Meet our Peruvian artists

I get all my handcrafts direct from the artisans.  We travel mainly to Ayacucho and Cusco.  Here you will meet some of the artisans whose works are being sold in my eBay shop (or will be soon as soon as I take the photos and make the descriptions).  I have already paid in full for all their works.

Victor Paredes master weaver runs a workshop for young weavers with amazing results

Young weavers Epigenio Paredes (left) and Oscar Tantra (right)

Epigenio Paredes (Victor Paredes' nephew) is a very skillful 14 year old weaver.  I bought 2 awesome alpaca handwoven rugs from him, one with some fruits on it and it looks like a painting and the other in a Peruvian colonial style.  He has learnt his weaving at Victor Paredes workshop.

Oscar Tantra is a very skillfull and enthusiastic 12 year old weaver.  When I met him and he told me he is a weaver too, I didn't believe him!.  The he rushed to his loom and started weaving, only then I believed him.  I couldn't believe such a little fellow were a weaver too and he is very keen on keep learning and he wants to be one of the best.  He didn't have any rug ready but I promise him next time I would buy some rugs from him.  Here he is weaving a small alpaca rug in a colonial style.  He has learnt his weaving at Victor Paredes' workshop.

Weaver Fortunato Fernandez and some of his works

Fortunato Fernandez is the head of this big family of weavers.  Most of his children are weavers and have got married to weavers.  He loves to weave rugs made of hand-spun which gives the rug a rustic look.

 Weavers Gerardo Fernandez and his wife Alicia

 Moises Choquehuanca and me with some of his amazing "abstract weavings"!!!

Gavino Aguiire and me showing some "Inca paintings" at his worshop in Cusco

Gavino Aguirre is a painter and weaver who has been involved in both these arts since he was a teenager. He has been awarded the Mayor of Cusco's GOLD MEDAL in 1974 for his services to the artist community. His paintings are on display in the Museum of Contempory art in Cusco. Most recently he won painter of the year in 2004.

Gavino's art stands out from the crowd as he is the only artist who paints what he calls Inca Legends. These are figure and Icon based oil paintings that describe in pictures and diagrams a story about life in the times of the Incas!

He has in his paintings created a piece of timeless history from the days of the Inca empire.

The photo shows Gavino and myself in his studio high above Cusco.

Leo Agama and me at his workshop in Cusco Leo Agama is taking the world by storm with his blend of modern and traditional styles in his necklaces.  He is one of a new breed of jewellery designers in Peru. Working with stones native to Peru and both alpaca and silver he is one of the few jewellers I have met who is not just concerned with how his product looks but in its qualitiy. Leo is very pedantic about his stones and goes to extreme lengths to get the highest qualitiy for his items, check out his work in my shop.   Olinda and her husband at their workshop in Cusco Olinda Valencia is a young silversmith from Cusco.  She started out learning her trade several years ago from one of Cusco's top silversmiths. She has since then started her own business concentrating on sterling silver pendants using stone incrustations. Her work is extremely well done and each piece is unique, she is also studying English at the same time as working a full time job and making her own jewellery in order to be able to support her family. I am her first export buyer and she is pleased to be working with my business, please have a look at her work in my shop.