Alan Duran Rubio

Master Wire-Wrapper  •  San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Where geological time meets human craft.

THE ARTIST

San Miguel de Allende. September 2024. A young artist at a simple table in the artisan
market, surrounded by extraordinary work. I bought five pieces that day. Alan didn't tell me stories—he just smiled and wrapped them carefully. But when I got home, each piece seemed to carry something. A weight. A warmth. A whisper of what they wanted to be called. Alan is a master craftsman working in San Miguel de Allende's celebrated artisan tradition. His wire-wrapping technique transforms raw materials—brass, crystal, fossil, and stone—into pieces that honor the natural forms he works with rather than imposing artificial shapes upon them.

THE CRAFT

San Miguel de Allende has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is renowned as one of Mexico's most important centers for art and craft. The town's cobblestone streets are lined with workshops where artisans practice traditions that have made this region famous for metalwork, textiles, and jewelry.

Alan's signature technique combines intricate braided brass chains with delicate spiral motifs—work so precise you can lose yourself counting the individual wraps. He cradles ancient ammonite fossils in Celtic-style braiding, suspends raw quartz clusters from hand-woven chains, and transforms stones that have waited millions of years into pieces meant to be worn.

"The fossils have been waiting millions of years to be held. We are simply giving them a way to be worn."

— Alan

MATERIALS

Brass wire — Hand-wrapped and braided using traditional techniques
Raw quartz crystals — Unpolished points selected for natural formation and clarity. Ammonite fossils — Mesozoic Era specimens 
Natural stones — Obsidian, jade, and other found materials

FEATURED PIECES

La Heredera — The Heiress
White quartz and brass masterwork. The name came to me the moment I held it—like it had
been waiting for recognition. Sometimes objects choose their names.

THE CONNECTION

"When I first saw this art, I recognized immediately what I was seeing: not just
craftsmanship, but intention. Each wrap of wire, each placement of crystal, reflects hours of patient work by hands that understand their materials intimately.
This is what The House of Grace Huxley seeks in every collaboration—artists who
understand that a piece is not finished when it leaves their hands. It is simply ready to begin its next chapter."