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Malu Cuba

"Hola, I'm Maria Luisa Cuba Alvarez and I was born March 25, 1979 in Cuzco. By the time I was 16, I had finished school and decided to seek my future in Lima. I felt that I should study something fulfilling. I had thought of going into tourism because my city attracts many tourists. So I began studying in this field but, three months later, I realized that this wasn't what I wanted.

"One day I was out walking and saw a poster promoting a textile design course. It really caught my eye. I decided to attend an informative session and I loved what I heard. This is how I got into the field of design and I graduated four years later. When I was about to begin my thesis, my academic advisor said, 'Malu, why don't you do something on the art of Cuzco?' So I did. My theme was the iconography of Andean textiles, and writing it was a wonderful experience. Everyone who read it, loved it. This was a great incentive for me to continue in the world of art.

"From the time I was a little girl, I liked to create my own things. I tried to make them different with a style of my own. When I finished my studies in textile design, I went to work in a factory, but this wasn't what I wanted. I wanted a personal style and so I left to begin working on my own designs.

"The first thing I did was to go home to my city in Cuzco and get involved in textiles. My first pieces were greeting cards with textiles and, from there, I never stopped. I channeled my ideas toward decorative lines and fashion accessories. Creating unusual designs was one of my greatest challenges. I wanted people to see that they have an identity of their own.

"One day I wanted to create a fusion of everything I was doing. At that time, my brother Matías was crafting silver statuettes set with gemstones. I liked them very much and wanted to learn how to make them. I signed up for a two-year course in silver, and at the end of the first year I opened my own workshop. There I began to experiment and design the things I wanted to see, the images I had in my own mind. This is how my collections began. I learned a great deal in my workshop as I put theory into practice and I discovered something new.

"The first step is to make a sketch of what I have in mind. I separate the stones and colors until I finally sit down to put everything together. The final piece always amazes me.

"Today I work in textiles and jewelry at the same time. I create unusual work and this is very satisfying. It fills my spirit and makes me feel very calm and happy because I can do what I love to do. My designs are like a child. They are very special to me.

"I take a great deal of inspiration from nature and I bring this to my work. When I create my designs, I imagine that some other person will wear them, and how, and how they'll look when worn. I combine the designs and icons from our ancestral cultures, thus achieving a unique style. Our imagination becomes reality, making my jewelry a beautiful and ideal accessory for every fashion style."