These hand-crafted, hand-painted wooden bracelets hail from the scenic peaks of Oaxaca, Mexico (and come with a sweet surprise!)
Edgar Fabian Ortega and cousins Citlali and Vero run a third-generation workshop called “Una Inspiración de mi Vida” (inspiration of my life) in San Martín, Tilcajete. This historic home of the Alebrije artisans are known for fantastical figures and dream-like designs that take some influence from Zapateco culture (think of the animals in Coco!)
We couldn’t help but find inspiration in these rich traditions of family handicraft, bright colors, and emotionally expressive designs. Today, we’re proud to launch our newest collection in partnership with the Ortega family: the Corazon.
Corazon means “heart,” which is fitting for a collection where color is used as an extension of the artisan’s sentiments, a representation of the emotional state of the artisan that created it. These three cousins along with their wives, parents, cousins, and aunts comprise an artisan collective that collaborates on hand-crafted wooden bracelets. The men dry and carve the wood, while the women delicately hand-paint embellishments and designs in a series of layers. Each bracelet is truly a labor of LOVE!
Every Corazon purchase also includes a special surprise: a hand-made milagros enclosed in a gift pouch. The milagros or sagrado corazon (sacred heart) is amongst the most representative motifs of Mexico that extends well beyond its Catholic roots and has become a cherished part of folk art.
To create these special milagros, we partnered with Aida Aquino Boyo and her family. Each tin piece is handmade and hand-painted in a workshop that contains 1,000+ hand tools to help this artisanal family achieve various designs and surface embellishments.
While milagros are rooted in religious faith, their purposes are now mostly ornamental, intending to fill a home with spirituality and devotion. Contemporary families often collect a series of these sacred hearts, marrying a vast amount of designs to create a wall collage of LOVE and faith.
The Corazon collection launches today.