Artisan Life

Artisan Life was established in the UK with the purpose of promoting Colombian artisans and their craft by commercialising unique handcrafted jewellery and fashion accessories through leading distribution channels in the UK and other European markets. All of their products are sourced on a fair trade basis using natural and sustainable materials.

Artisan Life works hard to provide Colombian artisans with opportunities to expand their craft beyond local markets, while striving for the sustained development of the environment and the progress of artisan communities.

They focus on developing trusting relationships with the artisans in order to understand the skill and passion that goes into each craft, which enables them to select unique, modern and high-quality handcrafted products.

Tagua Jewellery

Tagua, also known as vegetable ivory, is a seed that comes from the Phytelephas Macrocarpa palm tree, an endangered palm tree that only grows in the tropical rainforests of the South American Pacific coasts.

The Tagua palm tree grows in the humid rainforest, under the canopy, to a height of 20 to 30 feet. The Tagua seed ranges in size from a cherry to a grapefruit and average about the size of a walnut. Chemically they are pure cellulose and before the nuts mature they have a milky sweet liquid in the centre that can be consumed. The ivory nut is close grain and very hard. The cellular structure and grain is similar to that of elephant ivory, but is more dense and resilient. It resembles the finest ivory in texture and colour and is slightly softer than mammal ivory and usually contains a void in the centre of the nut.

When ripe the nuts fall to the ground and are gathered and dried for a period of up to 2 years after which they become extremely hard (ivory like). The nuts are harvested after they are ripe and have fallen to the ground, which means no damage is done to the rainforest during the production process.

The Tagua seed has more to offer: the fine dust produced by working the nut serves as an enrichment of live stock feed. Most importantly, tagua is replacing the slaughter of mammal ivory (elephants and other) in the textile and fashion industries.

For more information on Tagua Jewellery please visit the Artisan Life website.