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Rumi Sumaq is the business name of Peruvian artisan Coco Paniora Salinas and his American wife Melanie Vento.  They met and fell in love in Peru when Melanie was taking a break there from Bolivia while doing part of her medical anthropological studies.  They lived in Cusco for a while as Coco and his brother had a jewelry store there.  The couple moved back to the US in 2010 and now tour the art show circuit.

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Coco is mainly self taught although he has also learned through working with other artisans.  He is skilled in 3 disciplines - metal work, fiber and silverware jewelry.  All his designs are one of a kind.

[Image] Leaves in Bloom macrame bracelet His macrame work is outstanding especially the designs with cabochons. Coco is clearly inspired by his beautiful birthplace and by Pachamama, which means the Mother Earth in his native Quechua tongue.

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His macrame jewelry making process is long and intricate, starting with preliminary sketches and gemstone choices before he even begins the knotted bezels.  For a detailed look at his design process, check out Melanie's blog post on the creation of the Swinging in the Trees necklace (below) for Rumi Sumaq's latest spring collection.

[Image] Swinging in the Trees macrame necklace  Melanie added in another blog post, "There is a lot of figuring that must go into each and every one of Coco’s designs. How many fiber threads to start with and at what length,  how to create and weave the pattern, how to get the fiber colors in the right place, and how to make sure the components of the design lay properly on the neck for a feminine silhouette. Sometimes he can anticipate the difficulties and figure out a solution ahead of time. Most often, however, the problems present themselves once he is well into creating a design. "

[Image] Peruvian Opal with Fire Agate macrame bracelet
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Coco seeks perfection in his art form. His designs have to be flawless from any angle.  Melanie said, "Like a magician, he wants people to ask, “how in the world did he do that?” Coco believes the piece will lose its intrigue if the back shows each and every move he and the fibers made."  Coco is clearly a magician as he can conjure up beautiful creations from a work table that looked like this one morning :

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Before You Go:
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