Chile, Rita Soto, Black Snail Earrings

Hand woven pieces made with horsehair and tampico vegetable fiber, using the Chilean technique of "micro basketry", traditional craftsmanship. The parts made of silver are handmade to the measure of each piece. 

The micro basketry technique is a traditional handicraft originated in the community of Rari, Chile, learned from generation to generation and made by women. My proposal in jewelry is contemporary, through learning the traditional technique of micro basketry, I have carried out a textile experimentation, also incorporating the knowledge of the jewelry trade, learned from my father, in all the silver construction of pieces and mechanisms that they support and connect the woven pieces. 

The pieces come from the search for their own language and from textile experimentation, generating biomorphic objects, which dialogue between the organic and the poetic, weaving identities, interweaving imaginary.

Materials horsehair, vegetable fiber Tampico, silver.

Horsehair is extracted from the horse's tail mainly due to its length.

Tampico vegetable fiber is made from a plant exclusive to the semi-desert areas of northern Mexico, the Agave Lechugilla. It has been exported worldwide for centuries for the manufacture of ropes, brushes and brooms. 

The natural color of the hair has been used in these pieces. The natural color of the tampico fiber is creamy white and can be dyed in other colors with anilines.

Please note this item is handmade, made to order and available to dispatch in 8 weeks from purchase. Made in and shipped from Chile.