As a follow-up to Mayu‘s visit to the Victory Alpaca Ranch last week, check out more photos of these adorable and sweet Camelids.
Connect with Mayu’s Twitter, Facebook and blog for more on alpaca, eco-fashion, and fun Fair Trade adventures!
Follow Mayu!
Videos & Photos
PRODUCT of the MONTH!
Posts Tagged ‘Hand-Knit Alpaca’
PHOTOBLOG: CUTE & FUZZY PROVIDERS OF ECO-FRIENDLY ALPACA FIBER
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
JOIN MAYU’S ARTISANS: WORLDWIDE KNIT (WITH ALPACA) IN PUBLIC DAY!
Monday, June 28th, 2010
Through no fault of our own (ok, maybe a little), Mayu completely blew past celebrating Worldwide Knit in Public Day! This day has been recognized since 2005, taking place on the second Saturday of June every year. Communities of knitters all over the world get together in groups every year to showcase their talents in public. Well, the good news about us being a little slow on the uptake is that Mayu’s Peruvian artisans knit in public every day!! Due to the flexible nature of their jobs, they can gather in the streets and knit with friends, family and neighborhood children. Worldwide Knit in Public Day brings out some of the spirit of community that Peruvian knitters experience all the time, it is KNIT into the fabric of their lives (pun definitely intended)!
Connect with Mayu on Twitter, Facebook and our blog for exciting news about Peru, artisans, sustainability, eco-fashion, fair trade, and hand-knit alpaca.
Mother’s Day Gift Idea: Fabulous SALE on Halfies
Thursday, April 29th, 2010
Mother’s Day is only a few days away (May 9th!) and we want to help you find the perfect gift! We are sad to see our Halfies go, but we must make room for next season’s designs. So, make sure to snatch one up at an amazing price of $79 (normally $139). The Halfies are perfect for cool spring days and summer nights. We promise your Mom will love it!
Happy Mother’s Day and keep checking back to our Blog for more product updates! You can also follow us via Twitter@shopmayu, RSS or Facebook!
♥Mayu♥
Mayu Product Review: Ruffle Scarf
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010Melanie, the winner of our Ruffle Scarf Giveaway, gave us such a great review, we want to share it with you. We love receiving feedback from our customers, and we hope Melanie’s review encourages you to check out Mayu for fabulous 100% hand-knit alpaca products.
Mayu-Hand Knit Alpaca Clothing Review
I recently won a Mayu ruffle scarf in chocolate brown on Mayu’s blog. I was very excited to win this item and couldn’t wait to see what it looked like in person! I received my scarf very quickly and was blown away by how beautifully knit this scarf was. I’ve never felt real Alpaca wool and let me tell you, it’s amazingly soft.
The color was rich and natural looking. The dye is beautiful and the scarf is really luxurious. Mayu works in conjunction with Peruvian village women to create a wonderful working relationship and friendship. Their business is making sure the women receive fair wages and have the freedom to care for their families while providing an exceptional and original piece of art.
I really love how unique this scarf is. It’s very fashionable and can definitely be a new trend in winter months. The colors come in cream, black, chocolate brown, and red. I definitely will do some more searching on this website come holiday time.
Thanks again Melanie! We love that you LOVE your scarf ♥
Mayu Alpaca Ruffle Scarf Giveaway Winner!
Friday, April 16th, 2010
The winner is – Melanie B of Ramblings of a Wannabe Writer!
Melanie, send us an email (info@shopmayu.com) with your mailing address and we will make sure your chocolate brown ruffle scarf gets to you as soon as possible!
Thank you everyone for participating! Check back right here on Monday; we have another great promotion in the works. We’ll give you a hint…starting thinking about Earth Day and what you can do to help our earth and all our global friends. 
Have a great weekend,
Your friends at Mayu
Follow us via Twitter@shopmayu, our blog or Facebook!
Mayu Film Recommendation: Soy Andina
Tuesday, February 16th, 2010Mid-February is about the time when we all grow sick of winter. The holidays have come and gone, the snow has worn out its welcome and we just want to get back outside! But, while we patiently wait for the warmer months to roll through, Mayu has a movie recommendation for your indoor entertainment.
Soy Andina is “the dazzling story of two women raised in different worlds — an immigrant folk dancer from the Andes, and a modern dancer from Queens, NY — who return to Peru to reconnect with roots and an astonishing world of traditional dance and celebration.”
We’ve mentioned Huayno dancing a number of times in past communications, but this movie truly highlights the cultural significance to Peruvians. Dancing ignites the importance of folklore and tradition within the Peruvian community as people look to express themselves through various forms of movement. Both traditional and modern, Huayno is the preferred dance of Mayu’s artisans (and of course one of our favorite Peace Corps activities!). Click here for a sample of wiki huayno music! In the film, you will catch a glimpse of rural Andean life and have a better understanding of where our artisans come from.
