Soft Knit Bohemian Style Charcoal Drape Sweater from Peru, "Charcoal Breeze"

Update (June, 2019)

“I come from a humble family dedicated to textiles and my first jobs were making sweaters that we sold later in a small store in Huaraz (Ancash)--a high Andean city of Peru very famous among tourists and mountain sportsmen. Everything went well until our town was hit by the earthquake of 1970. After the natural disaster, tourism and local commerce decreased. Added to this was the violence unleashed by Sendero Luminoso, a radical Maoist group that bled the country with terrorist attacks and forced many inhabitants of rural areas to migrate to the big cities. That was how I arrived at Huaycán, which was an extensive settlement located east of Lima.

“In Huaycán I started a new life. I thought that the only way out of poverty was moving away from textiles; that's why I started studying accounting. Eventually I got a steady job, but then the company went bankrupt in the economic crisis and I was fired. I then put everything I had learned to the test and set up a small workshop in the industrial park of Huaycán to dedicate myself to making alpaca garments. There I began to design and make clothes with various weaving techniques. Little by little I bought my weaving machines, with which I produced hats, scarves and sweaters, which were immediately received in the national market. I never thought that my products would go around the world.

“Years ago I met Leoncio Tinoco, a world-class Peruvian artisan and also a NOVICA artist. He liked my work so much that he invited me to meet NOVICA to expand my business. I did not think twice; and in a short time my alpaca clothes went from being exhibited in the small souvenir shops of Lima to filling the closets of thousands of customers around the world, who were satisfied by the quality of my products. Working with NOVICA was the best thing that ever happened to me. Over time, sales increased significantly. This helped me a lot to modernize my workshop with new technologies to increase production and create new items such as ruanas, capes, sweaters, ponchos and scarves.

“I love exploring the latest trends in fashion. It allows me to design new lines of clothing, with designs and colors that combine traditional and contemporary styles, in order to revalue the local culture of Peru. I owe my success to my beautiful team of workers, whom I have trained with new weaving techniques to provide a better product, both in quality and comfort. We have also given work to the women of the soup kitchens, a social program that feeds poor people. The women participate in the finishing and crochet processes (hooked fabric). I never imagined that textiles would help improve the quality of life of so many women in the soup kitchens. Most of them are mothers who do not have a permanent job, mainly because they are always providing food and schooling to their children. Therefore, they only have their free time to earn extra money. With this method, some have saved thousands of soles per month. Once a weaver came to collect 4,500 soles ($1,300 USD) in six months, and with that money she bought several appliances and other items for the home.

“I am proud of everything I have achieved, with more than 25 years of dedicating myself to this beautiful textile art and being part of the NOVICA family.”

Original Artisan Story:

"I was born in the capital of Peru on August 7, 1968. When I was but a small child I learned from my parents the best weaving techniques--like me, they had learned them from their own parents. This makes us a family entirely devoted to the world of textiles, and we have been for generations.

"Nowadays I combine weaving by hand and on classic machinery, remaining true to Inca and colonial motifs. I would like for the world to receive high quality products through my work, with modern colors and traditional motifs. I hope you enjoy them!

"I have been working with NOVICA for seven years. My workshop is located in the district of Huaycan, a place of refuge for many immigrants who fled central Peru during the times of terrorism. Before collaborating with NOVICA, I had a small workshop in an industrial park that the government gave me on credit, a place where small producers could work with dignity. It wasn't properly roofed, and its production capacity was limited. I designed and made clothing.

"My market was limited to a few local shops, and to a single small foreign client who purchased my work from time to time. After joining NOVICA, my sales increased significantly, and my workshop began to undergo an enormous change. I purchased better tools and materials. My production capacity has grown tremendously, and my work has gained considerable popularity. This recognition has permitted me to promote my work in new markets, as well. But NOVICA will always remain my preferred customer.

"Thank you very much, my friends."