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Quirarte Family

"Hola! We're the Quirarte Gutierrez Family, a traditional Mexican family that includes my parents, Daniel Quirarte and Otilia Gutiérrez and us siblings: Daniel, Ricardo, Cristina, Francisca, Maria Eugenia and Maria Elena. Our parents took care to pass on the values they in turn inherited from their parents and they include family union, respect, and support. These values have motivated our growth, as individuals and as a family.

"Another family legacy we have inherited from our parents is our flair for art and creativity, something that can be traced back to previous family generations. Today, my siblings and I combine our professions with the arts of hand-blown glass and forging metals.

"It all began several years ago, when we began to wonder about changing the way blown glass looked. We were searching for a way in which we could combine hand-blown glass techniques with forging techniques. We wanted to change the way color could be expressed, but not as an accidental occurrence. Our goal was to find a way to gain control over color and textures so we could repeat them, without foregoing the traditional techniques or the handcrafted aspect of it.

"We work with recycled glass, which we melt and then work with long metal pipes through which we blow out the molten glass and shape it. We place the piece in a kiln and leave it there for 24 hours, and then do a quality control check. We then incorporate the gold or silver leaf and leave it to dry at room temperature, before a final quality control.

"Our parents encouraged us as we worked together, and soon we were finally able to create products that were more esthetically pleasing, worthy of accompanying the most intimate moments of those who own them. We are very careful to imbue each design with our family's personal touch.

"We feel very proud of our skills to sculpt pieces from such a material as glass, and we're excited to see that our products are being treasured by people around the world."