Tomorrow, Saturday, May 11, is my travel day back to Oaxaca where I’ll stay put for a while. Yet, I tell myself it’s good to be where you are now. No looking back, no regrets, no living out into the future but to appreciate each gift of the moment. Today, I will connect with friends. Sip a G&T.
Packing challenges the assumptions of being here now. It makes me concentrate on what I will need and how much to take. It’s like cleaning up and getting ready. There’s no avoiding the planning that is required. I have one day to do it.
Perhaps, I should retitle this post, “Taming the Wilderness.” There is metaphor in this.
Truck with tattoo at the funeral
Yesterday, I went to a funeral at the farm where I lived for ten years with the wasband. The matriarch founder, age 93, passed early this week and my going was a tribute to her life — and mine, then and now. As I walked along the gravel road to the on-site graveyard, I passed the familiar and the unknown. It was strangely similar yet dramatically different. The cottage in which I lived is now inhabited by the next wife (there have been a series of them) and the gardens I once tended were overgrown, unrecognizable.
I passed people I knew and didn’t. They were known and unknown. We have aged. Some of us more gracefully. The wasband’s hair was wilder and he had built some girth. I wish I could say we exchanged pleasantries. It reminded me of where I am now and my gratitude for being here at home in Durham, North Carolina, and Oaxaca, Mexico.
The dirt to cover the cardboard casket was red clay Carolina. Each shovel-full was heavy and thoughtful. Life is where it takes us and there is reverence in each single act we do.
Poppies at the side of the farm road
Being there reminded me, too, about what I do to try to tame the wilderness. I attempted this, too, in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, by planting fruit trees — orange, lemon, avocado, guava. Ants consumed them. I gave up and planted cactus. These are sturdy and well-designed for the climate, to survive and repel the critters. There is a reason that the high desert is filled with native plants.
Here in North Carolina I have no living plants. My flowers are woven into the textiles around the apartment. When I leave early in the morning, I walk out and lock the door. It is easy. I am coming to learn my limitations.
Next Episode: On my return home. The other home.
A walk with friends on the Eno River, Hillsborough, NC
Here is a selection of hand-woven agave fiber market bags and totes, a few woven purses and shoulder bags perfect for carrying cell phones and coin purses. I’ve added tops and a poncho cover-up, too. All from Oaxaca and Chiapas. Don’t miss anything: there are 14 pieces, so scroll down to the end!
To buy, please send me an email: norma.schafer@icloud.com Include your name, mailing address with city, state and ZIP code, along with the ITEM NUMBER. I will send you an invoice and add on an $8 charge to mail USPS Priority Mail. As soon as I receive payment, I will ship.
NOTE: ALL PAYMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MAY 9, 2019. The last day I can mail is May 10. I return to Oaxaca on May 11. Thanks very much.
This is the finest quality hand-woven cactus fiber bag made in Chiapas. This is an original to the village of Magdalena Aldama where the men weave these and use them for field bags — to carry feed for the animals, food and water for themselves. They cut, soak, strip, and weave the agave leaves all by hand. The finest ones take three-months to make. They are strong, durable and functional. Comes with adjustable leather straps. They are works of artistry. The coffee color of the bags comes from the smoke over the wood cooking fires. Each one is different.
Detail, #7#1, Chiapas densely embroidered blouse, finest cotton from Sna Jolobil, $145
#1 is from the famed Sna Jolobil cooperative. Measures 26″ wide by 28″ long. The fine cotton cloth is woven on a back-strap loom. The bodice is hand-embroidered in the tiniest stitches. Moss green against cream, light and comfy for summer. They will be at the Santa Fe Folk Art Market this summer and you can bet the prices will be double.
#2 is from the small family cooperative operated by Rosa and Cristobal in Magdalena Aldama. This is what the women wear for their daily attire. Each year that I go, the designs become even more elaborate. I hand-picked this piece based on quality of weaving and the density of the supplementary weft — the threads added during the weaving process to create the patterns. It takes hours to make a piece like this. Piece is 26″ wide by 24″ long.
