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Hello, I’m Mariel. Welcome to our information desk. When you click on a question below, you will see the answer. If you can’t find the information you want, please get in touch with us by clicking here or you can click "Contact us" in the menu above. Information about forming part of this village or taking part in the virtual fairs, you can find in the Spanish menu under "Punto de información". For the moment it is only available in Spanish. |
How does this virtual village work?
The most important feature of this Virtual Craft Village is, that all inhabitants open the doors of their workshops so you can come in and watch them at work. But this village offers a lot more, as you can see in the English (or Spanish!) menu above.
The page "Town Centre" shows you the four most important parts of our village, and you can visit them by clicking on the title of each section. You can also find them in the menu, along with several other options.
- Workshops and stores:
As we said before, all artisans in the Village have a workshop where they show you, in one or more videos, with how much skill, patience and love they do their work. We also have a shopping cart that you can take into all the shops to bay from different artisans. In that case you will find the Conditions of use here. We give you the contact details of all inhabitants so you can order something special or buy their craft work if they haven't yet got their store online ready.
For easy navigating, we have sorted the workshops and stores in three differen ways:
There are several virtual fairs, and in each one you will find 10 different artisans and their work. Each month we substitute the most ancient fair for a new one.
If you prefer to go to a real fair where you can talk to the artisans, you can find the information of when
and where Amata organises fairs in the coming months on the Amata web site (see above) or with a click here.
- Craft tutorials:
Here the artisans show you how to make something yourself with simple tools and (recycled) materials that most people have lying around in the house.
Other options you will only find in the menu:
- Contact us:
Here you can get in touch, not only with Amata, but also with the individual artisans (listed alphabetically) who have a shop and/or workshop in this Virtual Craft Village.
- Surprise houses:
Some of the inhabitants of our Village are not just artisans, but also have other talents or hobbies. These they practise in the houses of this section. What you will find in each house is a surprise.
- Playground:
When you are tired from walking around the Village, you can take a break and play some (or all!) of the games.
- News stand:
Here you can find news articles (not only in Spanish!) about our Virtual village, Amata and our fairs.
We hope you will enjoy your visit to our Village!
The page "Town Centre" shows you the four most important parts of our village, and you can visit them by clicking on the title of each section. You can also find them in the menu, along with several other options.
- Workshops and stores:
As we said before, all artisans in the Village have a workshop where they show you, in one or more videos, with how much skill, patience and love they do their work. We also have a shopping cart that you can take into all the shops to bay from different artisans. In that case you will find the Conditions of use here. We give you the contact details of all inhabitants so you can order something special or buy their craft work if they haven't yet got their store online ready.
For easy navigating, we have sorted the workshops and stores in three differen ways:
- by kind of raw material - this section consists of several streets and in each street are the workshops and stores of the artisans who work with the material mentioned in the street name (wood, glass, ceramics, cloth, leather, etc.). Each artisan or artist is presented with a short biography, the contact details and links to social networks and/or website. And, most important, you can watch videos in which they show you how they work, and buy their products directly in their store, or using their contact information.
- by kind of product - in this section we have only listed artisans who have their store in the Village. They are housed in several streets, named for the type of product that is sold in that street. If the same artisan makes several types of products, you will find him or her in all the corresponding streets.
- in alphabetical order - in this section you find all the residents of the Village. If you know the name of the workshop, you can search for it here; there are artisans who have only a workshop, and others who have a workshop and a store.
There are several virtual fairs, and in each one you will find 10 different artisans and their work. Each month we substitute the most ancient fair for a new one.
If you prefer to go to a real fair where you can talk to the artisans, you can find the information of when
and where Amata organises fairs in the coming months on the Amata web site (see above) or with a click here.
- Craft tutorials:
Here the artisans show you how to make something yourself with simple tools and (recycled) materials that most people have lying around in the house.
Other options you will only find in the menu:
- Contact us:
Here you can get in touch, not only with Amata, but also with the individual artisans (listed alphabetically) who have a shop and/or workshop in this Virtual Craft Village.
- Surprise houses:
Some of the inhabitants of our Village are not just artisans, but also have other talents or hobbies. These they practise in the houses of this section. What you will find in each house is a surprise.
- Playground:
When you are tired from walking around the Village, you can take a break and play some (or all!) of the games.
- News stand:
Here you can find news articles (not only in Spanish!) about our Virtual village, Amata and our fairs.
We hope you will enjoy your visit to our Village!
Why a virtual craft village?
The fairs that Amata organises all over Spain, are meant to be places where people looking for original craft work can meet the craftsmen and women who make it. Unfortunately, these fairs are held only once a year for two or three days in different villages and towns. We would rather be available the whole year round for everybody, wherever they live!
One option would be to create an Online store. But we want to offer something more: we want to share our skills and our love for our work with you. And, above all, we want to actually show you that everything we sell, we have made with our own hands!
