NEW! Designer Spotlight - Wakami

We are thrilled to now offer Wakami bracelets at Regencies! This is a brand that epitomizes compassion, consciousness, and kindness - all values we hold very dear. Look good while doing good because doing good is always beautiful. We are honored to help support their beautiful vision of creating a better world through fair trade.

In case you haven't yet heard of Wakami, here is an introduction to the company.

Wakami was founded by Cornell University graduate Maria Pacheco, who "dreamed of an ideal world -- one where everyone lives in harmony, where diversity is celebrated, and where rights and responsibilities are treasured. These aspirations encourage us to find solutions in which prosperity and well-being are common to everyone."

In 2006, Wakami was born from this dream of sharing positivity and creating meaningful change. It was established with the sole mission to create income-generating opportunities that transform the lives of people in rural villages of Guatemala. Each Wakami piece is handcrafted with care by women in rural villages of Guatemala, which provides a sustainable income that improves the lives of their families and communities through access to clean water, housing, nutrition, and education.

Wakami represents a rustic, yet urban lifestyle and encourages people to connect with one another—the Earth—their dreams. They aim to enrich the lives of both the artisans who create Wakami products and those who buy them, inspiring them to do what they love most. 

Wakami is a fair trade enterprise that collaborates with five rural artisan groups throughout Guatemala. A strong focus on community development, social entrepreneurship, and fair wages has vastly improved the lives of its every growing group of women artisans and their families. Before they joined Wakami, these artisans had no market outlet for their work and no way to generate income. Most live in very small villages where there are no jobs, and many were forced to leave their children behind to take work in larger cities. For them, the income generated by Wakami is a dream come true, an opportunity to keep their families together and to send their children to school for the first time.

Wakami is a recognized World Fair Trade Organization brand. Fair Trade is a tangible contribution to the fight against poverty by delivering sustainable livelihoods to people in developing countries.

“Wakami is a Mayan word which means ‘it already is,’” says founder Maria Pacheco. To the people at Wakami it means that Pacheco’s serene dream for the world already exists and “we just have to find a gate into it.”

Every Wakami purchase brings that dream closer than ever. 

Dreams + Opportunity = Change

Designs incorporate many of the weaving skills found in Guatemalan culture. Bracelets are made of durable waxed polyester thread and are crafted to last. If you remember the friendship bracelets from your childhood days, Wakami bracelets take them to a new level of design and injects a world of meaning and positive energy into these woven pieces. Each pieces tells a story that is deeply connected to the artisans who crafts them.

This set of bracelets tells a story of the creation of the Earth. Each bracelet has its own unique meaning to correspond with the story; one representing the earth, sun, stars and moon. The next bracelet symbolizes water and wind, followed by plants and animals, people, and the last bracelet represents the love that connects them all.

This is a bracelet pack that comes with 7 individual bracelets. These bracelets represent the connection we all share in the wonderful world no matter which continent we live on!

A long time ago a super continent known as Pangaea…began drifting and created 7 beautiful continents… each was granted unique characteristics. Africa, the strong, wild and beautiful. Europe, he heart of the continents, monumental and artistic. Antarctica, the uncharted, curious, and brave. Australia, the outback, adventure and extreme. South America, the spice of life, the passion of Earth. North America, the free spirited, diverse, and ever progressing. Asia, the wise, gentle, and spiritual.

This woven wrap bracelet was inspired by a dream that we share with the rural communities we work with. In the beginning of each program we ask the people in our groups to draw pictures and explain what they want their lives to be like...

That all communities have houses. And that all houses have a window. That from all windows a garden may be seen. And that in all gardens there is a ball. That all balls belong to girls and boys that go to school. And that all the schools have PTA's with parents that work. That all those who work may reach the markets. And that the markets multiply houses with windows. That in the new windows birds and trees are multiplied. So the sky may be blue and the sun bright for everyone!