About From The Andes | Global Import Shop Since 1987
A family business built in Taos, one piece at a time.
From The Andes began with a suitcase of alpaca sweaters and a small rented space on Paseo del Pueblo Norte. Over the decades, it grew into a six-location retail business. Today, the family carries it forward online.
One suitcase, four children, and a small space in Taos.
In 1987, Maria Isabel “Chavi” Guerra arrived in Taos with four children and a suitcase of alpaca sweaters from Bolivia. That suitcase became the foundation of From The Andes.
Chavi rented a small space on Paseo del Pueblo Norte and began selling the sweaters she had brought with her. Alpaca was the beginning, but the store did not remain a single-category business. Over time, the assortment broadened through travel, buying, and relationships with makers and suppliers from around the world.
From the first rented space to the Plaza.
As the business grew, Chavi moved From The Andes to Taos Plaza. What started with alpaca developed into a much broader import shop, bringing together clothing, textiles, art, jewelry, decorative objects and unusual finds selected from many traditions and places.
The move marked the beginning of a much larger retail chapter. From The Andes eventually operated three stores in Taos while continuing to expand beyond the town where it began.
Three stores in Taos. Red River. Flagstaff. Crested Butte.
Over the years, the company’s expansion ultimately encompassed six retail locations across New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado. The growth changed the scale of the business, but its identity remained tied to finding distinctive pieces and bringing them to customers in person.
The stores closed. The collection stayed with the family.
When the physical retail chapter ended, the remaining collection did not disappear. It stayed with the family, along with the knowledge, objects and history accumulated through decades of buying and retail.
Many pieces are limited, vintage, one of one, or otherwise difficult to replace. When an identical replacement is unlikely, the product page identifies that scarcity rather than treating the item as endlessly renewable inventory.
From The Andes returns online.
In 2025, Vladimir J. Costa brought From The Andes back online, carrying forward the business founded by his mother while opening the collection to customers far beyond Taos.
The website is a new format for an old business. It combines remaining pieces, limited finds and current merchandise with a more exacting standard of documentation, so customers can understand what is known about material, construction, origin, dimensions, condition and scarcity before buying.
A global import shop, not a single-category brand.
The assortment is deliberately broad. The connection between pieces is not one country, material or aesthetic. It is the reason an item deserves a place in the store.
Alpaca & Textiles
Garments, shawls, ruanas, cardigans, throws and other textiles selected for material, construction and usefulness.
Art & Objects
Sculpture, figurines, home objects and decorative work chosen for craftsmanship, character and the information available about where and how a piece was made.
Masks & Symbolic Objects
Masks, amulets, talismans and ritual objects presented with care around what is known, what a tradition associates with the form, and what should not be assumed.
Jewelry, Minerals & Collectibles
Wearable pieces, stones, vintage goods and unusual finds whose individuality, condition or limited availability sets them apart from ordinary mass inventory.
Selection before slogans.
Direct buying relationships have been part of From The Andes since its early years, but the modern assortment spans different periods, categories and sourcing paths. The standard is to state what is known rather than make one blanket claim about every item.
Look at the piece itself.
Fiber, material, technique, dimensions, condition and useful construction details are prioritized where they can be established.
Give customers what is known.
Country, maker, tradition, age or history are included when supported. Where certainty stops, the description should stop with it.
Do not pretend everything can be reordered.
Many pieces are limited or non-repeatable. When only one is available, that matters to the buying decision and should be made clear.
Taos is where the business became real.
Taos is not a location added later to the brand story. From The Andes began on Paseo del Pueblo Norte, moved to Taos Plaza, and ultimately grew to three stores in town.
The online store now reaches customers far beyond northern New Mexico, but the company’s history remains rooted here and orders continue to ship from New Mexico.
The store changed. The reason for it did not.
From The Andes continues as a family business built around finding pieces worth examining closely, documenting them accurately, and making them available to people who value where things come from and how they were made.
Established 1987 · Limited inventory · Ships from New Mexico