All Inspired Gifts will be MATCHED* to send 3X the assistance to children.
* Gifts received after the match amount has been met or after the deadline can be used for the Donor Match Fund.
Details
The perfect complement to contemporary home decor, these unique coasters are from Alexander Alvarado in Costa Rica. He combines cement with river sand, ground granite, nylon fibers and colorants to create the set of four square coasters, adding cork backs to keep your furniture safe.
Made in Costa Rica
Cement, nylon fiber, sand, ground granite, cork base
Hand-crafted item -- color, size and/or motif may vary slightly
“I love doing things with my hands, and solving problems with solutions different from what the market offers us."
“Starting this project has filled me with enthusiasm, and has taught me that things start to flow little by little when... they are undertaken with faith, willingness and a lot of effort. Since I started, more and more doors have been opened to me.
“I am Alexander Alvarado Villegas, a persevering and creative person. I was born in San José in 1981 and grew up with my family in Ciudad Quesada de San Carlos, Alajuela, Costa Rica, a small city with extensive country life, farms and rivers. My father is a veterinarian by profession, very hard-working, honest, creative and practical in solving problems. From him I learned to work with my hands and come up with creative solutions with objects within reach and improvise their use for other purposes. From my mother I learned optimism, positivism, energy, the capacity for self-analysis and empathy with other people.
“As a family we have gone through very difficult economic times; situations that forced us to make very important decisions to stay afloat. Today I thank life for that, because we are already much better. We have already overcome that stage, but the life lesson was learning to endure those difficult times by making the decisions that have to be made with a cool head and taking new opportunities that came along.
“My wife started the project at a stage in her life when she lost an important source of income as a result of the sudden reduction of work of her largest client. This forced us to look for additional income options; hers was the idea of developing specific objects from grey concrete. She started with training, experimentation, and capital investment. She began to produce, participate in artisan fairs and sell her products very well. Then she was presented with the opportunity of a permanent formal office job, so she put the project aside. The project resumed months after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when I started to work from home. The idea and the potential of the project had always caught my attention, but with greater exposure to designing and creating more objects rather than just being limited to industrial molds. I jumped right in and resumed the project, but this time experimented with colors and blends, including wooden pieces to embellish the designs, as well as experimenting with textures and washed gravels.
“My work experience in the last 8 years was in business analysis of very high value corporate projects and their financial viability. Therefore I wanted to create a sustainable, creative business with a vision bigger than the national market. For this reason, from the beginning of the project, the main vision was to export to international markets. However, even without starting a sales campaign, the pieces began to be sold with a lot of interest and admiration on the part of the clients when they saw the possibilities that the material presents. It is normally grey and used as the main material in the construction of civil works. These early sales allowed me to raise capital, which I invested in tools and equipment by starting a small company without debt and with high expectations of developing more and better designs and products.
“I love doing things with my hands, and solving problems with solutions different from what the market offers us. It is in line with my career as an architect to offer products of great design and quality with a democratic price. The most beautiful thing is the experimentation of new ideas, color combinations and the possibility that with what I have learned and my career I can make practically any object, including new things that are not available in the local market. Sometimes someone proposes a combination that I don't think looks good, but when executed gives me unexpectedly beautiful results. Art in particular produces a reaction of surprise in people, since this is not a material that is normally used in art with the colors and textures presented in the pieces. People are surprised, and do not believe that it is actually concrete.
“I am inspired by my country, Costa Rica. Like the rest of the countries after the Spanish colonization that were highly seismic and with the conditions of a tropical climate, they used constructive solutions from adobe, then evolutions with bahareque (blocks of clay with cane reinforcements) and later concrete. The latter has been used mainly to solve construction from a structural and enclosing aspect, but neglected the high possibility of it to be used from a more everyday and decorative approach. It is here that we try to show the nobility of concrete and its wide possibility of forms, colors and textures.
“One of my biggest dreams is for the company to grow with the placement of the products in the international market, and to develop a national line focused on the decoration and remodeling of larger spaces. New doors that I do not know yet will open new opportunities.”
Only valid on the Normal shipping option for shipments to 48 Lower US states.
Discounted shipping price may not be applied to previous orders.
This item ships with a free artist storycard, so you can remember who you impacted today. Customized gift messages are also available with every order.
We want you to be 100% satified with your order, so if you are not completely happy with your item, you can return it within 60 days of receiving it.
We pack, ship, certify and 100% guarantee the quality of this item. Watch this video to see how.
This item is available for backorder and will ship within 2 to 8 weeks. Artists love to get backorders. Placing a backorder ensures that the artisan will do their best to create and deliver your item to our local office for shipment.
Although we cannot guarantee availability, we do expect to be able to fill the order within the timeframe indicated. But sometimes life happens - special materials may not be immediately available to the artist, or there might be some other circumstance beyond our control that could delay the shipment.
If for any reason we are unable to ship the item within the timeframe indicated, we will notify you.
