About Roberto, by Annie
I received my first email from Roberto in the winter of '08. He'd taken his letter's subject line, "just to say hello," directly from the invitation on my contact page. Am I ever glad he did!
Roberto introduced himself as a woodworker from Taos, and told me that he was learning to make rosaries. He had the URL to his own site in his signature, so nosy-me clicked it. I discovered that I'd already visited his website the year previous (more than once) when I was searching for handmade boxes. When I realized that Roberto and the owner of the website I'd visited were one in the same, I squeaked out a timid question--how much would it cost to make a small rosary box for my mom? I braced myself for his answer.
I never expected the reply he made: he wanted to barter one of my rosaries for a box! Now you have to understand that from my point of view, there are craftsmen and there are artists. I consider myself a craftsman. I consider Roberto an artist. A whole other league. I couldn't believe my good fortune at an offer like that!
So we set about designing for one another--he wanted a rosary that looked antique (you'll be able to see it soon on our custom rosaries guide page). I wanted a box appropriate for St. Therese of the Infant Jesus, so I asked if he could incorporate a polished, white bone rose pendant into the top, as St. Therese's flower is the rose.
Other than that, we gave each other free rein to design. We'd write back and forth, giving little hints, asking sneaky questions that were mutually answered with "surprise me." What Roberto didn't know was that I was frantic to work up to what I knew he'd be sending me, so I spent weeks hunting just the right stone. What I didn't know was that the artist, on his end of the barter, was not only making me a box for my mother, but secretly one for me, too!
We mailed our pieces to one another on the same day. When I opened that package and found those boxes, I couldn't get over how beautiful they were. He'd even gone to the trouble of sending relic soil to me from Chimayo, the Lourdes of America, and I was able to share that with my mom also. Something moves Roberto in his art and the way he treats people. Something very good.
I'm not the only one who thinks so. I've sent him off to my fave suppliers, and they write back to me things like "Roberto's a hoot," and "thanks for sending Roberto, what a nice person he is!"
Roberto's been making rosaries for many months now (of course he's an instant ace at it). He like to work in brass, and has come up with his own method for giving his wire an antique finish. He doesn't sell his rosaries online (yet), but almost as fast as he's making them, local visitors and customers and friends are taking them home at very reasonable prices. So if you'd like one, all you have to do is write and ask!
And for all of you outdoorsmen out there, Roberto sent some stones away to have them decorated in a camoflage coating and they came out great. If hunting and fishing is an interest and the quiet time waiting in a blind or on a river bank appeals to you as a time for saying the rosary, be sure to ask him if he would make you one with camo beads!
I first had the idea to ask Roberto to be a guest designer because finding beautiful rosary boxes that are tasteful and refined is very challenging, and his work certainly fits the bill. It's so nice to have a special place to store rosaries handed down through the family or newly purchased so that they aren't damaged or lost.
Roberto has some great concepts for small rosary boxes that he's able to price around $50. One idea he mentioned that I especially like is making compartments inside the box to store rosaries and chaplets on one side and loose medals on the other. One of Roberto's boxes would make an unforgettable gift for Christmas or a birthday or wedding party. My mother still can't get over his craftsmanship. She brings that box out every time company comes over!
I hope that when you click on Roberto's link, you'll take a few moments from the busy rush of life to go to his "about" page and write to him about his work, something special that you think he could create for you, his wife Carol's fantastic recipe for empanaditas (I hope she doesn't squeal at me for encouraging you to grab her treasured family recipes like I did, but whew, they were yummy!), to congratulate Roberto and Carol on becoming first-time grandparents, or what I know would be most special to him of all, "just to say hello."
