Avant-Cheap. Forward Thinking On A Budget : handicrafts

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

The best deal of our whole trip

After staying in Quito for a few days we continued north to Otavalo, Ecuador. I had been patiently awaiting our arrival and this was the one place I wanted to visit in all of South America. Otavalo is a village in the Andes of mostly indigenous people with a population of around 90,000. The Otavalos are known for their handicrafts and travel all over the world to sell their wares. Here in Otavalo is the largest handicraft market in South America. People travel far and near to come this market.The biggest market being on Saturday which spans several blocks with animals(chickens, roosters, cuy, llamas,goats), handicrafts , produce and meat. Because of the popularity of the market, it is now present every day of the week with the handicrafts. The Otavalos can be recognized by their traditional dress. Woman wear a white, embroidered blouse with bright colors ,dark skirt and colorful woven belt with black espadrilles and long braided hair. Men wear white cotton pants, black poncho and long braided ponytail. I am completely fascinated by indigenous clothing. They are so talented in so many crafts and everything they wear is hand made. Whenever I see them with their traditional dress I just stare in awe. Their clothing is so beautiful and detailed with beading or embroidery. Their clothing varies by village and culture and so traveling through South America we've had an opportunity to see the diversity in traditional dress. What amazes me is the fact that their culture remains intact despite living in a progressive world. Here's a link to google images for Otavalo. Unfortunately, I was too busy shopping to remember to take photos. Here are the few I did take.

Here's the crocheted bag I bought for $12.00

Tagua necklaces for $3.25

Embroidered bags $8.00

https://www.google.com/search?q=otavalo+market&hl=en&tbo=u&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=enWiUIigGOXEyQGXr4DYCw&sqi=2&ved=0CDQQsAQ&biw=1725&bih=850

We booked our hotel on booking.com which is our default source before anything else. Hotels are usually 50% off their usual rate. We have actually tried calling the hotels and asking if they could match the rate they have on booking.com and some of them couldn't do it. A couple times we wanted to stay longer at a particular hotel we had been at for a few days and found a lower rate on booking.com, so we just booked it online to guarantee the lower price. We just learned to work the system. The best deal we got was for Hotel Acoma in Otavalo, Ecuador. It had a high rating of 9 out of 10. I usually look at the reviews and price and try to find the best value for our money. If a hotel has a rating between 8-9 and is in our price range , then it's in the running. It's hard to find a budget hotel with a rating higher than 7, so when you do find a higher rating you jump on it. The ratings are based on cleanliness, comfort, location and staff. Hotel Acoma was priced at $17 for a double room , with free breakfast. The usual rate was $40 a night for a double.When we arrived the owner and her daughters came out to greet us at the curb and helped us with our luggage. The hotel was beautifully decorated, spotless and bright and airy. The room was not too small, clean and the bed was comfortable. The best part was the huge bathroom with an extra long bathtub. We were very pleased with a our bargain. After wandering around the hotel, we discovered that some pretty prominent people had stayed at this boutique hotel. There were photos of some famous people who had stayed at Hotel Acoma on the walls including Hugo Chavez! Here are some photos of Hotel Acoma .Unfortunately, I don't have the original booking page to show our $17 deal but at least you can see where we stayed.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/ec/acoma.en-gb.html?sid=cf64b6f7a795db29cb94c24a32e5c6c1;dcid=1;checkin=2012-11-13;checkout=2012-11-14;srfid=6b7ad0d092348563269d586190b523140953dfd5X1

Thursday, October 18, 2012

I love handicrafts!!!!

I meant to put these photos up sooner but I've been a little behind on my posting. When I was in Lima, I fell in love with the handicrafts made by the Inca's. Every village or region has it's own specialty and it's usually something that has been passed on from generation to generation for hundreds maybe thousands of years. The handmade world is very large in South America and there are some very talented artisans and designers. They use the resources that are rich in there area and sell there products to make a living so they can feed their children. Wool and Alpaca are common materials used . There are many fair trade co-operatives that help market and sell these products. They are also many small business men and women who manufacture these goods in there own homes with machines and hand sewing. I found Peru to be filled with many entrepreneurial minded people. Every where you look someone is trying to sell something. Shoe shining services, woman with babies on their backs selling candy and snacks to drivers at red lights. Old men sitting on the sidewalk selling shoelaces, toothbrushes, and hairbrushes, Inca ladies selling Humitas and Tamales out of baskets. Everywhere you look, whatever you could need, someone is trying to sell and make a buck. During my window shopping trips and the artesianal markets and boutiques scattered throughout Miraflores, I fell upon a designer with the business name of "creaciones Yessica". I saw many little stalls filled with all her products. She makes purses, jewelry and accessories by hand and machine. I started investigating and found her phone number on a tag that was on one of her bags. Like I said before, it is very difficult( for me at least) to make a phone call. I tried calling but no success. I went online and started googling her name and digging for contact info.There is very little online presence for businesses in Peru , so I had no luck. I found an address and went to it , but no Yessica ! I was on a quest to find her!! I wanted to be able to buy her products wholesale and sell them in the U.S. I had left an email message on some random sight she was connected to and some man speaking Spanish called giving me a phone number. I called it and no answer. I had pretty much given up. I wanted to go back to the market and just look at her designs, I happen to ask the girl working if she knew Yessica. She said in Spanish, "Un momento". She made a phone call on her cellphone and a few minutes later a Peruvian woman in her 30's appeared. It was her in the flesh! I found this young entrepeneur had set up shop in her home with her family. Most of her products made by hand and then finished with a sewing machine. She had numerous locations showcasing her products. What I liked about her designs was that it had the Peruvian style but with a contemporary twist. Some of the items below are designed and made by other people. If you like these products , drop me an email and tell me what you think. I would like to have these available online in the near future. We will be working out the details when we get home from our travels. We're also looking for products from Ecuador.