Through years of travel to Mexico, I've continually discovered a landscape dotted with makers whose work is rarely (if ever) found in the US. Elegant ceramics, delicate embroidery and hand-etched glassware--these objects fit squarely into a California aesthetic, if only people could access them here. Two worlds so close yet, as they say, still so far away.

Such handmade Mexican items have another draw, too. They are lasting markers of communities that sometimes now struggle to exist, created according to processes that are at risk of being lost. Luckily, many of the country's young designers recognize the richness of their past--and are determined to make it relevant for their present. In honoring Mexico's age old crafts, they are ensuring their lasting power by simultaneously updating them for contemporary audiences at home and abroad.

JARDÍN 14 is a project that highlights products interpreting traditional materials in new ways, from designers and communities throughout Mexico who are re-imagining artisanal techniques for today's lifestyle. The capsule collection's name translates as "garden 14," a nod to the indoor-outdoor aesthetic of both Mexico and Southern California--and a play on my family's former address in Mexico City.