#2 detail, Magdalena Aldama blouse #3, from Oxchuc, Chiapas, great beach cover-up or use it for layering, $145
#3 From Oxchuc, Chiapas, and woven by Cristina on a back-strap loom. This is a wonderful, soft cotton poncho in a graphic black and white. It took Cristina 38 hours to weave this and it measures 32” wide x 28” long, $145
Detail, #3#4, San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, small shoulder bag, wool $25SOLD. #5, Magdalena Aldama, large hand-woven agave fiber market bag, $65
#5 (above) and #6 (below) and #7 (third) are hand-woven market bags — best quality. They are originals to the village of Magdalena Aldama where the men weave these and use them for field bags — to carry feed for the animals, food and water for themselves. They cut, soak, strip, and weave the agave leaves all by hand. The finest ones take three-months to make. They are strong, durable and functional. Comes with adjustable leather straps. They are works of artistry. The coffee color of the bags comes from the smoke over the wood cooking fires. Each one is different.
SOLD. #6, Magdalena Aldama, Chiapas, medium size agave fiber market bag, $65SOLD. #8, Tenejapa back-strap loomed small shoulder bag, $45
#8 comes from Tenejapa, Chiapas and is woven on a back-strap loom using the supplementary weft (added threads to the warp) technique to create the beautiful pattern. Use it for cell phone and coin purse or an evening bag,
#9 is a well-crafted wool bag, lined, from Teotitlan del Valle. It has a zipper. Priced at less than what I paid for it.
#10, handbag, Teotitlan del Valle, cochineal natural dyes, $50
#10 is wool dyed with cochineal red from the Bii Dauu cooperative in Teotitlan del Valle who does some of the finest work in the village. It is lined and has a zipper. Priced at less than what I paid for it.
SOLD. #11, Tenejapa, Chiapas, small shoulder bag, hand-woven, $45
#11 is a unique bag with a lively color combination. I bought it in the weekly market directly from the maker. The village is an hour and a world away from San Cristobal de las Casas.
SOLD. #12, San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, PomPom Chal (shawl) or Throw, $125
#12 is a soft, soft, grey and cream stripe wool woven on a back-strap loom in the village of San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, where women raise their own sheep, then card, spin and weave. Use this for a winter wrap or drape it over a chair, sofa, ottoman or bed for Bo-Ho style.
#13, hand-woven 100% cotton bag from Pinotepa de Don Luis, Chiapas, $45SOLD. #14, shoulder bag from Oxchuc, Chiapas, braided strap and fringes, $45
#14 is woven on a back-strap loom in a small Chiapas village. I love the color combo. It comes from Jolom Mayatik Cooperative. The braided strap is a work of art in itself and is of highest quality. Use for evening, cell phone, coin purse and cosmetics.
Here in North Carolina summer has arrived. It was 89 degrees Fahrenheit today. How to stay cool and refreshed as the heat arrives? With a beautiful, embroidered or woven blouse made by indigenous Mexican artisans. If you can’t travel with us, this is the next best way to own a piece of wearable art and know that through your purchase you have supported a weaver or embroiderer or sewist.
To buy, please send me an email: norma.schafer@icloud.com Include your name, mailing address with city, state and ZIP code, along with the ITEM NUMBER. I will send you an invoice and add on an $8 charge to mail USPS Priority Mail. As soon as I receive payment, I will ship.
NOTE: ALL PAYMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MAY 9, 2019. The last day I can mail is May 10. I return to Oaxaca on May 11. Thanks very much.
SOLD. #1, black gauze blouse, Amantenango, Chiapas, $65 USD
#1 is a lightweight gauze blouse perfect for summer with a splash of color around the neck and 3/4″ sleeves edges. It measures 24″ wide x 29″ long, and will fit M-L. The embroidery is French knots and traditional embroidery; the garment is 100% sewn by hand. I personally selected this never-worn piece from the maker in the village of Amantenango, Chiapas.
SOLD. #2 is dark brown gauze with a bodice of French knots, $65
#2 is a lightweight gauze blouse perfect for summer with a splash of color around the neck and 3/4″ sleeves edges. It measures 24″ wide x 28-1/2″ long, and will fit M-L. The embroidery is mostly French knots and the garment is 100% sewn by hand. I personally selected this new piece from the maker in the village of Amantenango, Chiapas.
#2 bodice detail — packed with color and embroidery!#3 is black gauze with gold French knots on bodice, $58
#3 is a lightweight gauze blouse perfect for summer with a undertone of gold French knots on the bodice and 3/4″ sleeves edges. It measures 24″ wide x 28-1/2″ long, and will fit M-L. The embroidery is mostly French knots and the garment is 100% sewn by hand. I personally selected this new piece from the maker in the village of Amantenango, Chiapas.
