Folkloric dance

Living in Ecuador you get a sense of how much people appreciate and enjoy dance festivals. As a foreigner, I am often unaware of the numerous festivals Ecuadorians organize. Sometimes I simply come across a dance performance on the street by chance, like the folkloric dance festival in the historical center of Quito for Easter (below).

At other times I was surprised to find a folkloric dance contest staged at a school I went to visit to talk about our scholarship recipients.

Although maybe not the most well known Latin American country for dance performances, Ecuador certainly has a rich and lively folkloric dance tradition.

Marriage and the City!

Hello out there! Well, what an exciting weekend here in NYC. On Friday evening lawmakers voted to legalize same-sex marriage! HUGE HUGE HUGE hooray for this decision. The NY Times put it best when they wrote about the vote as " [making] New York the largest state where gay and lesbian couples will be able to wed and giving the national gay-rights movement new momentum from the state where it was born." The decision was made just in time for Pride weekend and while I didn't go into the city to join in the festivities I have no doubt it was a weekend for the books! I'm feeling pretty excellent to live in such a great state right now and man oh man, Governor Cuomo got it done!

(Pride on Sunday, West Village)

And if that wasn't exciting enough, my crazy BF (or Fiancé now I guess) popped the question yesterday! Surprise surprise to me! I don't know if he was inspired by all the love flowing through the city, or maybe the it was the pink champagne, but the timing was perfect and so was the day! Friends, sunshine, barbeque and the aforementioned pink wine! But now we need to go pick out a ring and while it won't be Andean Collection, I would love if it was sustainably and ethically made. Working for this company has opened up my eyes so much to how important sustainability is in all things...jewelry of course but also clothing, food, furniture and on and on! My coworker Bria has some places for me to visit but what about all of you out there? Any suggestions for good places to find ethical and sustainable wedding rings?

(The Newly Engaged on Sunday Funday out with Friends)

Happy Summer and Happy Marriage for everyone!

Festival San Rafael

June 21 marks the summer solstice in the north, the winter solstice in the south, and the Inti Raymi Sun Festival here at the equator. The festivities got started a couple weeks back with the Festival San Rafael, which was coordinated in part by one of our new artisans, Armando Ortiz, who's work with bullhorn, tagua resin, and wood and is featured in the Andean Collection's new belt buckles and rings. As the new AC production manager here in Ecuador, the festival was a great opportunity to get to know some of our new artisan partners and their traditions. I've lived in Ecuador for about a year now, and the small town celebrations continue to be one of my favorite activities.


Oriana and Armando and a lovely day to celebrate the sun

The festival dates back to prehispanic times and is marked by the crowning of the king with the ornate Coraza. The figure of the king and the traditional coraza are still present in modern day festivals, along with music, dancing, parades and traditional food. The boxed wine, however, seems to be a more recent addition.


The king crowned with the coraza

The festivals continue throughout the month of June, with the Coraza making its way through many villages surrounding Otavalo. Viva San Rafael, viva el rey, viva los festivales de Inti Raymi!

Andean Collection Visits The Flea Market

The first step to being a good dresser is being a good shopper. Although the task of sorting through piles of clothes, aisles of jewelry and racks of purses can seem daunting and overwhelming, knowing what you like and putting up blinders towards the rest helps reduce the noise and clutter of shops and markets. With this in mind, I took to a nearby flea market with some of my favorite Andean pieces in tow.

I love color and generally gravitate towards bold shades and patterns. Keeping the necklaces with me helped focus my search so that I might choose items that compliment the rich tones of the beads.


Whether they were the popping colors of these unique chairs or the floral patterns on the shirts (one of which I snagged for just $15!) I love the idea of mixing brights, especially for summer. Find inspiration from one piece and let it guide you through the rest, all the while keeping in mind the overall aesthetic of the end product. Bright colors in combination are my thing, and so using the Andean Collection pieces as a starting point for the market made sense for me; however there are many ways to find style inspiration from one cool item.

No matter if it's the shape, the earthy-ness, the structure, or the color, letting one piece you love lead to others is a great way to collect some faves you'll love for a lifetime!

City Shapes found in Andean Collection Designs

Honeycomb Cobblestone Street in NYC

AC Fall 2011 Honeycomb Necklace (sneak peek-design in progress)

I am always inspired by the industrial shapes I find walking in NYC. En route to and from work everyday I noticed that the shape of the cobblestone on my street is the same shape as the tagua in our new Honeycomb Necklace (new Fall 2011 style to be launched in late July).

This got me thinking about shape and what we perceive as beautiful. This perception of shape and beauty is quite similar across the fields of fashion design, city planning, and architecture. I would love for you to post or send photos of urban shapes that you would like to see incorporated into an Andean Collection design!

Ciao Ciao and see you later!!

Hey everyone, after a whole year living in Ecuador and working as Production Manager for the AC Ecuador, I'm taking a break to have my baby daughter! It is a sad week becuase I'm saying goodbye to many people I have learned to love and respect, as well as to pass my favorite job to a great, great, great and enthusiastic new Production Manager! This year has been a hell of a busy year, but we (all AC ecuador and NY) have made AC grow and improve and become an even bigger, amazing, flourishing business.



For those who are wondering where I'm going to give birth in a month and half....I dont know yet, I just hope is not in the 12 hour flight on the way to Europe!!

Dont miss me too much, I hope to be back before you even realise!!

Tigua Paintings

Given that we love creativity here at AC (and that there are several painters among our ACNYC staff), I wanted to share a unique form of Ecuadorian painting I just discovered. Tigua painting (not to be confused with Tagua), refers to small-scale paintings that depict rural life in Ecuador in vivid color and exquisite detail. These small canvases portray the history and richness of life in the mountains, including everyday events like farming and harvesting to unusual occasions like festivals. The term "Tigua" originated in the Cotopaxi region of Ecuador, a small cluster of communities southwest of Quito.

Photo and more info found at Otavalo Market.

Though there are many established Ecuadorian painters (such as David Moscoso and Marcelo Aguirre, both previously featured on the AC blog), Tigua painting is unique because it is a shared style amongst indigenous artists of a specific community. Tigua painting is often called "folk painting" because it captures centuries of native Andean tradition, and recently has gained recognition as an art form rather than its status as a handicraft that has limited public appreciation of these gorgeous works until fairly recently. Tigua paintings can be found around Ecuador, including the bustling Otavalo marketplace where AC's artisans began their businesses selling jewelry.

Check back again for more on the Ecuadorian art scene, and let us known of any other artists we should share with our readers!