What began at a small work table in La Palma, with Estelita Perlera and Óscar Portillo painting copinol seeds, is today a workshop that keeps creating La Palma crafts with the same dedication, patience, and pride as its first days. Through handmade pieces, creative experiences, and opportunities for the community, we have preserved an artisan tradition passed down from generation to generation.
Estelita and Óscar started this workshop in 1985, in La Palma, Chalatenango, a mountain town in northern El Salvador known for the artistic heritage driven by Fernando Llort. They had a table, a few materials, and the desire to build a life around art and artisan work.
Both learned the craft from Fernando Llort. Óscar, in addition to working in craftsmanship, developed paintings sold internationally. After Óscar's passing, Estelita continued leading the workshop and the legacy they had built together.
From a small table in the market to a workshop that exports to more than 20 countries.
Estelita and Óscar started this workshop in 1985, in La Palma, Chalatenango, a mountain town in northern El Salvador known for the artistic heritage driven by Fernando Llort. They had a table, a few materials, and the desire to build a life around art and artisan work.
An Italian fair-trade organization put its trust in our workshop's work. Every piece that was shipped was made and packed by hand, carrying with it the creativity, tradition, and talent of our hands. This moment marked the beginning of our connection to international markets.
The workshop formally adopts the name Artesanías Paty, consolidating an identity built on creativity, quality, and artisan tradition.
The workshop opens its doors to national and international tourists and students, offering painting classes as a hands-on experience. This way, lovers of craft and culture take home not just products, but the experience of being artisans for a day.
The workshop's growth allowed part of production to begin taking place in the homes of local collaborators, especially mothers who found in craftwork and our brand an opportunity to generate income while continuing to care for their families.
In addition to our traditional wood collections, we added new textile lines and innovative products that respond to today's market needs without losing the essence of our cultural identity.
Our pieces continue reaching national and international clients who value handmade work, authenticity, and the story behind every creation.
Create unique, handmade pieces that reflect the creativity, culture, and identity of La Palma and El Salvador — so that everyone who buys one of our pieces can bring a piece of our story into their home.
Keep La Palma's artisan tradition alive, training new generations of artisans and bringing our culture to more people, so that years from now every piece still holds the same meaning and value as the first. The uniqueness of handmade work, where every piece reflects an artisan's dedication and aspiration.
Handmade work, no shortcuts. Renewable wood and water-based paints. A handwritten signature on every piece. Fair work and ongoing learning for those who keep this craft alive.
We don't make mass-produced pieces. Each one is built, sanded, drawn, painted, and signed individually.
We work with wood sourced from responsibly managed forests and use water-based paint, avoiding toxic materials and protecting the environment.
Every artisan signs the pieces she creates. It's not a decorative detail — it's a mark of authenticity, identity, traceability, and pride in the craft.
Color, composition, and technique are perfected through practice. We firmly believe in the importance of learning, teaching, and sharing artisan knowledge.
In 1972, Fernando Llort arrived in La Palma and taught the town to paint small scenes — birds, houses, mountains, and more — with clean lines and flat colors. What began as a form of artistic expression he called naïf art (arte ingenuo) became, over time, the community's visual and iconographic signature.
Estelita and Óscar learned that artistic language and made it part of their lives. When they started their workshop in 1985, they weren't looking to reinvent the tradition, but to contribute to it through their own work, creativity, and dedication. That intention is still alive more than four decades later.
A few perspectives — local press, museums, and cultural magazines — that have told our craft's story better than we could ourselves.
With a contagious smile, Estela Perlera shares the story of Taller Artesanías Paty, founded more than 35 years ago in La Palma, Chalatenango. It all began alongside her husband, learning the craft in Don Fernando Llort's workshop, transforming copinol seeds and wood into pieces with original designs.
After taking on the raising of her two daughters alone, Estela Perlera found in her own hands the means to move forward. Today she owns Artesanías Paty, a workshop with 35 years of history in the San Antonio neighborhood, La Palma, Chalatenango, where she and a group of artisan mothers craft pieces carved from pine and copinol wood — keychains, crosses, chests, and pictures — with export-grade quality recognized in markets like Italy.
The artisan workshops of La Palma, Chalatenango, have become tourist attractions that let visitors get a close look at Salvadoran traditions. Tourists find colorful pieces inspired by the style of artist Fernando Llort, such as chests, pictures, and hand-painted keepsakes.
A feature on how Estela Perlera has turned her workshop in La Palma, Chalatenango, into a tourist experience: visitors from all over the world come to paint their own craft pieces. The article also highlights other artisans from the region and the cultural and peace legacy of La Palma.
When my husband passed away in 1999, I had to decide whether to continue with the workshop. It wasn't easy. Today, with more than 40 years in this craft, I feel happy to be able to provide for my family and give work to people from my town.
We offer painting classes for the public every day. In two-hour sessions, with materials included, you'll create your own piece, take it home finished, and have it signed with your name — along with your teacher's, if you'd like.
