Chile

We chose to work with this cooperative, run by Ana, because of her impressive skill in using recycled materials to make beautiful designs.

Most of the pieces from the Chile Collection are designed by Ana herself! They create beautiful jewelry in Ana’s home workshop. Her jewelry is made from high-quality recycled materials. While metalsmithing in Chile is typically a man’s job, Ana is challenging the status quo and not only exceeding in her craft, but teaching and hiring more women artisans to work alongside her. 

 This cooperative sources scrap metal from markets, melting it down and forming it into large thin sheets. They cut each shape by hand, then stamp to create unique textures. They weld pieces together, sand them down, and polish them for the final design.  To maximize the use of all materials, the metal scraps are collected and melted down to be reused in new designs.