Posts Tagged ‘Peru’
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010
Hey everyone! Mitch Teplitsky is a good friend of Mayu and the filmmaker of the Peruvian documentary, Soy Andina. In the above video, we are in Chiquian, Peru. Mitch came to see the beauty of Chiquian and learn about Mayu’s home because he also loves all things Peru. Mitch recently submitted a Fulbright scholarship application, of which Mayu was a part! I was excited to have Mitch with me in Chiquian — he took some excellent film footage of my Peruvian adventures both in my Peace Corps community and with Mayu’s artisans. Mitch fell in love with Chiquian, so I’m trying to convince him and his wife, Doris, to share a small plot of land there (Maybe to build a brand new workshop for the artisans and raise alpacas…).
If you love Peru, dance and/or culture and haven’t seen Soy Andina yet, I highly suggest it!
Thanks for watching / reading.
Kate Robertson
Founder of Mayu
(Stay tuned to our FB posts, Tweets and RSS Feed!)
Tags: alpaca clothes, eco gifts, eco shopping, fairtrade clothes, knit clothing, Peru
Posted in Peru, Stuff Mayu Loves | No Comments »
Sunday, August 15th, 2010
An insider’s look at Mayu Artisans’ workshop in Peru. Watch the video to get a better idea of how our artisans operate. They have their own filing system, we promise! Don’t let the “messiness” get you down. Your products will come to you looking just like new, with attention to detail and love from the Andes. This is just part of the process! Kate, Mayu’s owner, is a novice with the camera so excuse that too…
Keep up with Mayu by subscribing to our blog, follow us on Twitter and find us on FB!
Thanks!
Chelsea
Mayu Intern
P.S. Don’t forget about our 
GIVEAWAY !!
Tags: alpaca apparel, alpaca clothes, Eco-fashion, fair trade clothes, Mayu, Peru
Posted in Mayu News!, Peru | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
Who said Mayu was only for women? This first look, in our series of teasers, at our new unisex-flavored scarf fit for both women AND men! This photo was taken in the streets of Chiquian, Peru, where our artisans will often sit, knit, and socialize.
Keep up to date with news on our new designs! Subscribe to our blog, follow us on Twitter and find us on FB!
Tags: alpaca clothes, alpaca knit, alpaca knitting, Peru, wool scarves
Posted in Mayu News! | No Comments »
Saturday, August 7th, 2010
Some people actually go to Peru as tourists, others, like our own Kate Robertson, go there to work on the new fall designs for Mayu. The sign, for those non-speakers of Spanish, welcomes you to bonito Chiquian, the “Little Mirror of Heaven,” and details the tourist activities one can partake of in that part of the Bolognesi Province. These include seeing an archaeology site, the Huayhuash Mountain Chain, and several touristy streets in the actual town. Kate is enjoying her vacation very much, she loves Chiquian! I think this new sign on the outskirts of the town makes her realize all the things she still has to do in Chiquian as a visitor from afar. What about you guys? When you travel, do you HAVE to do all the touristy stuff, or are you more about relaxing with the local people? Leave a comment below!
Thanks for reading, have a great weekend!
Chelsea
Mayu Intern :]
For more on Chiquian, stay tuned to our blog, follow us on Twitter and find us on FB, or you can visit the town’s lovely website!
Tags: artisans, Mayu, Peru
Posted in Peru | 2 Comments »
Monday, August 2nd, 2010
Hello, chums of Mayu! I am very pleased to present the first teasing glimpse of our new fall designs (trailers take a long time to make, but maybe we will come up with a doozy at some point)! Kate (Mayu’s founder) is very excited to be in Peru, working with our artisans on putting the final touches on the new collection. Right now, however, she has very spotty internet, so she asked me to post the following pictures for her, as a “real-time” update from South America. We hope you enjoy!
The first photo features Kate’s somewhat less-than-polished design notes that will eventually turn in to Mayu’s lovely hand-knit alpaca products! Not to worry, the quality of how the process begins does not refect the end product! This is just how we roll, literally! Sometimes the whole Mayu process just feels like a spinning ball of collaborations and deadlines, and that is just how we like it.
As this time our designer,
Laddhavan Sutana, has created actual samples of our fabulous fall line that have been sent to Peru. However, Kate is not a knitter and sometimes needs to take spontaneous notes all over the place to better understand the knitting process. She not only takes notes, at one point she actually had to call Laddhavan from a crackly payphone in Chiquian to better understand some logistics. She said it was hard to hear. Remember making calls from phone booths? Talk about a blast from the past.
Thanks for reading and following! More teasers to follow! Keep up to date with Kate’s visit to Peru, and visit our
blog, follow us on
Twitter and find us on
FB!
