September 21, 2023
The Making Of: Narino
This week we've been off on our travels visiting the incredible Nariño artisans who make some of our much loved tableware & accessories. After a wonderful experience seeing first hand the dedication and craftsmanship that goes into each piece, we thought why not share this sacred process with our devoted customers? So, here you have it, a behind the scenes look at the making of our Narino products...
Searching For Sandona
Hidden amongst the lush landscape of Nariño, lies Sandona, the town where our wonderful Nariño products are created. In Sandona, weaving is the main form of income for many women and during the week, they will work on the creations, juggling working on a farm or looking after family.
Nature's Beauty
The initial process involves harvesting the native iraca palm leaves and then converting them into thinner or thicker threads for weaving. After this, the fibres are hand dyed to create the vivacious colours needed for the designs.
Bright and Bold
Once the colour is just right, the iraca palm fibres are then left out to dry. It takes a great deal of skill, knowledge and practice to mix just the right colours and to understand how the shades may vary during the drying process.
The Art of Weaving
Once the fibres are ready, the next step is to start weaving. Our artisans are absolute pros at this and it's hard not to be astonished with how fast their fingers work. A task which requires huge dedication and precision, we believe that the handweaving element is the most important as not only does it make each piece unique it also helps to preserve some of Colombia's ancestral crafts.
Finishing Touches
Once all elements of the product have been woven, they are sewn together to create the final piece. At this stage products are quality checked to ensure that they are of the highest possible standard ahead of sending to the warehouse. Our artisans often work in teams with friends/family to help make their work that extra bit enjoyable (hence the beautiful smiles!)
Et Voila!
And there you have it! Products are shipped to the warehouse and on to our lovely customers. We are proud of the fact that so much care and attention goes into each item by every one of our artisans and are always grateful for the patience of our customers who eagerly await these handmade treasures.
