Alpaca Silver Store Brings Goods from Ecuador to the World

Ruston, LA (PRWEB) April 23, 2008 -- www.AlpacaSilverStore.com is a new online merchant of beautiful handmade alpaca silver jewelry, imported directly from Ecuador by store owners Bob and Dot Douglas. "We made a couple of trips to Ecuador and saw all the beautiful products they made over there, and we started to get ideas," says Bob, who recently opened the site to the public. "My wife likes jewelry and textiles, and we ordered some over the Internet to test them out at a local trade day show. We did pretty well and decided that this would be our first web site."

The decision to go with alpaca silver was based on its beauty and the quality of the jewelry created, but there is more to that story than simple aesthetics; there is a social consciousness behind it concerning the economic status of Ecuador and the very real hardships endured by the people who craft these products. "We believe our association with Ecuador and our line of products say a lot about our outlook on the indigenous people of Ecuador and their hard work," explains Bob. "By seeing, feeling and knowing our products our customers will have the knowledge that they are getting the best quality product and at the same time they are helping these indigenous people make a better life for themselves. By buying their products and keeping them in business allows them to maintain a better standard of living, keeps them out of the drug trade and helps conservation."

The beauty of Alpaca Silver Store products is undeniable, but Bob and Dot have additional plans for the future related to the business. "We are looking to start ordering some jewelry made from the tagua nut, which is called 'vegetable ivory,'" says Bob. "We will be having some necklaces made with spheres of tagua nuts inlaid with alpaca silver forming Inca or Ecuadorian symbols. We have also just completed work on an Ecuadorean rose store called www.RosesFromTheSouth.com. We are able to send roses to anyone in the US in three days, directly from the farm -- a large rose grower in the Cotocatchi area of Ecuador."

With such a wide variety of unique products from Ecuador, explanation of the stories behind the products becomes a necessity. For this, Bob and Dot have opened www.AlpacaSilverStoreBlog.com, an online forum for their customers to contact them directly and read about information pertaining to their sites. "We want our customers to feel at home on our website and to know that we are not just trying to sell them something. We want to give them something in return, a reason to come back, a source of information about what they are buying," says Bob, who is enthusiastic about the customer service aspect of his business. "We'll be publishing articles that are primarily about the silver and stones but there may be articles that are relevant. There is a lot of information out there and we intend to share it and educate people on a wonderful product. We believe that with more information people will accept the quality, beauty and the personal knowledge they are helping others as well as owning something of value."

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