The Most Sustainable Project Of The Colombian Jeweler Paula Mendoza

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Colombian designer Paula Mendoza has a weakness for the crafts of her land and has spent years dedicating herself body and soul to bringing the traditions of her ancestors to the world, now as creative director of the Cano Jewelry firm and through the Looking for the project Masters.

"[I make] jewelry for a woman who is always traveling and who needs to be practical when dressing, but who has a special aesthetic sense and who is especially buying a piece that supports a good cause," explains the designer in an exclusive interview that appears in our latest issue that you can already find on your kiosk.

She herself says that she started making jewelry as a form of expression, not with a professional objective, and gradually selling it to her friends and acquaintances until she decided to leave her job in communications and dedicate herself fully to her hobby. She opened her own firm in Colombia eighteen years ago, but always with her eyes fixed on the US market.

“When I went to live in the United States, I was getting closer to my Colombian roots, perhaps as a way of being close to my country. As time went by, this bond grew stronger and when I started traveling through Colombia to get to know the communities [of artisans], I decided that I wanted to work with them and for them”.

The jeweler has had from the beginning a way of understanding production that has respect for artisans, materials and the planet always in mind. "Sustainability is understanding that in the exchange you make with the people who make pieces for you [they] receive fair payment for their work and in this way they can have access to a better life."