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Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco

For those interested in buying authentic handwoven textiles from the Sacred Valley, this is the place to come. The nonprofit center was established in 1996 to support the textile traditions in communities in and around Cusco. In the large, gallery-like space, you will find wall hangings as well as purses, place mats, carpets and shawls, all made by local weavers using centuries-old techniques and patterns. Colors come from natural dyes, and locals can read the meanings in the weavings. Often women demonstrate their art at looms in the back of the store.

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Centro Artesanal Cusco

Away from the historic district at the far end of Avenida El Sol is a large warehouse-like building painted bright red and yellow. There are several entry points and vendors around them, and the scene gives you a sense of what lies within: a large market for regional artisans, who arrive daily to sell their crafts. You won’t find any real treasures, but if you want to pick up ponchos, purses, necklaces or other small souvenirs or gifts, they’re likely to cost less here than around the Plaza de Armas.

Ilaria

Ilaria Ciabatti, a Florentine artist who once taught school in Lima, may have done more to raise the profile and awareness of the traditions of Peruvian silversmiths than anyone else in the past two decades. She founded her company in 1992 to export sterling silver and jewelry to a store in Milan and then to Paris, Switzerland and Spain. The work she commissioned from local artisans sold so well abroad that she began to work with them to create jewelry that used local materials, such as Andean opals, sodalite and Peruvian turquoise. Today she has multiple stores in Peru and is considered the Elsa Peretti of her country, both for her jewelry and for her home designs.

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