the business.

Luisa Soto Joyeria’s pieces have a decidedly contemporary design that’s inspired by moving geometric figures, everyday life, and the beauty of nature, transformed into metal through various innovative techniques.

Del Portillo was founded by Bogotà designer Jose David Del Portillo in 2014, inspired by the belief that the value of tradition lies in the preservation of work done by human hands. Del Portillo’s pieces are built from the understanding of man's relationship with the space he inhabits and shares finding the opportunity to give a new meaning to the objects that represent it.

Del Portillo has been exhibiting around the world a variety of pieces made mostly of wood, which mix technical, exploratory, and artisanal processes, giving their designs a unique aesthetic.

Atelier 122 is a brand born out of N and T Collection, a Colombian company founded by Nathalia Alvarez, who has more than 15 years of experience in the artisanal world. Recognizing the market gap for natural and organic fibers, Atelier 122 was added as a sister brand to be able to offer different products, generate employment opportunities, as well as work with sustainably sourced and environmentally friendly materials.

Martielli was founded in 2018 by fashion designer and marketer Paola Martínez. With the creation of Martielli, Paola wanted to reaffirm Latin America’s fashion presence and capabilities. Martielli is a fashion brand for women by women with a sophisticated, bohemian, adventurous, and above all fun style.

Motivated by the conservation and recovery of our ecosystems, Martielli embarked on a sustainability journey in a very innovative way, creating a striking ecological product made out of plastic waste that is weaved into Martielli’s signature towel.

After several years of leading projects with a social focus in a technology company, Andrea Garcia Orjuela took the leap and founded Manosabia. Her dream was to start a brand that combined her fascination with crafts, her passion for decoration, and her motivation to recognize the tireless work of Colombia’s rural artisans.

Started in 2016, Manosabia’s mission is to keep the creative spirit in permanent evolution in order to offer new decorative pieces inspired by different handcrafted techniques, where quality and attention to detail are the brand’s signature.

Trained as an architect, Lina Maria Olmos has always had an interest in discovering, reinterpreting and repurposing materials. In 2019 she merged this curiosity and creative passion to found Kret.

Kret set out to cross over the barriers and elevate a material whose use is understood as if it were only for construction: concrete. However, the versatility of concrete allows for the creation of innovative pieces able to take unimaginable shapes and forms, as can be seen in her designs.

Founded in 2019 by Stephania Mejía, a creative designer with an extensive background in the fashion industry, Agua e Lulo preserves, promotes, and exhibits the ancestral traditions and stories of masterful Colombian artisans.

Agua e Lulo combines the wisdom of traditional crafts with sophisticated materials and limitless imagination, to create belts and accessories for the contemporary woman, able to brighten up and transform a simple look with a little touch of colorful and masterful art.

Jewelry designer Claudia Trejos founded her brand in 2002 as a result of her studies beyond the frontiers of design. Believing every woman is unique, Claudia creates harmonious pieces of jewelry that express art, femininity, and individuality.

Working with gemstones and precious metals like 18k solid gold and silver, Claudia is able to create unique pieces for each of her clients. Art is infinite, and the combinations that talented hands of artisans are able to produce are endless.

Puntocrudo is a ceramic studio founded by Silvia Triana, a visual artist from Medellín, Colombia, who has dedicated her career to the research and study of the art of ceramics. Puntocrudo seeks to exalt craftsmanship and handmade knowledge based on a conscious relationship with the material. 

 Through different hand-building techniques and collaboration with artisans and designers, Puntocrudo is able to explore the properties of ceramic surfaces, creating objects that find their value in imperfection.

Nicole & Natalia created their brand LIN to bring back the classic elegance of a well-set table, while making sure the product design and palettes stayed appealing to the younger generations, adding a touch of playfulness that would firmly modernize her products.

Standing out for their neat but quirky designs, the LIN household range includes napkins, table mats, and towels, each featuring an embroidered image inspired by the bountiful Colombian nature, such as tropical birds, fish, and corals.

After a career as a Business Administrator, Rosario Sobrino decided to leave her day job and start Bera in April 2011, pushed by her long-standing love for manual work, weaving, sewing, and fashion.

Bera’s mission is to create jewelry through the exploration of the craft of weaving and the use of alternative materials normally not associated with jewelry making. All of Bera’s products draw inspiration mainly from African and indigenous aesthetics.

