Gifts That Give Back
Products that Impact our Communities
In order to protect and preserve the environment, we need to make changes. Save your Straw is an easy change that we can make!
It is estimated that the United States consumes over 500 million straws a day! Unfortunately, recycling centers are not able to recycle plastic straws, they jam up the recycling machines. Save Your Straw allows us to be the change! A reusable and cleanable option.
Each convenient, modern and elegant travel case comes with 2 straws and a straw cleaner, making it easy to sanitize your straws.
Junes Bags commitment is to become 100% environmental friendly. Together we use a combine total of 100 Billion plastic bags a year! It takes plastic bags 1,000 years to break down. Currently, they are working on a recycling program, where they collect old, ugly, worn, reusable bags to make new yarn. Junes bags has also partnered with an all female sewing co-op in Juarez to offer sustainable income for the women there. And now, for every bag purchased, a donation is also made to help empower and protect women from violence, through the Global Fund for Women.
Weaving for Justice connected us with their weaving cooperative Tsobol Antzetik (Women United). This group of Tsotsil-speaking Maya women are from several hamlets in the township of San Pedro Chenalhó, Chiapas, Mexico living on milpas - small plots of land where they raise corn, beans, and squash.
Maya women have been weavers for as long as their people can remember. They say that the Moon taught women to weave sacred designs. Today weavers encode in their creations a deeply held belief that people, plants, animals, Earth, and other spiritual beings must cooperate to keep the world "in flower". Their weavings are made on a back-strap loom using a process called brocade. The products we carry provide women a means to support their families while staying on their lands and remaining part of their communities. The women of Tsobol Antzetik stay united around their work as weavers and as members of the movement for social justice in their communities which they call “the resistance movement”.
Multicolores Guatemala is a group of over forty women artisans scattered across five communities in the Highlands of Guatemala, which was founded in 2013 as the first rug hooking cooperative in the country. As Mayan women, they value their textile heritage and use rug hooking as a way to evolve their practice and keep their rich cultural history alive. The hooked rugs in our collection are made of 100% recycled materials. This is not only good for the environment; it is also a relatively inexpensive way of starting a local business in Guatemala. The artists take their design inspiration from the traditional huipils, skirts (cortes) and belts (fajas) worn by Maya women.
The Multicolores weaving Co-op has brought many positive changes to women’s lives in Guatemala. By selling their rugs, they are able to earn a regular income, which helps them to support their families, improve their homes, and send their children to school. Few Maya women travel beyond their villages but being part of Multicolores has opened new horizons; it provides opportunities to build cross-cultural friendships and share their craft with the world.
Each hat in the Carlos Santana Collection is intricately crafted and designed using unique trims and details. By carrying these hats, the LCAC supports the efforts of The Milagro Foundation, which works with children in the areas of education, health and the arts. It was founded by Carlos Santana in 1998 and has since granted over $7.5 million to agencies that support children.
Please call Adrianna at 720-353-2233 to set a shopping appointment.
The Latino Cultural Arts Center operates a retail shop called Hijos del Sol that encourages and supports local and international Latino folk art and craft. In 2019, the shop was recognized by Westword Magazine as "Denver's Best Museum Gift Shop” because of our expertly curated textiles, one-of-a-kind jewelry, hand-painted home decor and more. The Hijos del Sol collection includes artisan work from Mexico, Central, and South America, as well as Colorado-based and U.S. artists who have a connection to Latin America. When you purchase gifts at Hijos del Sol they supports our fundraising efforts to make the LCAC vision a reality and provides a revenue-generating source for artists and artisans.
