Products of Casa Ursulina: creations of gifted women

 

So many Chilean women have extraordinary gifts for making beautiful things . . . needlework, spinning, weaving, and crafts of all kinds. Give a Chilean woman a needle or a loom, and in a few days you'll see something different and attractive. Our women are always thinking of new things to create!

Claudia, a talented weaver, models one of her handwoven shawls. To see more scarves and shawls available from Casa Ursulina, click here.

Take spinning and weaving, for example. Just three years ago,Sister Mimi introduced these classes at Casa Ursulina. Today a large group of women are producing woven shawls, scarves, purses, and other items to be sold at Chilean craft fairs and through outlets in the United States. Women who one or two years ago were beginners are now helping to teach the classes. And there are more and more women wanting to learn.

Each woman producing items for sale pays for materials and makes a small contribution for the maintenance of Casa Ursulina. The rest of the proceeds from sales of her products goes to the artisan herself. Through their work, these women . . . most of whom can't find work elsewhere . . . help to bring in much needed support for themselves and their families. Some of them have been able to save to purchase spinning wheels, looms, or sewing machines so that they can work at home.

Guillermina begins work on a scarf on a metal loom. Most of our weavers use wooden table looms, which are easy to move within the house or from Casa Ursulina to the weaver's home.

Products of Casa Ursulina are being sold through several outlets in the States, including Mount Saint Joseph Shop at the Ursuline Motherhouse, HandCrafting Justice, a fair trade ministry of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and Heartbeats, a ministry of the Sisters of the Humility of Mary. Click to see their web sites.

Links to other products are shown below. To order, or for any information you need, please e-mail Sister Ruth Gehres at Casa Ursulina. If your business would like to sell our products, we will be happy to make this possible.

 

Links to Photos of our Products

Nora and Alejandra design and produce a variety of angels from fabric and natural elements. To see a photo sheet of these products, click here.

Woven bags, 100% wool or wool plus other fibers, come in many designs and colors. For photos, click here. For felted bags and other beautiful felted items, click here.

Mirta displays her fine crochet work. Beautiful crocheted table runners, in various sizes, are produced at Casa Ursulina. To see samples of these items, click here.

To see an assortment of jewelry in macrame and felt, with various natural elements, click here.

Felted bears, dogs, rabbits, and other animals will make delightful ornaments for your home or children's room. To see more, click here.

Here Carola models one of her felt hats. For more hats and felted vests and jewelry, click here.

 

 

SOME SOURCES OF PRODUCTS FR0M CASA URSULINA

 

Book and Gift Shop giftshop@maplemount.org   Heartbeats is a ministry dedicated to developing self-sufficiency and self-esteem for women, minority and developing world artists by networking and marketing their creative endeavors. Handcrafted angels and nativity hangings from Casa Ursulina can be ordered from the Heartbeats Catalog (Casa Ursulina products).

HandCrafting Justice is a fair trade partnership working with women struggling for economic justice and independence in developing countries. An angel Christmas tree topper made at Casa Ursulina is sold through the HandCrafting Justice web site.