Adriana Ocampo is an architect from Cali, Colombia, who has always been passionate about nature and design. Trying to merge her interests with her professional life, ten years ago Adriana created her exclusive accessories brand AdriO.

Using high-quality leather, silver, and gold-plated bronze, she fashions unique accessories inspired by Colombian native and exotic fauna alike. Napkins holders complete her collection of quirky animals - elephants, crocodiles, insects, fish - bringing her aesthetics from fashion to home décor.

Alejandra Llano launched her jewelry brand Fenomena in 2012, to create timeless pieces that seamlessly blend modern design and classical traditions, exemplified in the ever-present Colombian emeralds in each of her pieces.

While Alejandra is still in charge of designing each piece herself, she collaborates with master artisans for her production, highlighting the beauty of this typical Colombian stone in all of its states, from rough rustic cuts to pristine fine-jewelry pieces.

Derived from the ancient phrase “Sarkal, círculos sagrados femeninos,” sacred feminine circles, Sarkal is a Colombian brand of sacred accessories. Founder and artist Catalina López focuses on colors, sustainability, and uniqueness when making her pieces.

With her brand Sarkal, she aims to complement the feminine body to make it more artistic, powerful, and blissful by incorporating accessories crocheted using brightly colored beads, which are entirely handmade and inspired mostly by nature, women, and geometry.

After working with famous Spanish fashion designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada during an internship, Laura Madriñan was inspired to start her own brand. Born in 2016 from a desire for exceptional design, a minimalist trend and love for local products, Buril encompasses the essence of a proud Colombian brand.

Buril’s universe celebrates the modern woman and offers an array of bags, purses, shoes and other accessories to meet her infinite needs and distinctive passions.

Gardenia Home Décor was born from the passion and fascination for table details and the desire to share with family and friends unique spaces around the table. The founders of the brand, mother and daughter duo Paula García and Blanca Gutiérrez, focus on the quality and exclusivity of the products, delivering a unique experience full of colors and diversity in design, which is heavily influenced by the Colombian fauna and flora and will give warmth to any occasion.

Camila Prado is a product designer specializing in furniture design. Her personal project, Oficio, was born in 2018 as a contemporary approach to local crafts, through the development of a close collaboration with expert Colombian artisans specializing in traditional weaving, wood carving, and pottery techniques.

At Oficio, the greatest value is given to what is handmade. Inspired by a land full of trades, its collections explore traditional artisanal techniques through products made from the purest materials.

Born Colombian, but strongly influenced by her Italian and Mexican ancestors, Giuliana Anzellini founded her brand Tuttotumo as a result of 15 years of study, experimentation and hands-on work with materials including paper, wood, textiles and metal.

Inspired by her childhood, Giuliana began creating unique household objects with gourds, fruits and fibers grown in Colombia, transforming them into ornamental and functional pieces for interior decoration such as sugar bowls, lamps and candle holders.

After working in one of the largest fashion retailers in Latin America, the four founders of Cíclico realized the damage this industry causes to the environment and decided to create a project to bring sustainable products of excellent design and quality to the wider public.

With Cíclico, Santiago, Eduardo, Sergio and Miguel, use PET from recycled plastic bottles and cotton scraps from garment factories to produce fine artisanal products in Medellín, Colombia, such as aprons, throws, hammocks and t-shirts.

Bound by a love for Colombian aesthetics and home design, friends Denise Akerman & Margarita Gomez started Design Amour in 2009, to bring a bit of their tropical lifestyle to the rest of the world.

Convinced the world would be a better place if the spaces we inhabit were more inspiring, the two created a line of home decor pieces that enrich, inspire, and bring that little bit of love that makes a place come alive and shine.

Inspired by the house she grew up in, Maria Elvira Ortega started creating linen napkins with fun embroideries for her family dinners. After much experimenting and in collaboration with master Colombian artisans, in 2020 she launched her first collection of tableware decor.

Today, her brand Ura is a home and tableware brand that celebrates a good meal and a cozy home, creating conscious and timeless products using Colombian artisanal techniques that elevate traditions to a global contemporary aesthetic.

Chemistry major Adeline Devos studied Raw Materials in Paris and was involved with a number of fashion events. Back in her native Colombia, she researched the toxic effects of paraffin and realized industrial candles are toxin-heavy and greatly damage the environment.

She created Bougie to produce handmade candles to give every customer a moment of elegant peace, with an eye to the environment. Inspired by French “savoir-faire”, all candles are unique in their pastel hues, natural fragrances, and contemporary designs.

