Imagine...
... a
box with no apparent way to open it, yet if you know the secret
– you can. One box might take 4 steps, another 54. Now imagine a
store with not a couple, a few, or even a dozen – but nearly
100
of these amazing Japanese
puzzle boxes.
... a
carved wooden jaguar head decorated with over 50,000 beads, each
individually placed, forming intricate patterns. An art form
perfected by the Huichol Indians of Mexico.
... a
tiny basket, so tightly woven that they say it can hold water.
Such are the baskets of the Wounaan Indians of Panama.
... a
sculpture that is half giraffe, half gazelle and just so happens
to be purple and orange. This is the whimsical work known as Alebrijes to the people of Oaxaca, Mexico.
... a gold
lacquer vase that took a master craftsman over a month to
complete. Or a jade sculpture that took 3 months. Or a tiny bottle
with a portrait painted on the inside
Imagine
these items and thousands more, each with a story, waiting to be
discovered. |
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TAGUA CARVINGS FROM ECUADOR
Shop our Carvings from Ecuador - Located
in the northwest portion of Ecuador, a unique venture began called the Tagua
Initiative was formed. This began
in 1990 by Conservation International as a means of creating economic incentives
associated with the tagua palm nut, trying to find a way for the harvests to be
sustained. Because of this
initiative, today we see almost 2,000 people belonging to the Comuna Rio
Santiago-Cayapas, holding down jobs. However,
these jobs depend on the rainforest being left unharmed, allowing the tagua nut
to continue growing. |
TAGUA CARVINGS FROM PANAMA
Shop our Tagua
Carvings - Imported directly
from the Native Indian Artists that created these little masterpieces. Choose
from Animals, Fish, Birds, and Reptiles - all native to the country of Panama
that the carvings come from. The
tagua nut has a strong resemblance to animal ivory, making it a wonderful
resource for creating all types of beautiful things.
For many years, the tagua nut was used primarily for making buttons but
with new technology and more affordable materials such as plastics, a decline
began. Even so, the tagua nut still
has value in the making of other things to include chess set pieces, jewelry,
handles for canes, dice, figurines, etc. |
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Featured Products
OAXACAN WOOD CARVINGS
 Shop our Oaxacan
Wood Carvings - Each of our wood
carvings are hand carved and painted by artists in small villages in the state
of Oaxaca in Southern Mexico. They are creative and wonderfully painted figures
in bright fun colors. Each carving is an original piece of art. |
JAPANESE PUZZLE BOXES
 Shop our Secret Puzzle Boxes - Our puzzle boxes
are each individually handcrafted in the city of Hakone, Japan and imported by
us directly from the artists offering the best quality and pricing available.
The skills have been passed down through the generations since the Edo Period. |
SILVER GEMSTONE PENDANTS
 Shop our Huge Selection of Pendants
- If you have the chain, we have the pendant. (if you don't, we have them too) We offer an unique assortment of
rare and usual stones, hand crafted and mounted in Sterling Silver. Our
selection comes from Bali, Indonesia, China, and India. |
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