Where Authenticity Becomes Legacy

Maria Isabel "Chavi" Guerra Verastegui at home in Taos, New Mexico

 

In 1987, my mother, Maria Isabel “Chavi,” arrived in Taos, NM with four children and a suitcase of alpaca sweaters from Bolivia. I was the oldest, and I remember it clearly. That suitcase was the beginning of From The Andes. She believed handmade work mattered and set out to build a new life for us around it.

She opened her first store in Taos and sustained it by returning to the source. She went back to the highland communities of Bolivia and Peru, and later traveled across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. She met weavers, silversmiths, mask carvers, and woodworkers face to face. Many had never sold beyond their villages. Every piece she carried home held their story and her promise that they would be paid fairly and remembered.

From that first store, the business grew. From The Andes expanded to Crested Butte, CO, Red River, NM, Flagstaff, AZ, and three more locations in Taos. For more than thirty years, my mother ran those stores while raising five children. I grew up in that world. There were sweaters stacked on shelves, masks hanging on the walls, and catalogs spread across the counter. I saw the work and the strength it demanded.

In 2012, she closed the stores and retired. After decades of work, she had earned her rest. The collection was packed away, but the story she built never left us.

That story is now mine to continue. I am Vladimir J. Costa, her oldest son. In 2025, I reopened From The Andes as an online gallery. The pieces you see here are the full collection she built over three decades. Once a piece leaves our hands, it will not return.

When you acquire something from From The Andes, you become a custodian of the same promise my mother made in 1987: respect the maker, pay fairly, and keep the story alive.

"Before 'fair trade' was a label, it was just how my mother did business."

Where Can I Find Authentic Andean Textiles and Folk Art?

From The Andes is not a marketplace. It is a living archive of artisan mastery, rare objects collected one by one and never mass-produced. Our offerings include:

• Collector-grade Andean textiles woven by generational weavers

• Ceremonial masks rooted in Tiwanaku and pre-Columbian traditions

• Traditional folk art and silverwork tied to living heritage

• One-of-a-kind pieces selected for heirloom and gallery appeal

Why Choose Ethically Sourced Andean Artisan Crafts?

In an age of mass production and digital replicas, the truly handmade has become endangered. From The Andes returns to honor what cannot be copied: culture, lineage, and the tactile presence of an artist's hand.

I grew up surrounded by looms, carvings, and stories carried in fabric and form. Today, I carry my mother’s vision forward through a digital gallery for a new generation of collectors.

• Every piece is handmade, singular, and rooted in place
• Your purchase supports living artisans and endangered traditions
• 10% of every sale sustains independent journalism via NPR

Welcome to the Story

Not everyone seeks the authentic. But for those who do, From The Andes is your invitation into a world of living heritage and irreplaceable art. Explore the gallery. Discover your heirloom. Carry a story forward.

From The Andes | Where rarity lasts.