Cordon Y Cuero

Jaya Knapp was born and educated in Germany, earning a teaching degree in arts and crafts in 1972. After six years of teaching Jaya moved to Ibiza, A Spanish island in the Mediterranean with a thriving arts and crafts community, where she designed clothing.

In 1984 Jaya moved to Taos, New Mexico with her husband and their three children. They developed a line of braided leather jewelry accented with silver which she called Cordon y Cuero. Using the finest domestic vegetable-tanned leather, Jaya bases her braiding technique on the same one used to create handmade lace. The leather is beveled on the flesh side, which doubles the amount of top grain in a piece when compared to similar braided items.

The simple yet sophisticated styling of the Cordon Y Cuero line appeals to both men and women, urbanites and ex-urbanites alike. You’ll be as likely to see the jewelry in Iowa or Oklahoma as in California or New York—anywhere people appreciate fine styling as well as exceptional craftsmanship.