Emerson Zarate

"Mexico is a privileged place with spectacular landscapes and wonderful weather. We have flowers blooming all year long.

"When traveling in 1982, my father saw some unusual handicrafts using pressed dehydrated natural flowers that were suspended in resin. He decided to use our fresh tropical flowers and add sterling silver to create original jewelry designs.

"Although I was born in Mexico City, I've lived in rural areas all my life. We were surrounded by cool rivers, verdant fiends, mountains and all kinds of wildflowers. Today, I continue my father's jewelry tradition.

"The art suits me. I'm a creative person, devoted, passionate and perfectionist in everything I do. When I enjoy an activity, I dedicate time to learning or training. I studied photography, which gave me the necessary tools to achieve fine visual details in my jewelry. I enjoy overcoming challenges and adversities as they arise.

"We found that by dehydrating the flowers, instead of pressing them, let them maintain their shape. This allows us to use flowers that are unsuitable for pressing, like a rose bud, for example. We developed a technique that preserves the natural colors.

"Thanks to a spring-like weather, we're able to grow our own flowers year round. After much trial and error, we were able to achieve jewelry with the quality and aesthetic we sought. We began showing it to family members and close friends, and were surprised at how much they liked it. They immediately began asking for new designs and more flower varieties.

"Soon after, my father began selling our designs at a bazaar in Mexico City. He set up a small table to exhibit them. What started as way to earn money in his free time led my father to leave his job and focus on this art form. Our jewelry has reached people in Mexico and many other parts of the world.

"Without a doubt, the biggest cost in our jewelry is silver. It also has a complicated artisanal metallurgic process. We use a resin that quickly crystallizes and we have only a brief period to cover the flowers one by one and manually remove air bubbles with a needle.

"I've grown up with this craft my whole life. I've seen it evolve and have implemented new techniques, materials, designs, flowers and more. We've improved, learned and adapted the processes.

"We went through a rough period when the price of silver nearly doubled and costs rose excessively as well. We decided to process our own silver, so my brother took intensive training in metallurgy in Taxco. He taught me everything he learned and it took us almost two years to perfect our process for the quality we wanted,