TRIP IN PERU / DAY#18

--- Day18 ---  We received the yarn, the production has officially started, and everything is just going fine.  WORK IN PROGRESS.

TRIP IN PERU / DAY#17

--- Day 17 ---  One day off in Arequipa to refuel before the big ride to Lima.  As you probably know, the role of Religion cannot be ignored in Peru.  We often were surprised that even the poorest dilapidated village has a majestic church literally sprouting from the ground like giant and fancy beanstalks.  The Santa Catalina Monastery located in Arequipa beats all others.  The architecture is amazing, it's huge, it's airy, it's quiet.  Good energy filled Moonchild up.  Silencio and Profundis.

TRIP IN PERU / DAY#16

--- Day 16 ---  Last day of work with the women in Puno before heading back up to the North.  It was a lovely moment of instruction during which the women displayed, once again, their knitting talents.  Being a part of the group and spending heaps of time with the knitters conducted us to feel like one of them.  That afternoon, Moonchild went through a slight metamorphosis; long braided hair mamitas wrapped in colorful skirt and jumper.

TRIP IN PERU / DAY#15

--- Day 15 --- Moonchild crossed the legendary Lake Titicaca in a rowing boat to reach the Capachica Peninsula. We wanted to visit the Capachica community involved in Moonchild’s FW11-12 production. However we had to disembark in the middle of nowhere, in the kind of place you feel like swallowed up by the immensity of nature. It was-literally- breathless (more than 16000feet of altitude!). Everything seemed purer. We finally arrived in Capachica where we ended up in a cemetery accompanying a poor drunk senor crying a river over his mama’s grave. We got intimate with Peru that day.

TRIP IN PERU / DAY#14

--- Day 14 --- Elena, our contact in Puno introduced us to the group of knitters working with Moonchild on a few models of the SS12 collection. The workplace was so lovely with a backyard and a patio full of greenery and flowers where the women can knit peacefully. We were glad to find out that the group is perfectly organised within which each  woman has a very specific role to play. We shared out pieces of the summer collection between the different groups we're working with according to their very skills and techniques. Indeed one group is dealing with all the crochet models, another one is taking care of hand-knit and macrame models, an other one is in charge of the loom woven. Moonchild has gathered together the dream team.

TRIP IN PERU / DAY#13

--- Day 13 --- We finally reached Puno and had a day off before working with another group of knitters. Strikes were agitating the city before June 5 th presidential run-off vote, to pressure the government to improve benefits. Nobel literature laureate Mario Vargas Llosa has called the runoff between the two candidates, Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimori, "a choice between AIDS and terminal cancer" given perceptions of their anti-democratic tendencies. The effervescence and violence of manifestations were palpable so we’ve been advised to stay away from the city for a while. We left politics for land of beliefs and found refuge in Sillustani, a pre-Incan burial ground protected by Pachamama.

TRIP IN PERU / DAY#12

--- Day 12 --- As we were on a 20 hour long bus ride to get to Puno, we needed a rest to break up the trip. The Colca Canyon sounded like a very inspiring place for MOONCHILD so we decided to stop there. We passed the night in Cabanaconde, a place that makes you feel like you're in Twin Peaks - the mist rolling over the mountains, the sounds, sights and scents of nature under moonlight, donkeys braying through the strangely silent night. The next morning we walked down into the core of the Canyon to the Oasis - an isolated piece of land fed by the Rio Colca and dominated by condors. Stunning and highly spiritual. Song: "Apache" by the band Danger Beach. Available here.

TRIP IN PERU / DAY#11

--- Day 11 --- Moonchild headed down to the South of Peru to meet new communities which meant traveling 25 hours in a bus. Crowded with people, chicken and baby lamas. Nevermind, we crossed breathless landscapes and we had the chance to catch a glimpse of Moonchild's emblem. Indeed, condors were flying above our heads. The mystical dance of these elusive creatures was a beauty.

TRIP IN PERU / DAY#10

--- Day 10 --- In the framework of the ss12 collection, we visited Marina, the senior expert in macramé, who is working on the dreamcatcher pattern for next  collection. As she is really talented, it is planned that she will  teach other women how to do macramé. She showed us all she can do from bags to ponchos and purses, it was really amazing. Afterwards, Mirva brought us to meet Saul, the loomwoven expert. We shared with him all the models and he introduced us to his darling, the weaving loom machine. Saul explained that he will gather his companeros from Lurìn to work with us. It is very exciting to mobilise all these  skillfull people for Moonchild.

TRIP IN PERU / DAY#09

--- Day 9 --- Moonchild continues its immersion in Lima with a day full of contrasts. We spent a pleasant time walking in the streets of Barranco which is a very romantic district making you feel like a latin lover for a second. Afterwards, we went to Gamarra’s market to find supplies for the summer collection. It was really intense and we didn’t found what we were looking for. Pobrecitas. Barranco vs Gamarra’s market= Man vs Wild.!!!”

TRIP IN PERU / DAY#08

---Day#08 --- Last Sunday was Mothers’ Day in Peru, and we had the chance to share it with some of the knitters in San Juan. First, we worked on samples for the summer collection. It was fascinating to see how quickly and perfectly they were doing crochet. They also showed us a very specific technique from Peru called the “orquetilla” - you can see it in this video. To celebrate el Feliz Dia, we bought a huge cake and performed songs with some of the children for their mamitas, while others were getting their hair done for the show they were giving at school. At the end of this lovely day, Jose and Claudia, the people in charge of quality control, brought us to a typical Peruvian cantine where we ordered ceviche. There was this band playing latin American songs who got very excited about us so they started to shout every English word they knew while the lead singer was doing his nuptial dance.  “HAPPY DAYS!!!”

TRIP IN PERU / The Momentary Technical Issue

--- May 11th ---
--- OFFICIAL MESSAGE from the French Moonchild Crüe ---
Okay here's the game : find the shortest way between the two red circles.
If you find it, please tell us as soon as possible what it is, so we can put our hands on the pictures and videos from the team in Peru, that are STILL stuck somewhere in one of these Internet cables.
The girls say that we're gonna have pictures soon.
We hope so.
And light candles.

TRIP IN PERU / DAY#07

--- May 7th --- Moonchild went to San Juan, which is about an hour drive from Lima, to  visit the women we are working with. For now, the workshop is being repaired and maintained to make it nice and comfortable. They are  installing the toilets and furniture to create a nice space for the ladies. We’re planning to work with the 60 knitters three times a week to start the FW11 production. We’re really looking forward to it. Afterwards, we started choosing yarns and fabrics for the SS12 collection in Peru Nature Tex Factory. It was such a massive place with loads of organic cotton to choose from! Let me introduce you to the knitters’superstar. She’s this iconic tiny old woman who barely sees, she doesn’t speak Spanish but quechua and she’s known to be the best knitter of San Juan. Goldfinger ladies and gentlemen!