1990. My boyfriend Michael is half American, half Mexican and an assistant cameraman in Hollywood. We met 10 years before in my village under an umbrella during a heavy summer storm and had been in a kind of transatlantic relationship for 6 years. Beginning 1990 Michael is offered a job on the set of Highlander II (with the one and only Sean Connery and Christopher Lambert).The filming takes place in Buenos Aires. I have been a fan of South American literature for years –and of Sean Connery ;)- and for me that is reason enough to give up my job and leave with Michael for Argentina. We stay in Buenos Aires for 3 months and I get to know the city inside out. Afterwards we travel through Argentina, Peru and Bolivia for another 6 weeks. I fall in love with Latin America, its culture, its people and its scenery. Because we both speak Spanish and travel low budget, we get to meet the local people. The seed has been planted.

More than a quarter century later, Michael is still living in Los Angeles. He is married to Jackie who has Peruvian roots, is a father of two and has become what he had always dreamed of : a lawyer.

I am a proud mother of 3, with 2 stepsons and I am very happy with Paul, my student boyfriend who became a laywer and whom I left for Michael 30 years ago…

The circle is complete.

After that summer, I returned to Belgium and later travelled once again to Argentina, to Venezuela, Brasil, Mexico, Dominican Republic, again to Peru and the Dominican Republic, to Costa Rica and beautiful Ecuador. Chile, Guatemala and Uruguay are still on my list. The love for Latin American never faded.

The handmade things I brought home from my travels each have their own story. They showed me that there was more I could do to support the –mostly girls and women- of these communities. The idea was born, the energy started flowing and this webshop came to be.

Marie