Connecticut residents and friends Robin Pantalena, Meg Sherman and Elaine Rojas have joined forces to celebrate the artisans of Peru with the launch of a new retail website Tikanchay.com (http://www.tikanchay.com). It features a stunning array of handcrafted, high quality sterling silver jewelry purchased directly from the silversmiths and artisans in small family "talleres" or workshops during frequent buying trips to Peru.

"We travel the length and breadth of Peru to find artisans who can appreciate the country's rich native traditions and adapt them to modern tastes," said the company's President and buyer, Elaine Rojas. "Each and every piece tells its own story.

It could be a bit of Peruvian history or folklore, a new appreciation of a traditional craft or material or a personal story that is unique to the artisan who made it."

The Tikanchay catalog is as diverse as the cultural and environmental treasures of the nation itself, from bright red huayruro seeds found in the Amazon jungle to spondyllus shells found in coastal waters to small pieces of gourd using ancient techniques passed down through countless generations -- all set in beautiful sterling silver.

The name of the company, according to another of its officials, truly says it all. "Tee-kahn-chai means 'to make beautiful' in the ancient Quecha language of the Andes," said Meg Sherman, partner of Tikanchay Imports, LLC. "In a word, it describes how our exceptional handcrafted jewelry complements the woman who wears it."

Ms. Sherman continues, "We started this company because of the way we felt when we wore these necklaces, bracelets and earrings and we knew other women would feel this way too. There is literally no other way to get them than to travel the country as we do and to gather not only the remarkable pieces, but the stories behind them."

The company's online catalog will change regularly, as inspired by the latest discoveries uncovered on frequent buying trips. "We buy in limited quantities," Robin Pantalena, the third of the founding trio said, "and we always tell our customers to order right away when they see something they like."

Ms. Rojas continues, "The magic of a particular piece may be based on the artisan's choice of a specific native material, like the shade of a spondyllus shell or the marbling of a sodalite stone. Thus, it may never be able to be created again."

http://www.tikanchay.com