Monthly Archives: October 2019

One-Day Ocotlan Highway Oaxaca Folk Art Study Tour

Posted on Tuesday, October 8, 2019 | 1 comment

This one-day customized study tour takes you beyond Oaxaca City and into the villages along the highway to Ocotlan de Morelos, the home of famed Mexican painter and muralist Rodolfo Morales (1925-2001). We schedule this excursion based on your travel plans and our availability.

You can choose to visit four (4) of the following options from this menu of mixed media experiences:

Black pottery making in San Bartolo Coyotepec
A fine copal wood carver and painter (alebrijes) in San Martin Tilcajete
A family of clay sculptors in San Antonino Castillo Velasco
A group of embroiderers in San Antonino Castillo Velasco

We don’t go on Fridays, the frenzied day of the Ocotlan Market, when there is a crush of people and visitors and it’s too difficult to savor the experience.

What is included?

Transportation to/from Oaxaca City Historic Center
Translation
Expert explanations of art and craft
Curated visits to meet some of the best artisans we know

San Antonino embroidery and deshillado (pulled threads for lace)

Cost

$375 per day for one or two people. $175 per person additional. Does not include lunch or alcoholic beverages. You will cover the cost of lunch for those in your party.

Schedule your dates directly with Norma Schafer. You reserve for the dates you prefer. Please send us a couple of options. You are welcome to organize your own small group. We match your travel schedule with our availability.

This is for a full day, starting at 9 a.m. when we pick you up and ending at about 6 p.m. when we return you to your Oaxaca lodging. Please provide us with hotel/lodging address and phone number.

Reservations and Cancellations

We require payment in full to secure your date. We offer you three (3) ways to pay: 1) Zelle transfer, 2) PayPal, or 3) VENMO. Please tell us which payment method you prefer and the name or phone number associated with your account. When we receive funds, we will send you confirmation and details. Be sure to send us the name and address for where you are staying.

Cancellation Policy: If you cancel five (5) full days or more before your tour, we will refund 50% of your fee via the same method you paid.

1 Comment

Posted in Oaxaca Mexico art and culture

Tagged day tour, day trip, excursion, folk art tour, Oaxaca, Ocotlan de Morales, pottery, San Martin Tilcajete, tour, wood carvers of Oaxaca

Announcing Mano del Sur by Shuko Clouse — Curated Goods

Posted on Sunday, October 6, 2019 | 5 comments

Shuko Clouse just opened her online shop Mano del Sur. She is a friend and I want to help give her a boost.

Shuko is from Japan. She loves Mexico and particularly Oaxaca. She combines her aesthetic for quality and simplicity with all unique, one-of-a-kind pieces she finds along the way during her travels south-of-the-border.

Shuko is dedicated to learning Spanish. She recently came to Oaxaca for a language immersion program. In her generous, kind and insightful multicultural approach, she communicates directly with artisans to identify and buy the best home goods and fashion accessories to pass along to discerning buyers via her new website.

Our textile study tours offer people like Shuko a guided opportunity to seek out some of the most outstanding artisans in a region. Shuko came with us to Chiapas and she is now returning for the Oaxaca Coast Textile Study Tour. She comes to Oaxaca city, too, where I take her to villages to meet some of the best artisans to buy their craft.

I am happy to work with Shuko, designers and retailers to introduce them to artisans. The makers appreciate being able to sell direct with no middleman and the buyers know they support artisans directly and pay a fair price for their quality workmanship.

We are filled for the Oaxaca Coast Tour, but we have space for

Chiapas Textile Study Tour — one space for shared room
Oaxaca Discovery Tour: Folk Art and Textiles — 4 spaces open, couples welcome

Contact me for more information at norma.schafer@icloud.com

5 Comments

Posted in Oaxaca Mexico art and culture

Tagged Chiapas, design, fashion accessories, home decor, home good, Mano del Sur, Mexico, Oaxaca, pottery, Shuko Clouse, textiles

Clearance Sale for Discontinued Zayzelle Dresses

Posted on Saturday, October 5, 2019 | Comments Off

Four years ago, I designed this dress, made a pattern and started sewing. In 2018, I created a brand called Zayzelle, opened an online shop, and started making and selling the dress. I sewed the same pattern in many fabrics. I employed my friend Rosario in Teotitlan del Valle to help me. What I discovered is that building a fashion brand takes time and takes me away from Oaxaca Cultural Navigator. So, I closed the store.

Sizes and Dimensions: The dresses are all one size and will fit size large to extra-large. All have similar dimensions: 27″ wide seam-to-seam, 43″ long from the back neck opening to hem, and a 26″ sleeve that can be rolled up. This is easy dressing, unstructured, comfortable style with a relaxed drape.

