Claudia Berck has a true passion for her culture and Mexican history. The labor intensive and colorful hand crafted goods made with love by the hands of the indigenous people who live in the diverse regions of Mexico connect you to the richness of the traditions of their country. Cross stitch, hand stitched, knots, Aguacatenango and Zinacantán stitch are some of the hand embroidered styles that Claudia showcases on the beautiful clothing and accessories that she sells, with the intention of helping the indigenouse craftsmen and women to have steady incomes and promote their work, which are true works of art.
When Claudia’s youngest daughter started school, she wanted to occupy her time with something meaningful that would still allow her time with her family. After returning from a trip to Mexico and wearing a hand embroidered blouse from Puebla, several people asked her about the origin of the blouse and where they could buy one just like it. From there the idea of starting a business offering hand made blouses emerged. It was not an easy start, finding suppliers was more difficult than she expected, the process appeared to me complex and the pricing was high. After many prayers Claudia met Roxana, who understood the challenges, believed in Claudia’s mision and said she could help, and she did. Nowadays Roxana is a key person in Claudia’s business, traveling to remote locations and working with various craftsmen and women.
And Ayelet’s was born, which name means Claudia in Hebrew. Claudia has always followed her Cristian faith, trusting that God would show her the way and allow her to share her blessings with her people of Mexico. Claudia was born in Monterrey, her father is also from Monterrey and her mother from Chiapas. She feels proud to show the world the unique pieces handmade by artisans and to see the happiness that they bring to the people that purchase them and proudly wear them. Claudia started selling hand stitched blouses, however her business has rapidly grown and she now offers in addition to blouses, dresses, accessories, purses, shoes, hats and face masks, brought from Chiapas, Oaxaca and Jalisco.
Claudia recounts how her first sale was at an event organized by her church and then selling at craft shows in Chattanooga and surrounding areas, Georgia and Alabama. Now she does most of her sales on FaceBook Live where with the assistance of friends and family she displays the pieces, handles orders and ships locally as well and to different cities throughout the United States. Her customer service is excellent and she accepts various forms of payment such as credit cards,checks, money orders, venmo and paypal.
One thing is for sure, once you see the clothing and accessories that Ayelet’s offers it will be difficult to pick just one. The quality is unmatched and each piece is a one of a kind and tells a story, like the story of Marcelina.
Meet Marcelina
Marcelina lives in Aguacatenango Chiapas, area of Indigenous Zapatist Women. It’s a community located close to Venustiano Carranza, Chiapas, where the 3.500 residents speak the dialect Tzeltal.
Roxana met Marcelina on the streets of San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas. Marcelina travels from her remote community twice a week to offer her hand made goods to tourists. Marcelina supports her family through the artisanal pieces that she makes and sells.
Mateo is from Zontehuitz Chamula, Chiapas and he designs and sketches
the embroidery for the artisans of Aguacatenango, like Marcelina.
Designs of blouses stitch in Rococó with daisies and blouses made with delicate corrugated fabrique.
He also designs embroidery work on traditional tunics used by his ancestors and that throughout the years have been modified. These are just two of the artisans that Ayelet’s works with, however there are many more. Regardless of the stitch that you prefer, you can be sure that that the piece was made with love and care by artisan hands and that you are helping indegenous communities thrive and keep their cultures alive.
