◆ AUTHENTIC • FAIR TRADE • HANDMADE ◆
While traveling the
World, We Fell in
Love with Handcrafts
Today, we’re proud to share that passion with you through
authentic artisan jewelry and clothing,
gemstone items, unique home décor, alpaca plush toys
and apparel, curated gifts, and collectibles. Handcrafted
treasures, carefully selected from talented artisans around
the world.
From Our Hands to Yours
Carefully Packed With Love and Attention
Fair Trade & Ethical
Fair pay, Safe Working Conditions, and Respect for People and Nature.
4.9 (460) stars on Etsy
Loved by Collectors and Hundreds of Happy Customers
From The Etsy Community.*
Family Owned
Discovering Treasures From
Around The World Since 2007
— The artisans who inspired us to start
“Money isn’t everything; Happiness and Friendship are.”
Where would you like to wander?
Six corners of what we bring back. Each one comes from a different set of hands.
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Ethnic Jewelry
Silver, stone and beadwork, strung and set by hand.
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Clothing & Textiles
Alpaca knits and woven cloth, warm enough for real winters.
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Gemstones & Carvings
Stone worked slowly, one piece at a time.
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Home Décor
Wall pieces, textiles and small things that make a room yours.
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Gifts & Collectibles
Curated finds you are unlikely to see anywhere else.
◆ WHAT WE BELIEVE IN
The things we carry with us
Nine ideas that shape how we travel, who we work with, and what we bring home.
Handmade
Shaped by human hands. No two pieces ever come out exactly alike.
Fair Trade
We buy direct, pay fairly, and keep working with the same families year after year.
Travels
We go back every year to visit, to learn, and to see what is new.
Spirituality
Symbols and traditions carried forward by the people who still make them.
Friendship
Business partners became friends, and friends began to feel like family.
Adventure
Be curious. Explore. Try something different. Have an adventure.
Sustainability
Small batches, made slowly and made to last. The opposite of disposable.
One-of-a-Kind
Imperfections included. They are the proof a person made it.
The Good Life
A shared meal. A long talk. An afternoon that is not rushed.
◆ OUR JOURNEY
Everything has a humble beginning.
In 2007, what began as a simple family trip to South America became a journey that would change our lives.
Between visiting friends and relatives, we wandered through local craft markets and immediately fell in love with what we discovered—beautiful textiles, jewelry, carvings, clothing, and countless handmade treasures, each carrying the creativity and traditions of the people who made them.
As we traveled, we had the opportunity to meet many of the artisans and their families. We saw extraordinary talent, but we also saw how hard many of them worked to provide for their families with limited resources and opportunities. Wanting to support their work, we bought as many of their crafts as we could and brought them home with us to the United States.
We began with something very small: a table at local fairs and festivals.
The response surprised us.
People loved the craftsmanship, the colors, the stories, and the uniqueness of what we had brought back. At some of our first events, we nearly sold everything. Customers kept asking us where these beautiful pieces came from—and when we would have more.
So we returned to South America.
What started as a family trip slowly became something much bigger. We continued meeting artisans, discovering new places, and bringing their work to fairs, festivals, and markets throughout the East Coast. Before long, traveling and working alongside artisans had become part of our lives
◆ TRAVELS & DISCOVERY
Somewhere along the way, travel became part of who we are.
From Markets to Our Workshop
After several years of working with many of the same artisan families, we wanted our relationship to become more than simply buying and selling their work.
We created a workshop where artisans could work together in a safer, more comfortable environment with better tools and equipment, as well as a place where their children could stay nearby, play, and be supervised while their parents worked.
Our workshop brought together people with many different talents—wood and stone carvers, painters, textile makers, clothing makers, jewelers, and artisans creating ethnic gifts and collectibles.
It was also there that another part of our story began.
I started designing some of our own products, combining my ideas with the knowledge, traditions, and incredible skills of the artisans. Together, we experimented, created, changed things, laughed at the things that didn’t work, and celebrated the ones that did.
For many years, I have returned to South America for several months at a time to work alongside them and turn new ideas into something real.
But somewhere along the way, we realized that we weren’t simply building a business.
We were building friendships.
WORKSHOP PHOTO — YOUR IMAGE HERE
What We Learned Along the Way
Spending time with our artisan friends changed the way we looked at life.
We shared meals, stories, celebrations, long conversations, laughter, and everyday moments. We learned about their traditions and families, and they learned about ours. Business partners became friends, and friends began to feel like family.
And perhaps the greatest thing they taught us had nothing to do with handicrafts.
They reminded us that a rich life isn’t necessarily measured by how much we own.
Sometimes happiness is a meal shared around a table. A long conversation with a friend. An afternoon that isn’t rushed. Creating something with your hands. Traveling somewhere unfamiliar. Meeting someone whose life is completely different from yours and discovering how much you have in common.
We live in a world that constantly encourages us to have more, earn more, buy more, and move faster.
Our journey taught us something different:
Sometimes having more means slowing down enough to enjoy what you already have.
The Meaning Behind Ethnic & Groovy
That philosophy became part of the meaning behind Ethnic & Groovy.
Ethnic
Our love and respect for cultures, traditions, craftsmanship, and the wonderful people we have met throughout our travels.
Groovy
The belief that life should also be enjoyed. Be curious. Travel. Explore. Laugh. Make friends. Try something different. Have an adventure. And every once in a while, slow down and take a good nap.
We believe in working hard, but we also believe in living well.
We believe in handmade things because they carry something mass-produced things cannot: the hands, imagination, imperfections, traditions, and stories of the people who created them.
And we believe that business can be about more than selling products. It can create relationships, preserve craftsmanship, support communities, connect cultures, and remind us that behind every handmade piece is a human story.
More than anything, we genuinely love what we do.
We believe passionately in meaningful work, sustainable social change, travel, good food, great friends, long talks, broadened horizons, a little time to slow down—and always, a spirit of adventure.