#3 bodice, gold on black, subtle enough to almost be beige
SOLD. #4 knock-out lime green with floral bodice, fine details, $75
#4 is special. It is densely embroidered with French knots, with fine embroidery details on the back facing and cuffs. The lightweight gauze blouse is perfect for summer. With 3/4″ sleeves edges. It measures 23″ wide x 28″ long, and will fit S-M. The garment is 100% sewn by hand. I personally selected this new piece from the maker in the village of Amantenango, Chiapas.
Detail of back, #4SOLD. #5 is green on black gauze blouse from Amantenango, Chiapas, $58
#5 is a lightweight gauze blouse perfect for summer with a splash of variegated green around the V-neck and 3/4″ sleeves edges. It measures 24″ wide x 28-1/2″ long, and will fit M-L. The embroidery is mostly French knots and the garment is 100% sewn by hand. Check out the detail on the cuffs and back panel. I personally selected this new piece from the maker in the village of Amantenango, Chiapas.
#5 back panel detail is exquisitely simple#6 is buttercup yellow gauze, with a bejeweled garden bodice, $58
#6 is a lightweight gauze blouse perfect for summer with a splash of jewel colors around the neck and 3/4″ sleeves edges. It measures 21″ wide x 26″ long, and will fit S-M. The embroidery is mostly French knots and the garment is 100% sewn by hand. I personally selected this new piece from the maker in the village of Amantenango, Chiapas.
#7 is a simple, yet elegant huipil from San Andres Larrainzar, Chiapas, $125
#7 is a beautiful, hand-embroidered, elegant long blouse perfect over a skirt, jeans or leggings. It is 26″ wide and 31″ long. Side seams are machine sewn. Dress it up or down. Hand-wash and line dry.
#7 bodice detail, San Andres Larrainzar huipil#8 Michoacan beauty, 23″ wide x 25-1/2″ long, $95, hand-embroidered cross-stitch
#9, Chiapas quechquemitl pull-over shawl, poncho, $68, 27″ wide x 31″ long
#9 shimmers with sparkly threads in the style that Chiapas ladies like. This is a perfect beach cover-up or throw it on for a cool and breezy evening. Easy to wash-and-wear, pure polyester, just like the ladies who made it in the village of Pantelho like. New. Purchased directly from the maker.
Both #10 and #11 were bought at Rosa and Cristobal’s cooperative in Magdalena Aldama, Chiapas, a village located an hour-and-a-half from San Cristobal de Las Casas. Both measure 22″ wide x 23″ long and will fit size S-M. These were created on the back-strap loom, lovingly woven. I bought them directly from the family. The same bodice pattern is on both sides.
After a year of walking with some days up to and exceeding 10,000 steps, my beautiful huipiles and blusas no longer fit me. For the next week, I’ll be offering for sale some of my clothing treasures from Durham, North Carolina before I return to Oaxaca on May 11. Most of these are new or lightly worn and purchased directly from the makers. (See photos below.)
These are loose fitting, cool for summer, and drape easily. In this group, two blouses and one dress come from the Oaxaca Coast, the villages of Pinotepa de Don Luis and San Pedro Amusgo. The embroidered dress is from the Oaxaca mountain community of San Bartolome Ayautla. They will fit size L to XL. Measure across your chest and hips to be sure of fit.
To buy, please send me an email. Include your name, mailing address with city, state and ZIP code, along with the ITEM NUMBER. I will send you an invoice and add on an $8 charge to mail USPS Priority Mail. As soon as I receive payment, I will ship.
NOTE: ALL PAYMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY MAY 9, 2019. The last day I can mail is May 10. I return to Oaxaca on May 11. Thanks very much.
SOLD. #1, indigo and native Oaxaca brown coyuchi cotton blusa, light gauze weave, $285
This is an amazing indigenous weaving from the Pinotepa de Don Luis Dreamweavers weaving cooperative. You see the symbols of double-headed turkey, lightening, corn plants, and eternal life woven into the cloth. The village is 12 hours from Oaxaca City and four hours from Puerto Escondido. If you can’t make it on one of our trips to the village or to the Santa Fe Folk Art Market where they will be this summer, this is the next best way to shop. Each piece is unique, so there is no guarantee you will find this one again.
