Taxco Sterling Silver Cactus Cufflinks from Mexico, "Succulent Cactus"

Update (August, 2019)

For me, the most important moment is now. As a craftsman in the design and creation of jewelry, I feel very excited to see what we have achieved by working together.

My main drive is to maintain this beautiful emotion of sharing my designs with as many people as possible. I think that the biggest challenge I have faced is to be on trend. Jewelry implies a balance between fashion trends and your inspiration. This is the key to a collection that reflects the tradition of Mexican silver.

From the first day we started working, we were convinced that we could do different things, with good taste, crafted by expert hands, and at a very good price. But there is constant and diverse competition in the jewelry world.

I moved to Mexico City to find new markets, as it is a strategic point not far from my hometown of Taxco. This led me to find apprentices and people interested in learning the art of gold and silverwork.

Now I work on a beautiful project that I love, that focuses on design inspired by endangered animal species. Through my work, I want to help in the preservation of the planet. My intention is to draw allusive lines to the flora and fauna, mainly help to raise awareness, and also to economically support those non-profit organizations that perform such noble work of preserving the true wealth of our world.

Original Artisan Story

My name is Angel Ortiz and I'm from Mexico. My love for the art of silver jewelry is a family inheritance, chiefly from my mother who taught me this craft.

Since 1986, I've been learning from my mother, from the artisans who collaborate with her, and in the School of Fine Art in the UNAM. I've been learning as I go, since I live in Taxco, one of the most important centers in the world for silver jewelry.

I find inspiration in everything around me — the people I love, nature and our rich Mexican culture. All of this has the potential for inspiring new designs for many years.

I mostly work with silver but, since 2014, I've been experimenting with other metals like copper, tin, alpaca and tumbaga, a gold and copper alloy developed in pre-Hispanic times. I also use gems, crystals, seeds, leather, rubber, cords and suede.

I enjoy my work and I'd like to do it for the rest of my life. Through it, I hope to contribute something to society. I've been thinking about creating a jewelry collection depicting endangered animals to raise awareness of their plight.

My father died recently. I lived with him from the time of his diagnosis, and being with him up until his final moments was a powerful experience. It has given me peace and wisdom to keep doing good things in this world. He was a strong man who fought against his cancer and was able to conquer it. When he passed away, it was from old age, but not from cancer. Each day it seems there's less humanity and, because of that, I'd like to help try to avoid or slow down what my species does to this planet, as we sometimes seem to simply destroy everything around us.

Being an artisan is exciting, fun and motivational for me. I know that I'll see results in proportion to my efforts, and that motivates me to be a better person every day. I also love being free to work and create new things on my own schedule, which allows me to spend time with the people I love.

It's a challenge to keep working with joy, dedication and love every day of my life. I try to think about each day as if it were my first and, at the same, the last. I think this art requires honesty, dedication and commitment

I see my work as an opportunity to generate jobs for my community, as well as contributing toward a better image for my country by crafting high-quality jewelry that exemplifies the traditional art of Mexico.