The shop is named after the 8 year old Peruvian girl in the centre of this photo, taken by a friend in Cusco in 1992. She was one of many children selling their family’s handmade items and the photographer, Andy bought the socks she is holding. For these he paid her asking price of about £1.

When I heard this story I was touched, humbled and inspired. I vowed to go to Peru, find her, buy all her socks, all her friends socks and pay a fair price, bring them to Haworth and open a shop. All this was said with absolutely no means of actually being able to do it but the seed was sown.

For several years the idea never diminished and when eventually, in 2001 having enlisted a friend Anna to help, a small premises became available and the shop was opened. 

The following year we were instrumental in making Haworth the World’s first Fairtrade Village. In 2005 I was able to meet Sonia while on a successful trip to Peru to twin Haworth with Machu Picchu Pueblo. She was then aged 22 and lived in the North of Peru married to a coffee farmer and had two sons. I showed her photos of the shop and the original one when she was 8.