Small businesses with a social mission
Mixy Fandino jewellery was born in 2011 from my passion for fashion design and my love for Colombia and the inspiration that I glean from the natural materials of my native country. Our high-quality products are made with care and skill from natural, sustainable and highly wearable materials ? totumo, tagua , wood-. Also, we are working with sterling silver using the ancient technique of Origami.
We provide direction in terms of what is on trend in Europe while allowing the artisan partners the freedom of expression to create standout pieces that fuse the ancient and the modern. As a member of BAFTS Fair Trade Network UK since 2013 we ensure that work is guided by principles of mutual respect, social justice and equal partnership.
We are working towards improving the living conditions of the producers and striving for better ethical trading practices, as well as paying fair prices to producers for their work.
Our asymmetric design earrings feature two hand crafted tagua beads in a choice of colours. Each one is hand made by skilled artisan jewellers in Colombia.
Tagua is member of the plant family ivory palms. The seeds of these palms (tagua nuts) resemble ivory with their beautiful appearance and they are referred to as ?vegetable ivory?. Their popularity is increasing rapidly, as people become aware of their beauty and also, the benefits in using this source material to make jewellery.
Tagua nuts are usually harvested once they have ripened and fallen to the forest floor. They vary in size from olives up to oranges. The nuts are dried before processing in a process that takes 6-8 weeks, they become extremely hard and the texture closely resembles that of animal ivory.
The natives in South America believed that people wearing tagua would live in harmony and always be loved by their family and friends.
The entire process is done by hand to produce truly unique jewellery with unique and interesting designs.