This wonderful documentary was created by Mitch Teplitsky. Mitch has partnered up with founder/organizer of the Foreign Film Club and New York Spanish Language Meetup, to screen Soy Andina on Saturday, March 27 at Iguana in NYC. The event will include a showing of the film, Q&A with Mitch and Cynthia (main character); followed by a Peruvian dance workshop and Salsa! This should be a fantastic event. Readers, let us know if you plan on attending…a possible Mayu meet-up?!
There you have it; Mayu’s inaugural film recommendation. So get a copy of the movie, get cozy under your Mayu hand-knit alpaca throw and hunker down for just one more night of winter.
Stay up to date on movies, Peruvian culture and hand-knit alpaca accessories by following us on Twitter@shopmayu, our blog and Facebook.
Enjoy the show!
Alpaca Garments: Dry-clean vs Hand-wash?
Wednesday, February 10th, 2010The dreaded “Dry-clean Only” tag…
There are plenty of opinions on dry-cleaning out there; be it concerning the environmental effects, necessity or cost. But what it all boils down to is, hand-washing is a far easier method for cleaning your garments. You can conduct business from home, using regular household items (i.e. shampoo) and have complete control over the process! No more concern over Perchloroethylene, also known as perc, PCE, C2Cl4, or tetrachloroethene, the solvent used by 90% of dry-cleaning businesses in the United States! This chemical is highly toxic and has several harmful side-effects if not used correctly.
The good news? All of Mayu’s hand-knit alpaca products are hand-wash! Should you want to dry-clean your products, you certainly may, however we suggest washing them in Woolite or shampoo. This is the method used by the Peruvian artisans; in the photo is Mari–after a long day of traveling with the alpaca fiber, she hand-washes the fiber in baby-shampoo and when she is done, she will take it up to her roof to dry in the strong Andean sun. If you choose to hand-wash, lay the items FLAT to dry. The shampoo leaves the alpaca soft and smelling yummy (as opposed to the smell of dry-cleaning chemicals!) If at any point your item becomes wrinkled, press it with a steam iron.
So there you have it, one more reason to buy alpaca! Don’t forget to read more about Mayu and shop for alpaca to help support artisans. As always, we appreciate your comments, questions and ideas. Please follow us on Twitter@shopmayu, follow the blog and become our fan on Facebook.
Punxsutawney Phil Knows Best: Stay Warm in Alpaca!
Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010So, Phil saw his shadow today, and you know what that means–6 more weeks of winter! Some of you may be groaning at the thought (hello, Chicago readers!), but it is a great opportunity for you to stock up on Mayu apparel. We still have plenty of slouchy hats, ruffle scarves and hoodies available. We are also in love with our Alpaca Throw Blanket. Perfect for snuggling up on the couch or treating house guests to the very best!
And in case you needed a reminder of the benefits of Alpaca-over Cashmere-Alpaca is warmer, more durable, wear resistant (it won’t pill and it will look new forever), wrinkle resistant, stretch resistant, hypo-allergenic, and shinier. Further, Alpaca is an eco-friendly and renewable resource, unlike Cashmere. For these reasons and more, (look out for coming posts!), Mayu should become your one-stop-shop for winter wear! And not to mention, you will look pretty good at the same time 
For more information on Alpaca, visit whatisalpaca.com. Be on the lookout for a coupon for first time Mayu buyers!
Stay warm!
Where do our Artisans Knit the Alpaca?
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
The group leader, Maria, is a retired school teacher and her husband is an engineer. Because they have extra space in their home, they have opened it up and it has become the meeting place of the artisans. Ever Monday night at 7pm (or maybe more like 8, Peruvian time!) the women get together to discuss business and hand out and turn in projects. When they are done, they usually stay until very late, socializing and sharing stories. Pictured at right is Diana in the small workspace.
The room is a little bit disorganized, huh?
When I lived in Peru, I would bake yummy cookies, banana and carrot bread to entice the ladies to show up to our meetings that were held in this very room. They usually brought their children with them to the meetings. They’d play outside and occasionally help their mothers with their tasks!
Mari Washing
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
One of the last things that our artisans do is wash the finished alpaca product. Just as we wash our knitting, crocheting or hand sewing due to it getting soiled so do the ladies in Peru. Once the items are washed, they lay them flat to dry in the sun – usually on their roofs and that completes the process of how our hand-knit alpaca products are created. Hope you enjoyed learning about it as much as we enjoyed sharing it!
