Lupita Betancourt

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Update (July, 2019)

I have been working with you since 2010, which has allowed us to preserve one of Mexico's best and most beautiful traditions — copper and amber jewelry.

We've learned a lot over these beautiful years, such as how to make a quality, avant-garde design filled with tradition and magic. I have worked with expert artisans in the area who have taught me some of these gems' secrets.

What has impacted me the most is the fact that this beautiful project nurtures dreams — not only my dreams, but the dreams of each one of the artisans that work with me. One of them was able to offer a university education to one of his daughters. This project sustains four families with this fabric of dreams.

We have received various awards, one of which I remember was in 2012. This gave us the opportunity to send more models to New York. It is touching.

Creating and working with jewelry has given me a lot. We have grown greatly and have been incentivized to improve our quality every day. It's really flattering to learn to make a piece of jewelry that carries life. We have managed to expand our workshop to include more artisans.

My designs are elegance and harmony. They are part of our lives.

Original Artisan Story

I've always liked jewelry. When I was 20, my sisters and I began selling gold, and then silver. But I always wanted to create designs of my own, so I began by putting original pieces together. They sold faster than the others. I've always found gemstones simply enchanting. And this is when I had the idea of creating an entire line of jewelry with a concept of elegance and harmony.

At the time, I was in danger of losing my eyesight. I had glaucoma in one eye and I was ordered to rest. I realized just how much my sight means to me and, if I lost it, I wouldn't have the opportunity to design.

I began Reiki therapy during the entire month I was in repose. Thank God, through the therapy and medications, my eye was saved – it was a real miracle that there was no hemorrhage in my retina.

Afterward, the doctor gave me permission to travel to San Miguel de Allende to take a jewelry course. Thanks to this experience, my entire outlook changed. I realized I wanted to spend the rest of my life designing. I continued to craft jewelry while I searched for a way to set up a small workshop despite several people who tried to discourage me. I never gave up and I continue to struggle each day, always looking toward the future.

In my tireless search, God placed wonderful people in my path so I could achieve my goals. Today, I work with a group of young people and our task begins with the extraction of amber from its natural environment.

It never ceases to amaze me how when we begin to clean and polish the gems by hand, the amber itself permits us to discover its color and shape! It's as though the amber speaks to me through shape and tone to show me the design I should give it… it's all so special! From shaping the silver – which is done with great enthusiasm and love – to packaging a finished piece, I always try to join the elements that nature gives us to achieve a result of elegance and harmony.

All my designs are unique because they are conceived to bring that elegance and harmony to every person who wears them. They are also unique in the sense that each piece of amber is a landscape that nature created for us thousands of years ago. Just close your eyes and imagine how many sunsets, how many rainstorms and all the lovely things that happen to a drop of resin to become a unique piece of amber.

I teach my techniques to the people who work with me, but my best inspiration comes when I've spent time close to nature. Or when I'm doing yoga, design ideas come to mind. This is the best technique.

Also, the loveliest part of my designs is the energy transmitted by the amber from so many sunsets – sunsets that took place long before the gem came into my hands – and this gift of energy fills us with love. That's why it's so complicated for pieces to be the same. In nature, there's not a single flower that's identical to another, or a plant that grows exactly like another no matter how we cut or prune it – the colors are never identical.

It's the same way with amber. Each piece is unique and cannot be repeated. Each encapsulates a moment of life and is not the same, even though we give another piece of amber a similar shape.

The most difficult part is finding the perfect piece of amber so that a design looks the same each time. It's quite complicated to create a series and discover that the bits of moss enclosed in the amber are similar. Even when they come from the same chunk of amber, the gems aren't the same.

My dreams are to create a workshop where we can generate more well-paid jobs. I'd love to create a line of traditional jewelry that sets the styles. I'd hope many people recognize that we create accessories but, at the same time, we are giving them a beautiful amulet.

When I was a teenager, I read a book called El vendedor más grande del mundo, where I learned a phrase that I've never forgotten. 'Failure will never take me by surprise if my determination is strong enough.'