Peru

An increase in Peruvian merchandise may be one of next year's trends, after a free trade agreement between Peru and the United States was approved in the House of Representatives on November 8. Peruvian President Alan Garcia said the agreement “would create growth for Peru of up to 10 percent in 2009,” according to The New York Times.

Peru is particularly noted for textiles, usually hand spun, dyed and woven from native alpaca and sheep's wool. These were amply represented at the recent Peruvian Gift Show, October 4–5, in traditional patterns, in natural and vegetable-dyed wovens for tableware, pillows and even upholstery.

One innovative twist involved combining coarser, hand-spun yarns with machine-spun material for softer scarves. In addition, knitting and open work appeared on everything from traditional wares to contemporary designs. Clingy sweaters and creative cushions stood out, and alpaca also showed up in fur form, adorning hats and scarves, pillows and throws, and super-soft stuffed animals.

In addition to textiles, Peru is also famous for silver, which was well-represented in jewelry and also appeared in ornate frames and ceramics.

The latter tended toward decorative rather than functional tableware, with geometric designs in a palette of brown, black, white and orange. Jewelry was more heterogeneous, running the gamut from Inca-inspired trapezoid shapes to delicate modern mesh.

In addition to these staple crafts, there were a few unusual exhibitors who stood out. Silver Llama's T'ika pillows combine simple, stand-out design with knockout colors. Full Art Peru featured contemporary Peruvian art on everything from mugs to mouse pads.

Amazing Amazon featured vases and other decorative accessories made from rare woods from the Amazon rainforest. (Too rare, in fact, for a replanting project as yet, though the company hopes one will be added in future. In the meantime, they use small quantities of wood from small producers, which helps both to minimize any damage to the rainforest and to keep their product unique.)

The show also offered information to visitors about how to visit an artisan's workshop. And indeed, some buyers attend the show less to shop for the product shown than to shop for skilled craftspeople. “It is about using the creativity,” Desiré Armstrong of Hadeda Marketing, South Africa, told Gifts & Decorative Accessories. “The creativity is here. It is not about buying what we see here, it is about working with them to bring the Western influence. I have never bought a thing from the show, but I've worked with people from the show. They are great to work with.” n