Mother and daughter duo Hilda & Juliana started Pomplon as a personal desire for creative exploration and with the wish to fill the world with magic and color. Today, their brand explores traditional artisanal techniques from the Colombian textile world to turn them into unique pieces of contemporary design.

Each creation is handcrafted by a wonderful team of women, who combine natural and synthetic fibers to create anything from fashion accessories to wall hangings full of positivity, funk, and color.

In 2017, Luis David Colmenarez decided to research his ancestry and heritage with a trip to discover the environment and traditions of the indigenous people of the Orinoco region, in the Venezuelan and Colombian Amazon.

His brand, Waraos Amazónicos was born with the goal to make the traditions of the natives of the Amazon known to the world, through crafts made with an eco-friendly process that conserves nature and protects the environment.

Architect Carlos Garzón has always been passionate about the preservation of Colombian cultural heritage and the restoration of Colombian artisanal crafts.

Since 2017, he has been channeling this passion into his brand OCHOINFINITO, creating beautiful utilitarian art, decor objects, and pieces of furniture exclusively in series of eight and inspired by the know-how of Colombian craftsmanship, valuing traditions and artisanal techniques.

Mariana Laserna has always been passionate about fashion, the welfare of the planet and animals, which have always played a significant role in her life, so much so that she worked as a volunteer in different conservation projects helping endangered species.

In 2019, after studying Fashion Management in SDA Bocconi School of Management, Mariana went back to her native Colombia and was motivated to create Baula, a brand of sustainable vegan bags inspired by endangered species.

Inspired by their paternal grandparents who were weavers for over forty years, siblings Camilo and Carolina Giraldo founded Primal in 2015 in Bogotá, Colombia with the purpose of honoring the noble craft of weaving as an ancestral, creative, and abundant art form.

All of Primal’s products are weaved on traditional looms with sustainable Colombian materials by expert artisan hands, to counter the effects of fast fashion merchandise that has disconnected us from our roots and ancestral culture.

Natural Artesanías is a social enterprise with a passion for handicrafts and preserving artisan communities around Colombia. Using a wide variety of natural fibers, its over 25 artisans create high-quality, fair-trade designs that celebrate Colombia’s forgotten territories, biodiversity and richness of vegetable fibers.

Placing people above profit, Natural Artesanías reinvest all of its income into developing Colombian crafts and helping artisans improve their quality of life.

Teiruma’s concept was born from founder Jessica Strellec’s passion for different cultures, colors, customs, and art. Conceived from a will to mix art, color, and social work, Jessica decided to work directly with Colombian artisans starting with the Wayuu community in La Guajira.

Her passionate work has expanded to other communities that work with her to co-create products using the Mochilas method, combining different materials like crochet, brass and iraca palm with leather to create exquisite bags and kitchenware.

Architect and urban planner Irene Arango founded Seesé Ilumina to generate visual and mental well-being in a world dominated by screens & lights, reviving the craft of natural fiber weaving by empowering local artisans through fair labor opportunities and a sustainable environmental impact.

Seesé Ilumina’s handmade lighting is the fruit of the collaboration of many expert hands from Colombia. From the designs to the weaving and the electrical system, all contribute to the creation of cozy, warm, and innovative light features.

Sincreto is a concrete studio started by Aislinn Ross, a visual artist from Bogotá, Colombia over the course of 2020. In response to the overwhelming time spent at home and in confinement, Aislinn developed a series of kitchenware items, vases and decorative objects using concrete.

By bringing a material normally associated with industry and functionality into the core of the house, the artist pushes us to rethink the very idea of home.

A luxury candle brand, Morii translates as the desire to capture a fleeting moment in time and this is exactly what husband and wife duo Jorge and Gisella want their customers to experience when burning their products.

Each one of Morii’s pieces is handmade in Barranquilla, Colombia, in collaboration with master artisans and using hand-blown glass. Join Morii on its great adventure to travel the world through the senses, treasuring precious moments, places and souls.

Established by Veronica and Valerie Behar, two sisters with a passion for good taste and pride for their Colombian heritage, BEHAR was born out of a will to create beautifully-curated, luxury board games made from sustainable materials.

With the help of master artisans who use sustainable leather and wood to create their beautiful pieces, BEHAR generates a social and environmental impact through the power of design, while honoring the legacy of the sisters’ family, their roots and their country.

Born in Lorica, Córdoba, a small town on the Colombian Caribbean coast, artist and designer Alfonso Mendoça is now a household name in the international design sphere.

