Now that the holiday season is upon us, it is time to visit Las Pallas’ Christmas collection of ornaments, nativity scenes and more. Las Pallas handicraft shop in Barranco has been running for over 25 years. One of the best places to buy souvenirs and authentic artisan crafts in Lima, it’s worth visiting year-round – but perhaps so during Christmas time.
Las Pallas Lima Craft Shop in Lima
The owner, Mari Solari, moved to Peru in the 60’s and has been involved in the art world for the last 35 years, 29 of which she has run the Las Pallas shop out of her home. The shop is comprised of a small entrance room and two larger rooms with shelves and baskets filled with hand-crafted art, in addition to decorated mirrors and artwork hanging on the walls. It’s hard to focus on just one thing because there are so many beautiful original pieces of art to catch your eye from floor to ceiling.
Starting in late November, the Christmas-themed room, known during the rest of the year as Mari Solari’s living room, displays an enormous cactus covered with Christmas ornaments from all over Peru that are all for sale in the shop. Below the cactus are ‘mountains’ with various nativity scenes from around the country on display. Mari explained the different materials the figurines were made from and where in Peru they were made. For example, stone nativity figures from Cajamarca, alabaster from Cusco and Ayacucho, clay from Ayacucho and maguey, the stem of cactus, from the central highlands of Peru. If you’re looking for a more portable gift, there are also retablos, boxes with intricate depictions of everyday life or religious festivities, and nativity scenes crafted with textiles, known as arpilleras. The Christmas collection all but disappears after January 6th (ornaments are still available in the shop) and the room converts back into Mari’s private folk art collection, available for viewing upon request.
In addition to the artenasía available for purchase at Las Pallas, Mari’s daughter Natalia sells a variety of 100% natural oils that she creates from plants sourced from communities around Peru. She explained that each oil has a specific purpose, such as, to help relieve stress, feel more balanced, ward off bugs, or soothe dry or irritated skin. Some of the plants she uses are cacao, coconut, jojoba, hierba luisa, and molle. The oils are currently located in the Christmas-themed room but are available all year-round.
Read more about Las Pallas Lima in our past articles: “Bird Watching” in Barranco, 25 Years of Las Pallas, and Las Pallas Christmas Display Dazzles.
If you’re interested in stopping by Las Pallas while in Lima, contact us to add it on to an Aracari experience.