About Us
We are dedicated to the mid & upper market segment and strive to provide exceptional quality and customer service at competitive prices. We can provide our customers with product design, material sourcing and of course production services. 100% of our output is exported mostly to the
U.S. and European markets.
Juana grew up in Huancayo’s Mantaro valley, surrounded by the Andes Mountains and immersed in the alpaca culture of Peru. She learned to knit and crotchet alpaca sweaters at a young age, first for her dolls and then for herself. Her passion for knitting alpaca let her develop her education. Juana was able to pay for her college tuition selling alpaca sweaters to friends and eventually to local businesses. After graduating with a degree in economics and starting a family, she passed along her skills and commitment to education to her daughters.Julia Huaman Mantari and Edith Huaman Mantari, are two sisters who grew up among sewing machines, balls of wool, cones and fabrics, were always encouraged by their parents to be that which in their time was more limited and almost impossible: to be independent.
Julia became an accountant and Edith a fashion designer. This is how Juana developed the vision to create Mantari in 2003. Their upbringing was based on the example of seeing their father innovating, keeping the soul young and the mind always open, as he said and seeing the example personified in their mother values such as strength, ethics and principles that define them today.
Mantari is proud to be fair trade certified and create ethical and sustainable products. Our collection is developed under these values to empower 100 mothers that work with us to hand knit our products while taking part in a literacy program that we support. This enables these mothers to provide for their families, work from home and educate themselves.