Next on my adventure in Peru… On our way from Ollyantaytambo through the Sacred Valley, on the way back to Cuzco, we stopped by the ruins of Moray. These stone stepped terraces are everywhere all over the mountains and valleys. They are an efficient way to farm crops and beautifully designed. Moray is unusual because of it’s concentric circles that are just simply stunning. From above, they seem perfectly circular. And at eye level they sway with the Earth that has probably moved since it was built about 500 years ago.

There is some kind of Mysticism of Moray that emanates from the Earth here. Complete wonder takes over my imagination of how and why the terraces were built like this.

Walking around and around and in and up gave me some idea of what the term full circle means.

Throughout the Sacred Valley, we saw many women making really great textiles. This was in Chinchero. Of course, I took home quite a few textiles. Some old and some newer, soon to be turned into pillows. I’ll need to show off my panchito soon in a upcoming blog post. After this wonderful day in the valley, we made it back to the city of Cuzco. We just had enough time to see the most gold and silver I’ve ever seen in one place – in the cathedral in Cuzco. We caught our plane back to Lima where I attended meetings with my mom and dad for their charity foundation, World Fit. It was an amazing time in Peru and I hope to go back again one day. Always, AMY

Before and after we took a train and bus to Machu Picchu, we stayed in Ollyantaytambo. This is a beautiful town in the Sacred Valley by the river. In Inca’s time, this was a beautiful thriving city with lots of history. The little hotel where we stayed had their own fields right next door where they grew their own food. It was so delicious – all the food I had while in Peru was amazing! I love being connected to what we eat by seeing where the food is grown. We hiked the ruins in the morning to see amazing stone work and vistas of the valley.

This is my mom, dad and me in front of the Temple of the Sun. It just seems impossible that these huge slabs of pink granite were brought across the entire valley from the other side of mountains to here. It is perfectly designed for the sun to shine through the eye of a face on the distant mountain onto the face of this Temple on the solstice. Amazing Ollyantaytambo architecture, and what an inspiration for modern design. Always, AMY

Thanks to all that entered our Giveaway for Mother’s Day!  The WINNER, who gets to choose any amykathryn bag of their choice available from our shop, is… … drumbroll… … … … … …  

April Crisafulli

Congratulations!

Don’t forget to tell your Mothers, Step-Mothers, Grandmothers, Great Grandmothers, and any Mamas out there  how important & loved they are tomorrow. Hope you all have a wonderful day with your families & loved ones!  xo, Victoria

P.S. I love you Mom!

I spent Earth Day hiking around Machu Picchu. Everyday is Earth Day, especially in the stony, rich Earth that sways high in sky. This place is truly a wonder of the world. It is beyond words to explain the vistas, feel of the land and history that you are so connected with by just being there. What a blissful experience to feel the solid mountain hold you while you’re floating in the sky, almost touching the stars. I’ve never seen such impossible mountains go straight up (and down) and still feel the security of the solid earth beneath me.

This was a sacred rock carved and facing a sacred peak with the sun magnifying it’s beauty.

Maybe I need to design a backpack?

This picture is taken from Sun Gate – a bit of a hike up from Machu Picchu citadel. I love Peru! Always, AMY

It’s that time again… for a GIVEAWAY that is, to our fabulous fans we love so much. We couldn’t do it without you! To show our appreciation and to celebrate our lovely mama’s out there, we are giving away an amykathryn bag to one lucky winner!

Enter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 A winner will be announced on Friday, May 10, so you have  plenty of time to enter (and enter again) and tell your friends. Spread the love & good luck!

xo, Victoria

Happy Monday, and even more importantly Happy Earth Day! Everyday is really Earth day, but today is a nationally recognized day and a great reminder  to take care of the BEAUTIFUL and breathtaking world we live in, so that we may enjoy it’s many treasures for years to come…

Instead of the usual For Love of Color post, I thought I’d create an inspiration mood board of textural watery blues and sandy orange browns found in nature and just full of movement and life.  Sometimes it’s nice to take in her breath-taking beauty.  Isn’t Mother Earth amazing?

Sandy orange browns and watery blues:

geode / water / bark / moth wing / tide pool / sky / desert / plant

amykathryn bag designs, color combinations and patterns are always inspired by nature – just look at our Lily Brown! Where do you find beauty?

In honor of Earth Day, today only receive 40% off in our shop using coupon code EARTH40 at checkout.

Yesterday, I volunteered & helped clean up a local beach. It was a beautiful day and so many people joined in! It’s up to each of us to make a difference. What are you doing for Earth day? Share with us! xo, Victoria

Here she is… one year later. Some have gone, a couple new ones came in and most have taken root. I water the succulent wall with a spray bottle. It’s become a meditative ritual contemplating the succulents in their current state, anticipating how they’ll grow and reflecting on how they started in the pallet wall.

To start your own succulent wall, here is the DIY pin. Always, AMY

Lately I’ve been hitting the trails pretty hard. Yes, just for fun because I love to get out there. It’s where a lot of the Magic and inspiration for handbag design happens.  And secondly I am training for Machu Picchu! I’ll be going to Lima and Cuzco soon, so I want to build up my lungs to prepare for the altitude. I’ll share my adventure with you here first. I go towards the end of April. Back to California and the present, here’s some pics from my lovely hike in the Santa Monica mountains.

Good morning sunshine! Wow. All the critters come out in California’s spring blooming of lavender.

Hello Curious.

Thank you for the Stillness for a sec Mr. Woodpecker.

What do you see Ms. Bushytail?

All the hillsides are covered in the California Lavender with varying shades of lavender. I felt lucky to have seen this bloom in this moment in time.

This is my favorite picture of the morning. Now it’s back to the studio to start some DIY projects with amykathryn’s new fabric from the Spring 2013 collection. Yeah! Always, AMY

Spring is here (finally!) and with warmer weather comes more traveling.  This calls for the perfect weekender bag – the amykathryn Dandelion duffel bag is just that and more!

This season’s duffel bag design is very structured  (sturdy) while still being lightweight.  It has 5 bottom “feet” which make it durable and resistant to wear and tear or it being tossed around and moved a lot.  With multiple pockets and compartments, you can stay organized, carry all your necessities and then some.  Below we had a little fun to show just how much you can fit inside this wonderful bag:

Get your own Dandelion duffel bag here -while supplies last!

Wishing you all a wonderful Good Friday & Easter Sunday- enjoy!

xo, Victoria

Amy Tan from amytangerine has always loved our amykathryn bags. So we got together one quick afternoon. She picked her favorite amykathryn handbag, the Marigold. Then we used our yellow zig zag chevron print (custom amykathryn designed fabric) from our Spring 2013 collection. She chose the faux leathers from the ones we used our collection and voila – she now has her own amy tangerine bag by amykathryn. You can see that the amy tangerine bag coordinates with other bags in the amykathryn Spring 2013 collection.

You can purchase her bag here. The amykathryn quality is really amazing. Our line has extremely great pricing for the quality, materials, size and originality of our handbags! Other handbags on the market are priced much higher. We believe that is why amytangerine has priced her handbag higher than our line. She knows the quality and has a huge following that will buy her handbag by amykathryn!

We just sold out of amykathryn’s Lily Coral. So we are now out of 3 different handbags. The Spring bags are going quickly. make sure to shop and use coupon code FRIENDS25 for 25% off our already LOW prices. Thank you! Always, AMY