Chao,
Chelsea
Mayu Intern
Tags: Chiquian, Fall Designs, Kate, Kate Robertson, Mayu, Mayu Artisans, Mayu Cuentos, Peru
Posted in Mayu News!, Peru | No Comments »
Sunday, August 1st, 2010
Chiquian (Represented by the A!)
I finally arrived in Peru, the old stomping grounds of my Peace Corps days. Wow, it is so amazing to be back! The community where Mayu‘s artisans live involves 2 plane rides to arrive in Lima. I took one plane from Chicago to Atlanta, and then from Atlanta to Lima. Once in Lima, I took a cab to a bustling bus terminal, where I boarded the first bus (not the nicest bus around…) towards Huaraz, in the department of Ancash.
About 7 hours later, I got off the bus in a tiny town on the main road. The couple hundred Peruvians who live there make a livelihood on selling cheese (Chiquian’s cheese is region-famous!), corn on the cob and trout to those in transit to the outlying towns. Life in Conococcha is cold and slow. From there, I got into a collectivo (shared taxi) and headed another 35 kilometers on the most beautiful, windey road that I could imagine…35 Kilometers (that’s 21 miles to you Americans!) later I was in Chiquian, where I spent 2+ years working with the wonderful Peruvian artisans with whom I am now homestaying.
Ever traveled off the beaten path? Tell us your travel stories! Leave a comment below, and keep following our blog! Find us on Twitter and Facebook too! Thanks for reading,
Kate
Founder of Mayu Alpaca
Tags: alpaca apparel, alpaca clothes, alpaca knit, eco gifts, fairtrade clothing, Peru
Posted in Mayu News!, Peru | No Comments »
Friday, July 30th, 2010
Greetings from Peru! I am having a BLAST here, re-living the Peace Corps days and re-connecting with the Mayu artisans and all of my Peruvian friends. We are working hard to create our Fall designs and look forward to sharing them will all of you! As Internet is spotty, this is going to be a short and sweet post.
Our last entry was about Mayu and the meaning behind the name of this social enterprise. We shared with you a picture of little Mayu, whom I met when she was just 2 years old. Well, now she is 8 years old. I can’t believe how time flies. Here she is, our beautiful (well, now a senorita) Mayu!
For more updates from my trip to Peru, follow our blog , find us on Twitter and Facebook too!
Tags: Alpaca Clothing, eco shopping, fairtrade clothes, Peru
Posted in Mayu News!, Peru | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
My Host Sister, Mayu!
A few days ago, I was talking to a social media expert I met and she asked me “What does Mayu mean?” I responded quickly and told her it was explained on the About page of the www.shopmayu.com website, which I realized that most people probably don’t read. As a result, I’ve decided to give a quick explanation of the word Mayu, as it has become a common word in my daily life (and hopefully across the Internet, as people continue discovering Mayu!). BTW, please help spread the word by following us on Twitter, FB and by RSS feed.
Mayu is a Quechua word, which means ‘RIVER’. Never head of Quechua? It is the native language of the indigenous Incan Empire and the first language of Mayu’s knitters. Unfortunately, however, Quechua has been classified as a “dying language” as Spanish has been given greater priority. I chose to call this social enterprise Mayu, mostly because, throughout my Peace Corps service, it had a lot of significance. (more…)
Tags: Alpaca Clothing, Andes, Mayu, Peru, Quechua
Posted in Mayu News! | No Comments »
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
We would like to present a guest post by Kaity Nicastri, a well-traveled social worker and friend of Mayu, who has spent much of her time in South America teaching English to primary school kids, among other projects. Thanks, Kaity!
Piiiiissssccoooo! For those of you who have not had the pleasure, nay, the privilege, of sipping a finely (or not so finely) distilled pisco beverage, this post may seem frivolous. But pisco is no laughing matter for Peruvians and Chileans. This is serious business, so put your game face on, and let’s take a walk down Pisco Lane.
(more…)
Tags: Guest Blogger, Peru, Peruvian Alcohol, Pisco
Posted in Food, Mostly Peruvian, Peru | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Visited the Victory Ranch Alpaca Farm in Mora, New Mexico and came across this sign. Sums everything up just about perfectly. Enough said!
Connect with Mayu on Twitter, Facebook and our blog for exciting news about Peru, artisans, sustainability, eco-fashion, fair trade, and hand-knit alpaca.
Tags: accessories, alpaca, Alpaca Farmer, Alpaca Fiber, Alpaca Hand-Knit Apparel, Artisans from Peru, Mayu, Peru
Posted in Peru, Stuff Mayu Loves | No Comments »
