Carla Cosar

I was born in the city of Lima – this is where I studied and have lead a relatively tranquil life. I am a proactive person, determined and responsible – traits that have helped me deal with the challenges that life often faces us with. I always try to learn from those negative experiences, and promise myself never to make the same mistakes.

It's important to me to have fun at work, so when I go to the workshop we organize informal meetings where we can just chat and organize such games as charades, etc. Without a doubt, this is one of the activities we enjoy the most.

"I began taking interest in this art when I was in college, and it grew further when I had the opportunity to go abroad. I realized that alpaca, the gods' fiber as it is often referred to, was highly prized in countries of the northern hemisphere, where winter can be brutal. I realized there was a great need to share this fiber with the rest of the world, especially worked with ancestral Andean techniques from such Peruvian regions as Huancavelica, Huancayo, and Ayacucho.

"Designing alpaca apparel is a talent I've acquired through great perseverance, effort and dedication. I trained in a small workshop specializing in producing alpaca apparel for the US. I am forever grateful to the owners for offering me the opportunity to learn, and for their patience and advice regarding the care of the items.

"Now I have my own workshop after so much work, and there are people who collaborate with me who I trust completely. What I enjoy the most is creating my own designs and being able to exchange ideas regarding other areas of the process, so that the final product is 100% to the customers' satisfaction.

"What I find to be the most challenging is being able to fuse our ancestral and modern techniques, but when we achieve it we create classic and contemporary styles that are truly amazing.

"I identify with pre-Inca cultures, most significantly the Paracas culture. I'm drawn to the geometric patterns developed by our ancestors.

"Our specialty is alpaca as well as blending it with sheep wool depending on the drape or thickness we'd like to achieve.

"My dream for the future is to continue achieving the goals we have set for the optimization of every aspect of the workshop so we can soon work on including accessories to our product line."