In the unlikely even that we are unable to ship the item within the timeframe indicated, we will contact you and provide an updated delivery window.
This item has a special shipping flat fee which means that due to bulk, duties, or other special requirements, the item will be shipped to you via one of our special one-rate services. Shipping is only available to the United States (lower 48 States only).
WOMEN
S
M
L
XL
XXL
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
BUST
35 - 36
37 - 38
39 - 41
42 - 44
46 - 48
WAIST
27 - 28
29 - 30
31 - 33
34 - 36
38 - 40
HIPS
37 - 38
39 - 40
42 - 43
45 - 46
49 - 50
MEN
S
M
L
XL
XXL
CHEST
36 - 38
39 - 41
42 - 44
46 - 48
50 - 52
WAIST
30 - 32
32 - 34
35 - 37
38 - 41
43 - 45
NECK
14 - 14.5
15 - 15.5
16 - 16.5
17 - 17.5
18 - 18.5
SLEEVE
32.5
33.5
34.5
35.5
36.5
FINDING YOUR SIZE
Take your measurements with the tape measure over your under garments. If your measurements fall between sizes you may prefer the next larger size. Inseam, skirt and dress lengths vary by style and will be listed in the item description. Our sweaters are knit in standard American sizes, however actual measurements vary by style.
BUST / CHEST
Measure around the fullest part of chest under the arms and over the shoulder blades keeping the tape measure level.
WAIST
Measure around the smallest part of the waist keeping the tape measure comfortably loose. Most garments use the low waist measurement noted below.
LOW WAIST
Measure around the body approximately 1.5" below the natural waist (above). This is the area where most pants and skirts actually fit.
HIPS
Standing with your heels together, measure around the fullest part of the body approx 7"-8" below the waist.
NECK
Measure around the base of the neck keeping the tape measure comfortably loose.
SLEEVE
Bend elbow slightly and starting at the center back of the neck, measure across the shoulder, to the elbow and down to the wrist.
INSEAM
Our standard inseam length for women is 32" and 34" for men; however inseam measurements will vary slightly by style.
Belts with buckles are measured in inches that correspond to a waist size however, most people do not wear belts on the waist, they wear them closer to the hips. A buckle belt measurement is take from the end of the "pin" of the buckle to the middle hole on the belt. Generally there are 5 holes for size adjustment, with a 1" space between each, so the middle hole will the be average size of the belt.
For at tie belt (no buckle) measure the belt portion end to end and half of the tie portion. This again is the medium size of the belt.
For a soft fabric tie belt it can be called "1 size fits most" and the entire length of the belt should be measured and listed.
See buckle/tie belt size standards below.
WOMEN
S
M
L
XL
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
inches
26 - 30
28 - 32
31 - 35
34 - 38
38 - 42
cm
76 - 86
81.5 - 91.5
86.5 - 96.5
91.5 - 101.5
96.5 - 106.5
+/- tolerance: 0.5 inches or 1.25 cm
MEN
S
M
L
XL
XXL
inches
30 - 34
32 - 36
35 - 39
39 - 43
43 - 47
cm
81.5 - 91.5
86.5 - 96.5
91.5 - 101.5
96.5 - 106.5
109 - 119
+/- tolerance: 0.5 inches or 1.25 cm
Sash tie length
Lay sash/tie out flat away from the garment and measure from end to end.
Belt with buckle
Measure from the end of the pin of the buckle (where it touches the buckle) to the middle hole.
Belt without buckle
Measure from the belt portion end to end and half of the tie portion. This is will give you the medium size of the belt.
Download our printable ring sizing chart to find the perfect fit!
We refer to these items as "discounted wholesale". Such items carry a deeper wholesale discount than other items, and have greater potential to provide your business with healthier resale margins.
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Above all, it's EASY! Just select the premium gift wrapping option during checkout and we do the rest. No more last minute worries about presentation - your gifts will be the best dressed every time!
Most premium gift wrap is only $3.95 - $5.95 per item.
UNICEF Market offers triple win pricing, where YOU the consumer, Children from around the world, and Artisans all benefit.
WIN # 1 You Save!
Handmade goods from developing nations usually pass through a series of intermediaries before being purchased by retail consumers. Each of these intermediaries adds cost to the product, and that cost is passed on to the customer. UNICEF USA partnered with NOVICA, who works directly with artists through their regional offices in Asia, Africa and Latin America, allowing purchases from UNICEF Market to go directly from the artisans to fulfilling customer orders. By skipping steps in the traditional supply chain, you can buy high quality items for less than the regular retail prices.
WIN # 2 Children Benefit!
Each item purchased from UNICEF Market will benefit UNICEF's programs that provide lifesaving nutrition, medicine, education, clean water, emergency relief and more to children in need.
You can learn more about UNICEF's work, on About UNICEF.
WIN # 3 Artisans Profit!
UNICEF Market artisans set their own prices and control their own businesses. UNICEF Market offers artisans a free platform to sell their work throughout the United States.
