4 minute read
Women to Watch : Laura Grier
Laura Grier is a photojournalist who has been called the Indiana Jones of Adventure Travel Photography and is a recent addition to the Discovery Channel UK’s “20 Richest People in the World List”, people who are rich in life experiences that is. Living abroad from a young age, it is no surprise that Laura turned her life of travel, adventure, and exploration into a profession. As a photojournalist for the past 18 years, Laura has photographed on all 7 continents and has made a life out of exploring the world, capturing and writing about her experiences.
The concept for “Andeana Hats” was born because of the shared affinity for the Sacred Valley, Peru, its land, culture, energy, and people by its founders, Laura Grier and Pats Krysiak. Two years ago while trekking together on the infamous Ausangate trek across the Rainbow Mountains, Pats and Laura came across many amazing Andean women and were captivated with their unique hats and weavings. Determined to share the energy of the Sacred Valley with the world and to help bring awareness to these female artisans and their cultural practices, Laura and Pats came up with the concept of combining their personal hat styles with their traditional weavings to create apparel that captures the energy and culture of the Andeana people and infuses it into the everyday life of those who wear them.
When did you know you wanted to go into this business?
I have been obsessed with hats from a young age and I have been photographing these incredible Quechua Artisans through my photography work with National Geographic for over 12 years. National Geographic represents artisans creating “vanishing crafts” around the world and helps give income opportunities and a global marketplace to these artisans so they can sell their goods and keep their cultural traditions alive. So when my girlfriend Pats and I saw that we could do a similar business model and start a hat company based out of the Sacred Valley Peru with these female Quechua Artisans, we knew we had to take on the challenge! What are some challenges you have faced in building your business and how did you overcome them?
What are some challenges you have faced in building your business and how did you overcome them?
Shipping and logistics have been our biggest obsta cles since we started and still are to date! We are working with indigenous artisans that live in remote villages high in the Andes Mountains. They don’t have access to the internet or even have a written language. Quechua is an ancient form of the Inca language and is oral or woven, so placing online orders with them directly is impossible. Add in limited women and materials making the hats, weather delays, COVID-19 shutdowns, international borders shutting down, and civil unrest at times and you have a cocktail for permanent delays on getting these beautiful and meaningful hats out of the country. We are just two women in completely different countries trying to run this business remotely and to call it “challenging” is an understatement!
What tip would you give another woman looking to start her own professional journey?
Sometimes the “emotional currency” that you earn by following your passion is far more valuable than the monetary currency you can earn. If I add up the hours I spend on Andeana Hats vs my photography business, I get paid FAR better doing photography, but my heart and soul are full when I work on Andeana Hats and I know that I am doing something that is helping many women across the globe. So you can’t always just follow the money in life. Go for it, no matter how unreachable or crazy the idea seems at first Tell us about your favorite quote?
Every Andeana Hat and Intention Band is hand shaped or woven out of alpaca wool and each purchase is benefitting female Quechua Artisans living in the Andes Mountains of Peru.
What makes our hats so unique are the subtle imperfections of the Quechua artisan’s work. Due to the traditional nature of our craft, no two hats or bands will ever be exactly alike. We are very committed to not disrupting the flow of their village life and allowing them the freedom to weave and work at their own pace that allows for their farming and families’ schedules. Because of this, each hat takes about 3 weeks to complete and we produce limited quantities of Andeana Hats every month.
What is your next step?
Our dream is by 2021 we would LOVE to build a climate-controlled taller (or workshop) in the Andes Mountains in a safer, more easily accessible area where we could train more Quechua women to create our hats and employ more women in their communities. It could also create another form of sustainable income for the Quechua people and we would love to expand Andeana to host tourism-related weaving workshops, retreats, and trips. Learn more about Andeana Hats and Laura Grier