That’s why we have built our Virtual Craft Village, where we open the doors of our workshops wide, so you can come and see with how much skill, patience and love we make our items. Not just a shopping area, but a village with room for giving classes, to organise virtual fairs and other events - a good home for our Artesanía de Autor®!
One option would be to create an Online store. But we want to offer something more: we want to share our skills and our love for our work with you. And, above all, we want to actually show you that everything we sell, we have made with our own hands!
That’s why we have built our Virtual Craft Village, where we open the doors of our workshops wide, so you can come and see with how much skill, patience and love we make our items. Not just a shopping area, but a village with room for giving classes, to organise virtual fairs and other events - a good home for our Artesanía de Autor®!
Who are we?
This virtual craft village is a project of AMATA (Asociación para la Mejora de la Artesanía Tradicional y Actual).
This craft association was founded in 1998 (*) and, as the official name in Spanish suggests, its main purpose is to promote traditional and modern crafts in all its aspects.
Up till now their main activity has been: organising craft fairs and medieval markets. To advertise their events, they use the words Artesanía de Autor®, so nobody will be in doubt about the authenticity of everything they sell in these markets, because the author is there in the stall.
If you want to know more about the history of Amata (sorry, only in Spanish) or the nice atmosphere in their markets, you can click here.
For more information you can visit the web site of Amata (click here); here you will also find lots of photographs of their markets and their craft work.
*registered in the Registro de Asociaciones de la Generalidad Valenciana in Alicante, Sección 1ª, Nº 6200 del 5 de Marzo 1998. Their C.I.F. is G-53268892.
This craft association was founded in 1998 (*) and, as the official name in Spanish suggests, its main purpose is to promote traditional and modern crafts in all its aspects.
Up till now their main activity has been: organising craft fairs and medieval markets. To advertise their events, they use the words Artesanía de Autor®, so nobody will be in doubt about the authenticity of everything they sell in these markets, because the author is there in the stall.
If you want to know more about the history of Amata (sorry, only in Spanish) or the nice atmosphere in their markets, you can click here.
For more information you can visit the web site of Amata (click here); here you will also find lots of photographs of their markets and their craft work.
*registered in the Registro de Asociaciones de la Generalidad Valenciana in Alicante, Sección 1ª, Nº 6200 del 5 de Marzo 1998. Their C.I.F. is G-53268892.
For whom is this village meant?
In principal our village is open to everyone, but you might be especially interested if:
- you like to watch artisans at work in their craft - click on: Workshops and stores
- you want your kids to learn about arts and crafts - click on: Workshops and stores or Craft tutorials
- you want to learn basic techniques to make your own artwork - click on: Craft tutorials
- you want to buy original handmade products - click on: Workshops and stores or Virtual fairs
- you´re looking for an original gift for a birthday, wedding, communion, baptism or simply to surprise a loved one - click on: Workshops and stores or Virtual fairs
- you want to get in touch with an artisan who can make you a specific item, that you can´t find anywhere else - click on: Workshops and stores or Virtual fairs
- you like to watch artisans at work in their craft - click on: Workshops and stores
- you want your kids to learn about arts and crafts - click on: Workshops and stores or Craft tutorials
- you want to learn basic techniques to make your own artwork - click on: Craft tutorials
- you want to buy original handmade products - click on: Workshops and stores or Virtual fairs
- you´re looking for an original gift for a birthday, wedding, communion, baptism or simply to surprise a loved one - click on: Workshops and stores or Virtual fairs
- you want to get in touch with an artisan who can make you a specific item, that you can´t find anywhere else - click on: Workshops and stores or Virtual fairs
How do I find the right artisan when I want something made to order?
Go to the Workshops and stores section. We offer you three options to find the workshops of the artisans who could place your order. You can enter each workshop and look at the style of their work, to see which one you like best and, with a click, get in touch with the craftsman of your selection.
If you don't know the name of the workshop:
- you can search by raw material: in the "sorted by kind of raw material" section you will find the artisans who work with the material you are looking for (leather, glass, metal, wood, etc.)
- you can also search by type of product (bags, jewelry, toys...) in the "sorted by kind of product" section. If you do know the name of the workshop you are looking for, click on "sorted in alphabetical order".
On the other hand, you can send an email to Amata (see "Contact us" in the menu above), explaining what you are looking for and we will put you in contact with the most suitable craftsman to do it for you. Remember: there are more than a thousand artisans from all over Spain in our data base!
If you don't know the name of the workshop:
- you can search by raw material: in the "sorted by kind of raw material" section you will find the artisans who work with the material you are looking for (leather, glass, metal, wood, etc.)
- you can also search by type of product (bags, jewelry, toys...) in the "sorted by kind of product" section. If you do know the name of the workshop you are looking for, click on "sorted in alphabetical order".
On the other hand, you can send an email to Amata (see "Contact us" in the menu above), explaining what you are looking for and we will put you in contact with the most suitable craftsman to do it for you. Remember: there are more than a thousand artisans from all over Spain in our data base!
