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Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacán | Mexico Map

Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacán | Mexico   (click to enlarge map)

Cobre –”copper” in Spanish– has been made by the Purepecha Indians of Central Mexico since pre-Columbian times. When the Europeans arrived in the 16th century, they found the Purepecha making domestic implements and weapons from copper found in local, above-ground mines. Father Vasco de Quiroga introduced a few refinements; however, little has changed in how the copper is worked and finished.  Because the copper mines have long been closed, today the smiths gather and melt discarded copper for use in their workshops.

Fair Trade since 1994

Cobre has been a Fair Trade company since 1994, committed to helping preserve the traditional and centuries-old technique of creating beautiful handmade copper objects.

In addition to providing a steady flow of orders to the artisans that gives them some financial stability, we pay wages set by the artisans, provide interest-free loans that can be paid back with product and provide tools and materials not readily available locally, at no cost. And then there is the fun stuff! cell phones, Christmas bonuses, wedding gifts, and so on.

We currently work with four different workshops and the workers are either related – fathers, sons, uncles, nephews or family friends. Each workshop has its own style: Anselmo Miranda makes trays, plates, bookends, shallow bowls and tiles, while Antonio Ziranda makes all everything in our Collector Series.

The Bonfire Method

  • During the bonfire method, coppersmiths take the recycled copper and patiently heat and hammer it until the metal is “raised”– meaning the bowl or vase walls are formed.
  • The smith then takes a special hammer to finish the piece.
  • Depending upon the amount of salt in the air and how often the copper piece is handled, the metal will oxidize and the finish becomes matte, as the color darkens to deep browns and reds.

The History of Copper in Santa Clara del Cobre, Michoacán – Mexico

This video portrays the metal smithing process from beginning to end: from melted scrap copper to finished product. It also provides context of the history of the area where the coppersmiths live and work. Spanish language video.