Luna Bonita
Luna Bonita produces one-of-a-kind handbags, accessories and home decor, thoughtfully handcrafted in small batches by indigenous artisans in Central America.
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About
Luna Bonita was brought to life by Andrea Cabrera, a born and raised Guatemalan who has always been fascinated by the artisan skills of the indigenous communities in her home country.
After moving to New Zealand, Andrea had her sights set on making a positive difference in the world by creating reliable income opportunities for small independent artisans and inspiring Kiwis to shop ‘slow made’. Today, Luna Bonita offers a unique range of handbags, pouches, cushion covers, placemats and more goods inspired by Mayan design.
Indigenous Guatemalans, specifically women, often lack opportunities, face discrimination and are more likely to suffer from poverty and violence. Since many of them are denied an education, they are unable to provide for their family.
In times like these, they turn to the skill that their mothers and grandmothers have passed on to them: the art of weaving.
“We partner with indigenous artisans in Guatemala to create authentic high-quality products through ancestral weaving techniques and leather craftsmanship. A big part of the brand is recognizing and preserving heritage by featuring ethnic traditional designs with a deep cultural meaning.”
Luna Bonita partners with all their artisans directly. Fair wages and worker empowerment is important to them, which is why they encourage their artisans to set their own prices, payment terms, delivery times and working schedules. The flexibility of working at home, or in small family-owned workshops allows their artisans to take care of their families while generating income.
As a fairly small business that produces slow-made creations, Luna Bonita manages low stock quantities. They support two types of supply chains, one that upcycles used textiles and converts them into one-of-a-kind handbags and accessories, and another that weaves new textiles.
The textiles for their authentic handbags and accessories are sourced directly from the weaving cooperatives or from local markets. These fabrics are typically repurposed traditional clothing worn by Mayan women, so each pattern and colour combination is distinctive. They also partner with the Women Weaving Cooperative which offers fair employment with 17 weaving communities across 5 regions of the Western Highlands, which includes the towns of Sololá, Huehuetenango, Sacatepéquez, Quetzaltenango and Quiché.
Tracing the origins of their cotton can be tough so Luna Bonita is evaluating switching to naturally dyed cotton for their newly woven products. In this case, the cotton is locally cultivated and will be dyed with natural ingredients such as roots, plants, and seeds by the women themselves.
While frequent auditing can be tricky, Andrea had the opportunity to visit some of their partner artisans in June 2022 and learn more about the process and people involved. You can find more information about how and where Luna Bonita’s products are made on their website. They also feature educational videos on the weaving process on social media.
“In today’s world, with mass-produced textiles and the high impact of the fashion industry, we believe we need to look back to what’s already available and give it a second chance to be a part of a new product.”
Luna Bonita is particularly passionate about upcycling and waste reduction. Having worked as a packaging technologist for big corporations in the past, Andrea is well aware of the impact of packaging waste and plastic in our world. That’s why they have made a conscious effort to avoid unnecessary packaging and use recyclable materials as much as possible. This includes using locally sourced recycled PET cushion inners and providing home-compostable mailers for shipping products.
