Who We Are
Authentica, A Celebration of Place
The six Authentica shops across Costa Rica connect travelers with locally made goods, food, coffee, craft, and design that genuinely reflect the country—amazing diversity for such a small country.
A souvenir should carry more than the name of a destination. It should carry something of the people, creativity, materials, traditions, and spirit behind it.
By working with Costa Rican artisans, designers, producers, and makers, Authentica helps their work reach travelers while creating more meaningful local participation in tourism.
Pura Vida lives in the hands, ideas, and stories of the people who create here.
Mindful
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Hand Picked
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Local Craft
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Taste of Place
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Mindful · Hand Picked · Local Craft · Taste of Place ·
A Family Business Rooted in Costa Rica
Our Story
Our family moved to Costa Rica in 1996, expecting to stay for only a year or two while Crist led a project supporting the Costa Rican government as it pioneered the sustainable tourism development that has been one of the hallmarks of the country in modern times. Three decades later, Costa Rica is home. Along the way, we founded three distinct family businesses, each rooted in hospitality and guided by the same belief: that a business can thrive while strengthening the culture and nature that make a destination meaningful.
Authentica’s roots trace to La Paz Group, our family’s first business in Costa Rica. Starting in 1999 we spent two decades designing, developing, and managing lodges and other conservation-minded ventures around the world. Through that work, we learned how thoughtful hospitality can bring the character of a place into every part of the guest experience, from design and storytelling to the products and people guests encounter.
We always offered locally made gift items in the shops we operated in those locations, but in 2019 we took the next step. Today, our family carries that vision forward through Organikos and Authentica. Organikos supplies the specialty coffee found in Authentica shops, with 100% of its profits reinvested in restoring bird habitat in Costa Rica. Authentica brings that coffee together with locally made craft, design, food, and stories, giving Costa Rican makers and producers a thoughtful platform through which their work can be discovered, valued, and carried beyond the places where it was created.
Entrepreneurial conservation through hospitality, carried forward through coffee, craft, and conservation.
Meet the Team
The People Behind Authentica
Amie Inman, Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Amie leads the creative vision behind Authentica, bringing together a lifelong background in design, storytelling, and the discovery of beautiful, meaningful objects. Prior to moving to Costa Rica in 1996, while living in Ithaca, New York she worked in furniture production for Mackenzie-Childs. She then spent two decades shaping the architecture, interiors, cuisine, and local experiences of La Paz Group’s hospitality projects. During the last seven years of that work, based in south India, Amie established a network of gift shops supplied by local artisans. In 2019, returning home to Costa Rica, she turned those sensibilities toward Authentica. Today, she identifies Costa Rican designers, artisans, and craftspeople and curates the products, stories, and spaces that bring the brand to life.
Crist Inman, Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Crist has spent more than three decades turning place-based ideas into viable hospitality businesses, with protection of nature always the core mission. His approach grew from PhD research at Cornell University, which led to the concept of entrepreneurial conservation. Work on sustainable tourism development for several years after his graduate studies evolved into two decades of building and managing conservation-minded ventures. Today, his work is focused on Organikos, where he brings together specialty coffee, conservation, and a deep belief in the value of place, while collaborating with Amie on Authentica.
A family story rooted in Costa Rica, carried forward by the people who bring Authentica to life.