What keeps a craft fresh is a willingness to remake itself constantly, to be ready to innovate on established techniques, to renew the tradition by using different textures and forms.
Some Mariposa collections are inspired by the natural order of the natural world, and our home within it. Some are devoted to the gourmet pleasures of food, the sensuous beauty of the harvest. Some derive from traditional patterns, which we give a modern, fanciful, or provocative edge.
In the end, the designer must always respect the individual piece's function — for no matter how special it looks, if it doesn't sit happily in your hand or on the table, it doesn't work.
We use the best artisans we've found for each material. For example, the finest glassware in the world still comes from Europe; our ceramics are principally done by superior workshops in Italy; our cutlery is made by French masters, with centuries of craftsmanship and invention behind them. We're constantly innovating with Mexican bottle-glass, and our Mexican aluminum serveware is of an unsurpassed elegant sleekness, because our artisans can handle the difficulties.
In country after country, we have been welcomed into their houses and feasts as well as their workshops. We've learned from each other, and built up a mutual affection and understanding — bonds that now go back many years.