#1 detail, Pinotepa de Don Luis, Dreamweavers Cooperative, 28″ wide x 27″ long #2, hand-spun native white Oaxaca cotton, gauze weave, $285
#2: Caracol purpura, the rare purple snail is the featured color element on this gorgeous huipil. The three wefts are joined together with caracol dyed silk yarn, also hand-spun, in the turkey-trot needlework style. The color is intricately trimmed in purple snail-dyed silk, too. The body of the blusa is made from hand-spun cotton grown locally in the village of Pinotepa de Don Luis. It is lightweight gauze, perfect for summer. Design elements are similar to the indigo/coyuchi blusa described above.
#2, white and caracol purpura blusa, measures 28″ wide x 31″ longSOLD. #3, indigo and ochre huipil/dress with tiny animal embroidery, $265
#3 SOLD and is from Zacatepec on the Coast of Oaxaca in the Mixtec region just beyond San Pedro Amusgos. I bought this in the village from Odilon Morales who is at the Santa Fe Folk Art Market each year and operates the Oaxaca cooperative Arte Amusgos. The cotton is hand-spun and woven on a back-strap loom, dyed in a lovely blue indigo. The small animals — are they deer or rabbits or dogs? — are finely hand-embroidered with commercial cotton embroidery floss. The embroidery is impeccable, teeny, tiny stitches.
#3 measures 29″ wide x 35″ long, and the yellow is more of a rich ochre color #4 is a creamy dreamy white huipil with finest Oaxaca needlework, $265
#4 is from the Oaxaca village of San Bartolome Ayautla and embroidered by Anacleta Juarez, famed for her perfect, almost invisible stitches. It takes months to embroider a garment like this. The cotton is manta, a natural fabric that Mexicans love. The finish work is amazing. The birds and flowers tell the story of the mountains where they are made in the Cañada region between Oaxaca and Veracruz. I bought this directly from Anacleta.
#4 bodice detail. Dress measures 27″ wide x 46″ longThe underside of #4 is almost as beautiful as the front. Teeny, tiny embroidery stitches.
Thank you for considering and stay tuned for more offerings this week.
We know the culture! This is our land! We are locally owned and operated.
Eric Chavez Santiago is tri-lingual --Spanish, English, Zapotec.
Eric was founding director of education, Museo Textil de Oaxaca + folk art expert
Norma Schafer has lived in Oaxaca since 2005.
Norma is a seasoned university educator.
We have deep connections with artists and artisans.
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Wide ranging expertise: textiles, folk art, pottery, cultural wisdom.
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Creating Connectionand Meaning between travelers and with indigenous artisans. Meet makers where they live and work. Join small groups of like-minded explorers. Go deep into remote villages. Gain insights. Support cultural heritage and sustainable traditions. Create value and memories. Enjoy hands-on experiences. Make a difference.
What is a Study Tour: Our programs are learning experiences, and as such we talk with makers about how and why they create, what is meaningful to them, the ancient history of patterning and design, use of color, tradition and innovation, values and cultural continuity, and the social context within which they work. First and foremost, we are educators. Norma worked in top US universities for over 35 years and Eric founded the education department at Oaxaca’s textile museum. We create connection.
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Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC has offered programs in Mexico since 2006. We have over 30 years of university, textile and artisan development experience. See About Us.
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December 2-10, 2025: Oaxaca Coast Textile Study Tour: Explore the extraordinary weaving + natural dye culture on the Costa Chica, from Puerto Escondido to Zacoalpan, Guerrero. Take a break between Thanksgiving + Christmas. Enjoy the warmth of Oaxaca.
2026 TOURS + TRAVEL
January 8-15, 2026: Oaxaca Textiles, Craft + Culture Tour Plus Workshops with Taos Wools. Participate in weaving, natural dyeing workshops, and hand-spinning experience. Explore the Tlacolula Market, meet artisans, immerse yourself in Zapotec culture and history. In collaboration with Taos Wools. 5 SPACES OPEN.
January 22-February 2, 2026:Guatemala, Here We Come. A cultural immersion tour into the textiles and folk art of Mayan people. Off-the-Beaten-Path. Adventure travel. Into the rainforest. Indigo dye workshop and MORE! ALMOST SOLD OUT! DON'T WAIT TO REGISTER.
March 3-11, 2026: Chiapas Textile Study Tour: Deep Into the Maya World. Based in San Cristobal de las Casas, we introduce you to some of the best weavers in the region, into off-the-beaten-path remote villages where culture and tradition remain strong. 5 SPACES OPEN.
Oaxaca has the largest and most diverse textile culture in Mexico! Learn about it.
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