Last Updated on October 21, 2015 by Tim
Introducing Finger Puppets Inc. & ThumbThings Handmade Finger Puppets from Peru!
The company aims to help craftspeople in rural Peru who are socially and economically marginalized. These producers lack opportunity, access to markets and often face steep hurdles in finding customers for their goods.
They also collaborate with artisan groups that uphold and adhere to fair trade practices. They assist them with marketing and distribution helping expose their craft to a global audience and making a tremendous impact on impoverished communities while offering great products to the public.
As a company, Finger Puppets Inc. sets out to do for their producers all of the things they can not do for themselves; branding, marketing, packaging, freight forwarding, toy safety compliance, insurance, barcodes, warehousing & distribution, international sales, the list goes on. All with the intention of opening up one of the world’s poorest, most remote and isolated regions to a global market, creating life-changing opportunities for a marginalized population who contend with extreme poverty.
Each of these eco-friendly, finger puppets are handmade by a number of artist collectives from the rural areas of the Peruvian high-plains. They source ethically, practice fair trade principles and strive to help these artisans extend their products reach.
As descendants of the Incas, these artisans, mostly women, have been working with textiles for generations. Knitting is a proud tradition for the Quechua and Aymara people who still use traditional methods today. Most work from home using their passion and skills to create these colorful finger puppets which help supplement their family’s income.
Each finger puppet is as unique as the artist who created it! Some characters are only available in limited quantities and then never made again. Others are created by artisans from subsistence communities who only knit during certain periods of the year and in very small batches. Our network of artisan-producers is comprised of over 800 talented individuals who are encouraged to use their creativity to the fullest! These toys are special, they are not made in a factory, they are handmade with love!
There are generations of craftsmanship, endless stories, traditions, history, and hope for a better future woven into each finger puppet.
Website: fingerpuppetsinc.com
Facebook: Finger Puppets Inc.
Twitter: @lionpuppet
Pinterest: Finger Puppets
