We're inspired by the past but looking to the future.

Since 1988, we’ve been working closely with incredible artisans in Ecuador to provide ethically sourced, handcrafted, and fair-trade sweaters and knitwear. That’s why on our garment tags you’ll find the name of the exact knitter who handmade your sweater. 

‘A mano’ means ‘by hand’ in Spanish. 

Over the last 40 years, we’ve worked closely with knitters from the remote region of Carchi to create collections that celebrate color lovers and free spirits who want to invest in clothing with a human connection.

Our founders, James and Michelle, first travelled to South America in 1988. After teaching English in Brazil, they both decided to explore Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador and were blown away by the knitwear they saw locals knitting by hand. 

James and Michelle went home with as many hand-knit sweaters as they could fit in their backpacks and began selling them at the Christmas market at St-Martin-In-The-Fields. People loved them! With the help of Miquel (an American who had made Ecuador his second home), they commissioned the knitter to make more jumpers. 

James met Yumiko in La Paz, a Japanese artist who lived in Bolivia with her husband, Toshy. Yumiko quickly became the creative force behind Amano and launched several of our best-selling designs. 

We continued to sell ethical handmade knitwear on Portobello Road and Camden in Amao shops, whilst trading in Paris, Milan, and New York. Soon enough Amano knitwear was stocked in Selfridges, Liberty London, Neiman Marcus, Barneys and Itesan. 

Ever since we’ve had love from Helena Bonham Carter, M People, Roseanne, Doc Martin, to the young boy from About A Boy. 

Side note: Jamiroquai has credited Amano on his album as “always keeping them warm.” 

We are proud to say that we still work with the same Ecuadorian knitters to create our new collections. We continue to provide them with consistent work, enabling them to support their local community and preserve their cultural heritage. 

Our past inspires us, but always looking forward to the future, constantly innovating and becoming more ethical when we can. How are we becoming more ethical, you ask? 

• We now dye our unspun yarn sourced from Peru in small batches to reduce waste
• We only work with low-impact dyes to further minimise our impact on the planet. 

We are so lucky to still maintain the same customers we had 40 years ago, but we warmly welcome new customers!

Whether you have loved Amano forever, have a piece of amano knitwear passed down to you, or you want to start your collection, welcome to the family!