Cajamarca angels make their presence felt in handcrafted earrings designed by Carolina and Jorge of Llul. Ornate openwork distinguishes the slightly curved sterling silver earrings.
Product Features:
- Dimensions: 1.7 inches long x 0.9 inches wide
- Country: Peru
- Product Features: Handmade
- Style: Dangling
- Metal Color: White
Story Behind the Art:
We're Carolina and Jorge, a couple of young artisans with many projects in mind and we're ready to share our art. We sign our work as?Llul,?a term we adopted when we first started which we thought meant 'jewel' in English. We were taking part in a handicrafts project in Cajamarca sponsored by the American Peace Corps and most of the volunteers hardly spoke Spanish, so when they said?jewel?we heard?llul.?I, Carolina, was born in Lima but my family is from Japan. My designs are influenced by Japanese artistry, where I mix geometric and organic motifs. I grew up in Lima and since I used to swim when I was in school, I got the chance to travel throughout Peru. This is how my fascination with the Moche, Chimu and Inca cultures began.?I, Jorge, grew up in Trujillo and when I finished school I started working at my dad's small ceramics workshop. I then studied fine arts, followed by graphic design and painting. I've enjoyed handcrafts and modeling ever since I was a boy - I used to spend a lot of time looking at my dad's books and magazines on architecture and design. I still have them and once in a while I like looking through them.?For me, Carolina, it was difficult to leave it all, my work and my family, to pursue what impassions me. But soon enough the results reassured me. I moved to Cajamarca in 2008 and everyone thought it would be a temporal thing. But my family stood by me and to this day I carry with me everything my parents taught me about loving what you do and being disciplined about it.?My original plan when I went to Cajamarca was to finish in one year the jewelry course I'd be taking, which was designed as a year and half, because I didn't want to stay in Cajamarca for so long. I didn't think Cajamarca would be an interesting place to live in?? and that was eight years ago. I'm still living in Cajamarca and would not want to live anywhere else.?For Jorge, studying art and making a living of it back when he started was very complicated - especially when people where prejudiced against artisans. However, he feels that had it not been for those challenges, he would not be enjoying now what he has achieved. And though his family didn't agree with the choices he was making, they always supported him.?At the end of the day, being able to work doing what you like is always rewarding, and these are rewards that feed your spirit and give you the strength to carry on, admits Jorge.?We both have many dreams to fulfill, such as continue working in what we love, share our designs and grow as a venture so that people will eventually recognize our style and our collections.?We worked hard to learn this art form, we took different specialization courses - Jorge even went abroad to study - and we've had work experience with different Peruvian master jewelers at their workshops. The more we learn, the more inspired we become and push ourselves to continuously improve.??