colorful decor

The environment always comes first for Grettel Sandoval. The Costa Rican artisan crafts this green and gold hand-painted windchime with recycled glass she collects from factories that dispose of this material.

"I love to capture my emotions and moods when designing. My pieces have a cultural meaning since I aim to represent Costa Rican nature and also the strength and the spirit of Costa Rican women," Grettel says.

Guatemalan artisan Angelina Roquel wants to banish those bitter nightmares from your mind and allow your soul to enjoy an ethereal and serene dream. With a spirit full of uniqueness, Angelina handcrafts a glass beaded dreamcatcher, putting her love and creative heart into each detail. The piece comes in a palette of green, blue and purple hues to create a calm aura, finishing with dangling fringes joined to the sturdy stainless steel structure.

This singular table runner is decorated with elements of Guatemalan culture, such as corn and a cross. Woven of cotton on a traditional pedal loom by the Artisans of Panabaj, the kelly green runner features motifs in red, black, sky blue, yellow and purple. The artisan cooperative provides job opportunities to women in rural communities.

Add joy and warmth to your home decor with these ornaments featuring sweet little dolls. Handcrafted by the Lopez Garcia family, this set of 3 colorful cardboard and cotton ornaments comes with strings for hanging them everywhere. Each ornament has a unique color pattern, giving the design a charming touch.

Centered by a heart as well as a lively green cactus, this ceramic wall cross is a beautiful way to express your faith. The Contreras Family crafts the cross in the traditional majolica style, and paints it by hand with colorful glazes.

Relive the magical vibe of Guatemala's forests with this majestic composition by Gaby Briz and a talented artisan team. Inspired by the region's fauna, the team embellishes its newest cardboard magnet with a classic portrait of a cute Quetzal bird. The accessory also features the Spanish expression Guau! as a nod to Guatemala's name and marvelous nature.

Mexico City saw the beginning of a stunning art style in 1930. After a feverish dream full of extraordinary creatures, Pedro Linares started to create colorful sculptures called alebrijes. Since that day, many have continued Pedro's legacy, making superb works such as this steel wall art design by Alejandro de Esesarte.

"I was drawing an alebrije-like figure, when a little girl came to see what I was doing and joyfully shouted, 'alegrijes!' She misspelled 'alebrijes,' and we all laughed," he recalls.

"Later in the day, it hit me — the little girl didn't make a mistake. Because by changing a single letter, she gave me the new name for my line of alebrijes. They will be called alegrijes.

"Alegre' means means 'joy.' Alegrijes — the ones who bring joy." Using a colorful palette, the artisan crafts a mystic beast, featuring a feathered parrot head, human-like limbs and a fish body.

This charming wall cross from the Contreras Family is made of ceramic and painted by hand in the time-honored majolica style. The cross features a dainty folk art Maria doll in colorful costume against a background of emerald green.

The charming doll originated in Mexico City when many Otomi and Mazahua people migrated to the capital in the 1970s. Due to their unique traditional clothing, the women became known as "Marias." An educational program was established for them and artist Diego Rivera's daughter, Guadalupe Rivera Marin, encouraged crafting these popular rag dolls as a way to generate income in the 1980s. Artisan women took the idea home to their Mazahua and Otomi towns and the dolls became popular throughout Mexico and abroad.