Dedicated to industrial and fashion design, as well as painting and wood sculpture, he set up his eponymous design firm over ten years ago, which has been featured in important magazines such as Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and Marie Claire Latin America.

Fashion designer Adriana Santacruz defines her work as “abstract art, lightness of constructivism and spirituality”. With indigenous communities in southern Colombia, she creates beautiful fashion for the avant-garde woman, who seeks in her timeless garments a form of expression that unites contemporaneity, versatility and perfection.

Since its birth the brand has been building a bridge between ancestral knowledge and art, where design and craft techniques developed by generations of indigenous communities of Los Pastos continue to be brought to life.

In the words of Sara Hill, the Creative Director of Bucaramanga-based jewelry brand Sara & Flora, “jewelry is an art of expression,” an opportunity to send a love message to yourself and to not be afraid of falling and starting over.

Each timeless piece is created through a circular comprehensive and investigative process of the environment, followed by an experimental deconstruction of traditional Colombian jewelry-making techniques that culminate in unique and contemporary designs.

Created by architect Melissa Janiot, an interior design lover, OSLÉ was born from the will to explore the idea of home and what that entails. The name OSLÉ itself encapsulates this as it is a family surname that represents tradition, union, and home.

Whether it be a brightly colored tablecloth, vibrant napkin, or a tropical-themed table runner, OSLÉ’s products exude the smells, sights, tastes, and warmth of Colombia and bring its wild flora and fauna to life at your table.

Enamored with the rich cultural landscape of his motherland, Colombia, the founder of Silvestre Artesanos, Felipe, started trawling every corner of his geography to transform the infinite herbs, barks, vines, and fibers of the land into exquisite artisanal products.

From the Andean moors, along the Caribbean coast, and deep inside the Amazon, Silvestre Artesanos brings you beautiful baskets & lampshades handwoven by small artisan communities who bring their past traditions and the heart of Colombia into your homes.

Industrial and textile designer Ana Buendia became one of the first Colombian fashion bloggers to document her work in the textile industry. She soon started collaborating with magazines on visual merchandising, before launching her own sustainable jewelry brand, Ana Buendia.

Today, she specializes in silver vermeil and gold-plated silver jewelry, with an exclusive touch given by the juxtaposition of conflict-free gemstones such as Colombian emeralds, all designed and produced in her workshop in Bogotá.

Colombian designers and friends Mariana Eichmann and Daniela Hernández de Alba have always shared a passion for Colombia’s ecological riches and created Salvárea as a sustainable jewelry brand that treasures and protects the ecological riches of the Colombian territory.

With their collections, they express the love and amazement they feel for their nature, through jewelry consciously produced from recycled materials and by actively contributing to the conservation of Colombia’s ecosystems with the sale of each piece.

Industrial designer Jennibeth Iguarán and textile designer Juanita Gil worked together for four years with Colombian artisanal communities before branching out to set up their own brand, Matamba Artesanal, in 2020.

Thanks to their close personal relationship with several master artisans, Jennibeth & Juanita co-create slick and timeless designs of tote bags, backpacks, and clothing, using ancestral techniques like crocheting and loom weaving, which helps preserve the artisans’ culture and identity while striking a careful balance between tradition and innovation.

When her sister experienced postpartum depression, Erika Londoño embarked on a journey of healing with her. Inspired by the Sioux culture of dreamcatchers, they started exploring the healing power of creating with your hands.

Since its inception in 2015, their brand Manik has expanded beyond the sisters’ native Medellin, Colombia, to offer decorative healing objects such as dreamcatchers and hanging looms that seek to generate positive change in those who search for self-healing.

Paula Soto had been passionate about handmade crafts since childhood, and when she started dating her future husband José during University, she got him involved in her dream of setting up a business.

Casatrama was born in Colombia in 2016 from the love of Paula and José, for each other but also for their culture and sustainable design. Using traditional techniques and recycled fibers, they develop beautiful objects of interior decor such as stools, low tables, magazine holders, and lamps.

Industrial and product designer Alejandro Tapias studied in Europe before moving back to his native Colombia to set up Alta Estudio and create beautiful, utilitarian objects with the help of master artisans from the country’s diverse cultural landscape.

Working with indigenous communities, Alejandro designs stunning objects of home decor, which tell stories, maintain traditions and identities and encapsulate in themselves the stunning landscapes, climates, resources, and history of the places where they were made.