Our new jewelry and homeware collection to support Mexican artisans

Like many countries, Mexico has been hit hard by the coronavirus. And the influence of the crisis is even more widespread for craftsmen and women across the supply chain.

According to the National Agency of Science and Technology, there have been at least 901,200 cases of the coronavirus in Mexico. Mexican health authorities acknowledge that the country's death toll from the pandemic is actually far higher than previously thought.

The crisis has had a big effect on our team. Our community manager Alejandra and our graphic designer Anaid both got infected by the virus. The new situation has delayed our new production and we're facing some very unpredictable upcoming months. Our eCommerce manager Paula even decided to leave Mexico and move to Germany for the foreseeable future.

But we are not the only ones impacted by this new situation. Many Mexicans do not have access to healthcare and are facing new dangers in their everyday lives. Especially artisans are dealing with a lot of uncertainty. With tourism going down, they are missing out on a large part of their customer base.

As a socially-minded company, our mission is to preserve traditional craftsmanship in a modern world. Now more than ever, artisans need the right tools to stay in business and continue practising their craft. Therefore, we have decided to help them.

How? By expanding our product range.

By introducing a new jewelry line and sustainable homeware collection, we can bring more artisanal products to the global market place. We hope to create new demand for these products so we can give more artisans a steady income in this time of doubt.

For our new handcrafted jewelry collection, we partnered with a talented local jewelry maker, Valentina Huete. The designs are inspired by the heritage of the Mayan culture in Mexico, and the abundance of natural beauty in the country. They're made of upcycled and recycled materials.

Our new limited-edition home collection consists of handblown glasses and woven tableware. The glasses are made by Artesanías Flores in Tonalá, Jalisco. The mimbre products are made Artesanías Tona-Mich in Michoacán.

We especially love these products now that we're spending more time at home now. The handcrafted products create a nice artisanal ambiance to your house, and they're a great gift for loved ones in December.

For CANO, this means that we will be more than just a shoe brand. Instead, we will become a more diverse craftsmanship brand. This is a bold move. But we hope that, with your support, this will be successful.

We will start with small productions and limited jewelry and homeware collections. Then we assess how the products are doing and how we can integrate this in our webshop.

It's a new, exciting, and scary time for us. So all your support, input, and feedback are very welcome. Together, we hope to create a positive ripple effect for artisans in Mexico.

May their craftsmanship stand the test of time - and corona!