Highly unusual baskets (water jars) from South America

About our hand-made werregue baskets from Colombia

These hand-woven baskets are special! Due to the unique construction methods used for werregue baskets, it takes several days to several months for an artisan to make each basket. Each is a work of art in itself, and no two are alike. Made from the spines of werregue palm trees, the baskets are lined internally so they hold water. The baskets are used by the local people to carry water from the rivers and lakes into the village. Inside and out, the baskets look like they're completely made of woven palm; the secret water shield is buried among the layers of the basket. Because of this, it is heavier than you would expect a basket to be. The palm fibers are also dense and slick, adding to the solid feel of these specially crafted pieces.Werregue baskets are considered to be the finest baskets made in Colombia. Their craftsmanship, detail, and the tight weaving of the fibers are easy to appreciate. They are extremely beautiful and also durable. Beneath the top layers of fiber you can see the tight coils used to shape the baskets. They are coiled tigher and of smaller diameter at the bottom of the basket. They grow as the basket widens out and they narrow again at the narrowest part of the neck below the rim.

Do you love baskets? Leave us a comment!

Today we're finding animals that start with "W"

"W" is certainly for WARTHOG! We have a very unusual item in our store - it's warthog jewelry! This special jewelry is made by hand by artist Corinna Bechko. It comes as a pin, a pendant, or a pair of warthog earrings! You can choose from a variety of colors, and if you get the warthog earrings or pendant, you can also choose a bead color to contrast or match. Corinna has a collection of really beautiful and tasteful beads. It's always fun to see what she comes up with!

We also have this nice, tusky PLASTIC WARTHOG. You'll find him in our pig section on the hoofed animals page.

We at least one "W" in our dog section, too. Above is a cute Welsh Corgi pin, hand-cast in pewter and hand-painted by some very talented artists in the US.

This animal is not a dog, but a wolf. The portrait pin is made just like the Welsh Corgi above. You can see and order our beautiful wolf portrait jewelry via our web album link.

A wrasse is a colorful tropical saltwater fish. In the ocean, they come in many bright shapes and various sizes. We were lucky enough to find one type of plastic wrasse, and you can order it here in our gift shop! Just scroll down through our plastic fish to find the pink and yellow wrasse.

"W" is also for Wild Boar. We have two in our online store. One is pictured above, and one below. Take a look see which one you like best!


This is quite unusual. We even have wild boar jewelry among the painted animal pins in our store! Isn't that cool? It's made by hand and hand-painted in the USA.

And last but not least, this is not an animal, but we carry some exquisite baskets made in Colombia. They are made by the Werregue people and are referred to as Werregue baskets or jars. These tightly-woven hand-made art objects actually hold water! Some of them do have animal designs on them, and others are strictly geometric patterns woven into the special palm fibers used for making these striking collector's items. They are still used by the indigenous people who make them in Colombia, but they are a favorite of collectors of ethinic art!

Werregue palm baskets - the amazing water jars of the Colombian coast

The first of these delightful and finely-crafted works of Colombian ethnic art are now online in our gift shop and more are due to arrive soon. I've given the baskets a page of their own. You can scroll from top to bottom and easily see what's in stock. The construction is especially unusual, and they take a very long time to make. Known worldwide for their fine detail, tight weave, and beautiful designs, the werregue palm baskets are truly special. You can read more about them on our site. We will continue to import these collectible items from Colombia and we'll keep you posted. Sergio sent some more photos today, and I can't wait for them to arrive! You'll note that although the example above depicts several animals (a toucan on this side and other animals on other parts of the basket), some are pure design and color. We've taken a step away from our animals-only theme in order to be able to put even more money back into the field to protect the animals. By branching out, we'll have greater choices in the crafts we can buy from local artisans. Plus, it's a dream come true for me to be able to work with such wonderful art. Let's see what the future holds in store!