Preserving Art
At Purple Nest Design, we honor the beauty of handmade craft. Each piece we curate carries the spirit of its culture, preserving age-old techniques while helping artisans build sustainable futures.
At Purple Nest Design, preserving art is at the heart of everything we do. We believe that every handwoven textile, every carefully crafted piece, carries within it the story of people, tradition, and a way of life. Our artisan partners continue to use extraordinary techniques passed down through generations — methods that are as much about cultural identity as they are about beauty.
Through our travels, we’ve witnessed the richness of these traditions: the intricate weaves of the Andes in Peru, the vibrant colors and designs of Ecuador, and the timeless patterns born from our artisans’ skill and imagination. Each piece is more than décor, it is living heritage. Each one deserving of care, appreciation, and respect.
Our mission is not only to share these artful textiles with you, but also to ensure that the communities who create them thrive. By partnering directly with weavers and artisans, we help sustain livelihoods, preserve cultural knowledge, and keep the woven arts alive for generations to come.
When you welcome a Purple Nest Design textile into your home, you become part of this story a story of preservation, art, connection, and beauty that transcends borders. Together, we can protect the artistry of the past while nurturing the future of the people who share their gifts with us.
What Makes Us Unique
In a world where textiles are increasingly mass-produced on giant industrial looms, we choose a different path. Giant industrial looms in Peru and Ecuador make many of the throws that are exported. That’s just not us.
The choice to intentionally partner with smaller weaving cooperatives and family-run workshops allows us to build genuine, lasting relationships with our weaving partners. We ensure that our work directly benefits artisans and their families. By working directly with our weaver partners, we ensure that their craft continues to thrive, and that their traditions are not lost to modernization.
Giving you a beautiful and mindfully made piece of woven art is for your home is at the center of every single throw we create. Every textile we create is not only a piece of beauty for your home but also a livelihood, a cultural story, and a testament to sustainable, ethical craftsmanship.
Each throw is hand-loomed, carefully finished by hand, and infused with a sense of place and purpose. When you bring one into your home, you are not simply decorating—you are preserving art, sustaining tradition, and celebrating the hands that made it
The Art of Looming and Hand finishing Textiles in Ecuador
In the hills of Ecuador, weaving is more than craft—it is heritage, preserved through centuries of tradition.
The weavers first must measure all the threads using a giant spinning wooden structure. Developing the pattern with the different threads and measuring them all to ensure the correct lengths for the loom is a skill in and of itself.
Once the yarn is ready, weavers set up the loom. This requires carefully measuring and stretching hundreds of threads, known as the warp, onto the loom, which takes them almost one day to complete. Threading the loom by hand is painstaking, as each strand must be aligned in order to achieve the intended design.
Weaving begins by interlacing the warp with the weft using the shuttles. Here, the weaver’s artistry shines: complex patterns, geometric shapes, and symbolic motifs are formed row by row, with every movement intentional. Some of these designs hold cultural meaning, telling stories of the land and ancestral traditions.
The finishing process is just as important. Once the blanket is released from the loom, the edges are hand-sewn, and the surface is brushed or softened to create the luxurious texture for which Ecuadorian textiles are renowned. The weavers use the native plant that grows in the hills, Tesal, to comb the fibers of many of our throws, giving them their lustrous sheen. Many of our textiles are also have hand-tied fringe made by our weavers. The result is a hand-finished blanket that is not only beautiful and durable but also a living piece of cultural heritage.
Each blanket is a testament to patience, skill, and the timeless artistry of Ecuador’s weaving communities—a tradition we are deeply honored to help preserve and share.
The Art of Handlooming and Hand-finishing Textiles in Peru
For us, preserving art means honoring the traditions of weaving that have flourished throughout Peru for centuries. Each textile is a story told in fiber, color, and pattern, created through skill and dedication of artisan weavers at the loom.
In Peru, weaving has long been central to community identity and cultural expression. While some villages still work with the backstrap loom, many artisan weavers now use large wooden floor looms sturdy structures where beams and pedals help guide the warp and weft into beautiful designs. These looms allow for larger pieces, intricate detail, and diverse textures that set Peruvian weaving apart.
Our weavers use large wooden looms where all our textiles are loomed by hand. Texture is achieved through a mastery of technique. By varying the way threads are lifted and interlaced, artisans can create flat, smooth surfaces or introduce raised, ribbed effects. Tight, even weaves form strong, durable cloth (like our Wasi and Miska Collections), while looser, more open structures produce a lighter, more breathable fabric (like our Muru and Kulsi Collections). Some throws require a knotting of threads together while on the loom (like our Bouclé Collection). Supplemental weft threads can be inserted to add thickness or dimension, and shifts in yarn type soft alpaca, undyed cotton, or blends of the two bring additional layers of texture and feel.
All of our textiles are also hand-finished with hand-tied fringe. The fringe is time consuming and takes expert hands to complete some of the patterns and finishes that make our throws special.
By supporting these weaving traditions, we are helping ensure that the knowledge, skill, and artistry of Peru’s weavers continue to thrive.
