Kategorie: Design

Merino Wool: sophisticated fashion by Mandua

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One of the most produced wool types in the world is the merino wool. Nowadays there are many regions which produce and export this type of wool, either as a raw-material or as an already customized product. One of the most relevant merino wool production areas in the world is the Argentinian-Andean region of Patagonia.

Mandua has recently launched a collection of merino designs, using mainly natural colours, thin and thick handspun garn wool. This collection consists on a triangular shawl, a fringed blanket and the sets of scarf and cap, which discreetly combine the natural color of the wool with more vivid colors, also in merino wool.

Regarded as luxurious, the merino wool is cuddly soft, light, and very high quality. This wool is mostly beige and, depending on the type of the merino-sheep, it can also have a grayish or a black hue. Even the natural combination of its colors already grant a sophisticated design, which can be seen in a few of the exemplars of this remarkably charming collection. Additionally, this is a functional material, which means, that it is thermoactive, but also antibacterial and hypoallergenic.

Mandua merino knitwear are weaved with a loom, which makes each product of this handmade collection unique. Mandua ensures a fair trade, animal friendly and high quality fashion thanks to a mutually respecful treatment between people, animals and nature.

Having such a merino-garment in your closet is a “jewelry” for every slow-fashion lover!

For more information about the Mandua Merino-collections, please click here.

Alpaca Toys-Collection: sustainable and unique

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The recently launched Mandua Deluxe Toys-Collection is handmade-produced in the Bolivian city of La Paz and has the company´s own exclusive design, so that each product becomes an unique model. The Mandua toys are diverse, stimulate the imagination and suit the most varied personalities of our young ones: it ranges from the “animal-friendly” models, among which we may find the Dog, the Monkey or the Giraffe, to the more “fantasy-developing” ones, such as the Pirate or the Unicorn. They just have to let the child’s imagination fly!

These products are 100% made with fibre of baby alpaca and care is taken that the features are bio, non-allergic and anti-bacterial. Moreover the stuffing of the toys consists of recycled polypropylene plastics, which are considered as a non-toxic material and can be re-used for different types of production. The purpose underlying is that while this material helps support the environment’s sustainability, babies and children can also be in contact with it (for example by taking it into their mouths) without endangering their health.

Furthermore Mandua works in partnership with a remarkable number of weaverfamilies from the Andean-zone in Bolivia, giving value to their work and making it known in Europe, where fair-trade production is becoming more and more a serious and worthy alternative for the preservation of the world’s environment.

For more information about each product of the Mandua Toys-Collecion, please click here.

Amazing andean communities

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At Mandua we have a mission: honouring the traditional Andean culture and traditions, while bringing quality products adjusted to the western taste. It took us a long time until we found the right suppliers and weavers, which guarantee the highest quality standards and keep loyal to the traditional methods to make our knitwear.

The women involved in our production have an ethical empowered and fair way of living, being able to provide for their own families. Fair trade is one of our main concerns in the process.

In the Andean communities there is something they grow up with. Every member of the community is trustworthy to others, they support each other, appreciate each other… The traditional values make it so that mothers and fathers teach their children all they know about producing their fabrics and making the most of the amazing alpaca wool.

They worship the Pachamama (Mother Earth) for its resources and take good care of their animals, as they basically belong to their families. There is so much to learn from our ancestors and the communities which have make it through the pressure of times to keep all those societies based on love and values. Mandua helps them pay for the land to acquire a sustainable way of earning their living, while keeping loyal to their amazing lifestyle. Be part of this great community that reaches so many people! From the far distanced Andean region straight to your home.

About the founder Ivana Fischer-Margenet

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My name is Ivana, born and grown up in Rosario, Argentina. In my early 20s I made the decision of leaving all behind and I moved to Spain, where I finished my degree in Marketing and life wisdom. These were years of joy and sorrow, equally. I met some aamazing people, learned unbeatable life lessons and missed some important episodes of my family’s life, back home in Argentina.

In my late 20, I moved to Germany, to carry on with my studies. I lived and worked in Muenster and Berlin. Germany is an amazing country, where I found the inspiration to make my dream come true: creating a brand with products made in the Andes of South America with natural fiber like baby alpaca or merino. I started designing my own products and getting in contact with different workshops in Bolivia, where the working women and the alpacas themselves enjoy a fair trade and animal friendly atmosphere at 3,000 meters high.

In the meanwhile, I met Sebastian the man I married in 2017; and we got a baby girl, our little Isabella Grace, on September 2018.
But as an entrepreneurial woman, there is no time off, any resting days or quiet weeks. Mandua was my first child, even before my husband-to-be and the baby knocked the doors of my life.

Let me share with you my self-designed articles, shaped with love and respect for the culture and traditions that produce them in lovely Bolivia, Peru and Argentina. To discover everything that Mandua has to offer, click here.

Is there any other entrepreneurial lady in the house? Are you a working mom and entrepreneur at the same time? How is your experience in this regard? I would love to hear from you. We always learn from each other, don’t we?

Mandua is delighted by Alzérreca’s art!

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Jaime is a lecturer, architect, photographer and artist, who lives in Cochabamba, Bolivia. He is able to integrate all these different disciplines in his art pieces, pictures, research works and books.

We are happy to work together with Bolivian multitalented Jaime Pérez Alzérreca. Today, we want to share with you his artistic face, which you will also see on our web site.

Plastic artist: he studied Art in drawing and painting, at the school Raul G. Prada in Cochabamba, Bolivia. From the earliest years in Art School, his first art pieces were included at the final exhibitions organized by the School.

Illustrator: Jaime stands up to today- as an illustrator of several projects in the Research Institute of Architecture.

He is the creator of the illustrated workbook, LOOKS AT THE 17 OBJECTIVES OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, a product financed by Swedish cooperation.

Architect: he was formed as Architect at the University of San Simón and participates in this process as an illustrator of several projects both academics and professionals, generating large pieces illustrating architectural projects.

Photographer: he worked at Simón I. Patiño Foundation, in the documentation of architectural and historical heritage legacy of the productive and social sector in Bolivia. Until now he is actively involved in several individual and joint photo exhibitions in important art spaces in the city of Cochabamba.

Lecturer: he teaches both undergraduate and graduate careers of Architecture and Visual Communication from the University of San Simón, Cochabamba.

As seen in his paintings, Jaime manages to capture social behaviour signs of his society. To that end, he travels around the country to discover the peculiarities of the citizens and (native) communities in the different public spaces like markets, churches, streets and squares.

It is fantastic the way he found to integrate socio cultural aspects with architecture and art! We will definitely keep in touch with Jaime and come back with more of his unique art.

Find more about Jaime on his Facebook Page.