Colombian designer Mercedes Salazar compares his job to the skill of a chef: you mix several ingredients to create something new and unexpected. Since the brand was founded in 2001, Mercedes has never tired of experimenting with a variety of materials, from leather and blown glass to horsehair and raffia. In 2007, she began working with local communities to revive traditional weaving techniques.

Sometimes in handmades Mercedes uses exclusively natural materials, sometimes it mixes them with man-made ones, for example, metal threads or textiles.

“By my example, I want to show other designers how they can attract local craftsmen to work on their collections,” she says. “Sometimes this is the only opportunity to give them a chance for a better life and help them earn as much as they deserve.”