BLOG

June 29, 2020

Share:

Natural Organic Jewellery

One of the most rewarding activities for Quina & Cantuta is to be able to discover exciting and indulgent pieces for our new collection. The work of artists and craftsmen are extraordinarily inspiring and Quina & Cantuta has the pleasure to showcase all this amazing work through our online shop.

For this first jewellery collection, Quina & Cantuta showcases the amazing work created by an award winning Peruvian artist, Lorena Pestana. Her Organic Jewellery is inspired by imagination, rediscovering the relationship between craftsmen and nature. This work is a product of the fusion of symbolism, craftsmanship, ancestral techniques and original materials, which are unified by skilled hands producing individual creations.

This collection contains a small but amazing selection of art worked combining original Peruvian materials such as Silver, alpaca fibres, cotton, and river pearls.

The eye catching multi-coloured bracelet / cuff is a stunning example of how art and imagination can be expressed within a piece of jewellery.The combination of natural cotton fibres , vibrant colours and refined silver inspires images of nature's elements.

These amazing organic hoop silver earrings in a semi circle shape, encrusted with delicate pale tone river pearls are elegant, stylish and feminine. They look fantastic with their matching ring.

Visit our complete collection to discover our extraordinary and unique pieces of jewellery.

http://quinaandcantuta.com/collections/jewellery

February 01, 2017

Share:

Brighten Up Your Winter Outfits

Even though summer is over, it doesn’t mean that we have to give up wearing bright colours and revert to wearing just gray and dark hues. Adding a splash of colour to our outfits can brighten up the bleakest day, bringing a touch of style and vibrancy to our looks.

Caramel Leather Lucas Handbag

Our Sumaqkay handmade handbags are a great option to add not only bright colours but also inspiring textures and patterns. Colours such as oranges, beiges, browns, ecrus, yellows add warmth and energy.

Here are some ideas to provide some inspiration to give colours to your autumn/winter wardrobe.

Caramel Leather Deborah Handbag

Caramel Leather Baul Handbag

These unique handmade handbags fuse tradition and contemporary fashion in one harmonious piece. Our handbags combine ancient weaving techniques and motifs with the most advanced fashion trends.

Caramel Leather Deborah Handbag

The skillful artisans create new patterns inspired in motifs from pre-columbine Peruvian cultures, using various materials that give stunning texture and richness to our textiles, such as pima and tangüis cotton combined with leather, raffia, straw and satin threads.

Each handbag is carefully made using the hand-made weaves and genuine leather.

Black leather Lucas Handbag

http://quinaandcantuta.com/collections/handbags

October 09, 2014

Share:

Mirasol - A beautiful story

Quina & Cantuta is thrilled to support a fantastic project called Mirasol.

The Mirasol project is dedicated to improving the education and living standards of children in the Peruvian highlands.

The Mirasol project was started in 2006 by a Norwegian couple, Kari Hestnes and Per Svendsen, former owners of a wholesaler textile business in Norway and customers of Michell & Cia. S.A. (Quina&Cantuta textile’s manufacturer).

They visited the Michell farm called Mallkini back in 2005 for the first time. Kari and Per were impressed by the charismatic simplicity of the children, especially of a girl called Marisol. They also saw the reality of the life style of the Andean people and children. They saw the difficulties the children had in the region to attend school. The fact was that most children had to walk every single day, between two and three hours to reach their school and the same time to return home on either a cold, rainy or snowy day.

When Kari and Per encountered these problems they came up with the idea of building a boarding house, where children could board from Monday to Friday to be closer to their school and make other activities. They talked with the Michell family and managers and it transpired that they shared the same views.

Thus the Mirasol Boarding school was born. The school is located in the Puno, Peru. The elementary school currently boards more than 45 children of the area of Munani and Mallkini. Plans are now underway to expand the school to cater for Secondary school aged children and Mirasol and its’ supporters are working very hard to obtain the necessary resources to make this dream a reality.

Quina & Cantuta are proud to support this amazing project and a percentage of all Quina & Cantuta’s sales will be donated to Mirasol.

We also want to encourage everyone to learn more about this wonderful project and its achievements. To find out more about the Mirasol project go to http://www.mirasol.com.pe/

September 04, 2014

Share:

Quina & Cantuta

Cusco - Peru

Krizia Trabucco Photography

Quina & Cantuta is very excited about the launch of our online store. Quina & Cantuta is a virtual gallery that showcases a remarkable selection of luxurious, crafted, decorative and functional pieces from Peru that combine nature, style and quality.
Quina & Cantuta takes its inspiration from two Peruvian native resources. Both emphasise the unique nature of the pieces of art and design that Quina & Cantuta will bring to the UK. The Quina is a type of tree that represents Peruvian flora resources in their national shield. Its presence in Peruvian history since Pre-Columbian times and during the whole Colonial era, made it became an important natural symbol of the country. The Cantuta Flower is the Peruvian national flower. The Incas, impressed by its beauty, promoted its’ farming in all their domains and consecrated it to their god, the Sun. This is why this flower is also known as The Incas’ sacred flower.
Our aim is to bring the finest Peruvian Art & Design products to sophisticated customers, showcasing the fantastic craftsmanship, tradition and quality of Peru, which has been combined with an innovative and stylish approach.
All of our products respect the principles of Fair Trade, using local sustainable materials that respect both the environment and the craftsmen and women that produce them. We are passionate about our products and about promoting social development in Peru.
We hope you will make Quina & Cantuta a favourite destination to purchase beautiful and exclusive pieces that are full of extrinsic and intrinsic value.