Every garment is handmade. All the fabrics are fine linen or cotton. The cloth determines the look. Deep patch pockets will hold keys, cell phone, change purse or wallet, cosmetics. Finished French seams guarantee they will never unravel! Easy to care for: wash on delicate setting in the machine and hang to dry. Iron if you wish.

I have priced these dresses to sell. They are 50-75% off of the original price. Price includes USPS mail to anywhere in the USA. Mailing to Canada is extra.

How to Buy: send me an email at norma.schafer@icloud.com and I will send you an invoice to pay with credit card. Please include the Dress Number, your name, and mailing address. Thank you. I return to Mexico on October 16. All orders must be received and paid for by October 10. I will mail by October 12.

Two dresses remain: Dress #2 and Dress #9. Help me sell out!

If you don’t like the price, make an offer!

Dress #2, Periwinkle and Steel Gray Stripe Cotton Dress, lovely drape, $69.95

Dress #9, Buttercup yellow, pale and creamy, best quality linen, $43.95

**SOLD.** Dress #1: Gray and white cotton seersucker, $69.95

Dress #2, Periwinkle and Gray Stripe Cotton Dress, $69.95

Dress #3, Mexican Manta (Natural) Cotton, soft and cozy, $39.95 (was $95)

**SOLD.** Dress #4, Denim Dress, easy-to-wear, $69.95

Dress #4 Detail with top-stitched pocket

**SOLD.** Dress #5, Caramel brown handkerchief linen, chambray, finest quality, $69.95

**SOLD.** Dress #6, sleek midnight blue dress, slinky rayon, $79.95

**SOLD.** Dress #7, Gray Chambray Handkerchief Linen, finest quality, $79.95

**SOLD**. Dress #8, Natural Manta Cotton, $39.95

Dress #8 detail with top-stitched pocket

Comments Off on Clearance Sale for Discontinued Zayzelle Dresses

Posted in Oaxaca Mexico art and culture

Tagged clearance sale, close-out, clothing, cotton dress, discontinued, dress design, dresses, linen dress, sale, Zayzelle

In Memory of David Levin, Oaxaca misses you.

Posted on Tuesday, October 1, 2019 | 14 comments

In January 2017, I wrote a blog post honoring the wedding of my friends Carol Estes and David Levin who met, fell in love and got married in Oaxaca. You can find it HERE.

Carol called me this morning to tell me that David died on Saturday evening, September 28, 2019. We cried together and reminisced. We cried together and our voices trembled in unison. We cried together and talked about what the future might bring. Carol is packing up her life in Toronto and return for a while to Dallas, Texas, near family.

For our moments together, we talked about David’s will to live, his spirit of adventure, his desire to travel and enjoy life after being diagnosed with cancer almost three years ago. We focused on David as Carol’s soulmate and how Oaxaca changed their lives.

David was one of those passionate people who loved taking friends and visitors to Abastos Market, where he could mingle with the real people of Oaxaca. He chose a local neighborhood to live in that was close to Oaxaca’s soul. I remember the gatherings he and Carol hosted for large groups of friends. We would squeeze into the patio to share food, wine and mezcal, rub shoulders and laugh. He brought us together.

He hosted a cooking class to teach us all how to make mamelas. Our instructor was a Oaxaqueña woman who filled us up with her stories and good food, giving us recipes to take with us on our journey back to where we came from — Oaxaca Centro or Teotitlan del Valle or Vancouver, B.C. David made life happen for many of us; he guided us, showed us the way.

Here is what Carol wrote to friends about David’s passing:

Friends,

I’m writing to let you know that David died last evening, September 28. He’d been in hospital since Monday, and had been increasingly ill for about two weeks. Up until then, he remained the energetic, focused man you’ve known these many years.

David found it impossible to believe that he would have to give in to cancer. He continued to plan “what’s next” up to the end. I had to cancel a trip to Mexico in early November and one for February to Bangkok! Last week he was sure he’d live at least another six months. It has been exactly three years this month since his first treatment. During that time we had a wonderful trip to Sri Lanka and India, Las Vegas, Montreal, and New Mexico. David spent last December in Melbourne with his family. He was truly a traveling man.

I’ve attached a recent photo of David with his newest grandson, Benjamin. David was happy to see both his daughters marry in the last three years, and each presented us with a grandson. Mia has Nathan who is 18 months old, and Anna has Benjamin who is six months old now.

Thank you for all the joy you brought into our lives… for rejoicing with us at our wedding, and for your friendship during our Oaxaca days. I will move back to Texas to be with my children on October 22, and I have no doubt that I will return to Oaxaca at some point. I look forward to seeing each of you again. This is far from a complete list of the people in Oaxaca who knew and liked David. Please feel free to share his passing.

Warm regards,

Carol

Let’s together raise a toast to the life of David Levin. I have lit copal incense and a Yahrzeit candle that will burn for 24-hours in David’s memory. When we keep memory alive, the person we care about and love will never be far from us.