Our Origins

In 2010 I dropped out of college, hopped on a bicycle, and headed south. Nine months of biking, boating, busing, hitchhiking, and trains later I found myself in Bogota, Colombia without much more than an expired debit card and a tiny bit more wisdom.

A lot has changed in the world since my first dive into the unknown. Some of this change has been for the better, but with it has come an oppressive sameness. Languages are lost, old houses become cinder-block, and traditional crafts are forgotten.

First as a traveler and later as a student of international development, I struggled with the paradox of killing what I loved. People everywhere deserve the wealth and benefits of the modern world, but those gains often force them to leave behind parts of their culture. In the rush for modernity, cheap imports win out while the quality and history of traditional crafts are undervalued. By the time a country has become wealthy and begins to value these, it is often too late.

My goal is to offer an alternative.

By connecting traditional artisans with American consumers we can bridge this gap. Giving artisans a steady stream of income and paying them for the high quality of their work allows them to keep their traditions alive and shows new generations that there is a future in their history.

The world is weird, wild, and beautiful.

Hopefully in some small way, we can help keep it like that.

Carlton Klein,
Founder