Angels with Bouquets

A set of four angels is ready to bring good tidings to your holiday tree. Costa Rican artisan Blanca Padilla handcrafts these angels out of the fiber extracted from cabuya, a succulent that looks like agave. The artisan works with the cabuya's natural texture to form the angels. Each has a different colored dress, and they all carry a bouquet of paper and natural dried flowers. A gold thread accents the angels halos and the hem of their gowns.

The art and skill of creating handicrafts from cabuya has been handed down through Blanca Padilla's family for generations. The artisan sources her material herself, growing and harvesting the cabuya, extracting the fiber, and preparing it for use in the handicrafts. Blanca Padilla hopes to help revitalize the cabuya craft industry with the success of her designs.