Sunday Specials: Take 20% Off Mexican Textiles+Folk Art
Posted onSunday, November 28, 2021|Comments Off on Sunday Specials: Take 20% Off Mexican Textiles+Folk Art
It’s Post-Black Friday and I continue to review my collection and offer some of these treasures to you. Most of these pieces are new, purchased from the makers when I visited their villages. My tendency is to buy to support the makers.
How to buy: mailto:norma.schafer@icloud.com Tell me the item you want by number. Send me your mailing address. I will send you a PayPal invoice after you ID your choices. The invoice will include the cost of the garment + $12 mailing. If you want more than one piece, I’m happy to combine mailing. I’ll be mailing from Taos, NM. Next day mailing guarantee if you order and buy before December 10. On December 11, I’m in transit to return to Oaxaca and all sales done until April 2022, unless you want me to mail from Oaxaca!
Why buy a made-by-hand item? Since I buy directly from artisans and pay them outright, your purchases, in effect are a direct benefit to those makers. Most are women whose families have suffered from lack of tourism during covid. Most live in rural areas of Oaxaca far from the tourist centers. The men in their families are subsistence farmers and have no market for their crops other than to put basic food on the table: corn, beans, squash. The rest of their needs come from the work that women do — the weaving, bead making, sewing, etc. Rural Mexico is based on a cash economy.
So, thanks so much for your help and support. Happy Holidays.
#1128.1 — Fancy apron, size small, San Miguel del Valle, Oaxaca. Shoulder to hem measures 29” and side to side across front is 21” wide. Free-form machine embroidered. $95SOLD #1128.2 Hand-woven wool tote bag/overnight bag/shopping bag with zipper closure, lined with interior pockets, sturdy leather straps. All natural dyes. 13” x 17” with 3” gusset. I watch them make these in Teotitlan del Valle — perfect in every way. $175. #1128.3 — Woven wool and cotton shawl or throw dyed with wild marigold flowers in San Pablo Villa de Mitla by my friend Arturo. Wool weft/cotton warp. Cozy and soft. 18” wide x 78” long. $95.SOLD. #1128.4 Multi-strand, multi-colored beaded necklace from San Juan Chamula, Chiapas. All the ladies adorn themselves in these fanciful necklaces and the fashion has migrated to other villages surrounding San Cristobal de las Casas. Adjustable ties. $65SOLD #1128.5. Coconut shells and cacao bean necklace from the tropical east coast of Mexico near Veracruz. Strung on a sturdy, adjustable cord. Set your own length! $53#1128.6 100% soft wool shawl or throw made by my friend Arturo in Mitla. Call it what you will: window panes, hop scotch, grid design created with cochineal natural dye and natural white wool. Hand-knotted fringes. 27” wide x 70” long. $125#1128.7 Asymmetrical graduated necklace with all handmade matte black clay beads from San Bartolo Coyotepec, Oaxaca. Front closure features a dangling carved ball embellished with flowers and leaves. 21” long. Use it as a layering piece. Stunning alone or with sterling silver chain. $135SOLD #1128.8. Top. Embroidered floral face mask with gold tones. Protect yourself in hand-made style. $18 and SOLD #1128.9 Bottom. Embroidered floral mask with peach tones. $18SOLD #1128.10. Ruby red beaded necklace from Chiapas. Adjustable tie. $55 #1128.11. Natural colored coconut shell and cacao bean necklace from the Veracruz region of Mexico. Sturdy adjustable cord. $48SOLD #1128.12. Cherry red amber expandable bracelet from Simojovel, Chiapas. This color amber is rare. One size fits most. $65SOLD 1128.13 Another terrific Holiday Red beaded necklace from Chiapas. Adjustable tie neck. $55.SOLD #1128.14 Backstrap loom woven hat band, made in Chiapas. $35#1128.15 Nuts and cinnamon sticks necklace. $20#1128.16. Hat band woven on the back strap loom in Chiapas, Mexico. $35
We know the culture! We are locally owned and operated.
Eric Chavez Santiago is Zapotec, born and raised in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca.
Norma Schafer has been living in Oaxaca for almost 20 years.
We have deep connections with artists and artisans.
63% of our travelers repeat -- high ratings, high satisfaction.
Wide ranging expertise: textiles, folk art, pottery, cultural wisdom.
We give you a deep immersion to best know Oaxaca and Mexico.
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 ie. hand weaving and natural dyeing. 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.
OCN Creates Student Scholarship at Oaxaca Learning Center Giving back is a core value. Read about it here!
Why We Left, Expat Anthology: Norma’s Personal Essay
Norma contributes personal essay, How Oaxaca Became Home
We Contribute Two Chapters!
Click image to order yours!
Meet Makers. Make a Difference
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.
Programs can be scheduled to meet your independent travel plans. Send us your available dates.
Designers, retailers, wholesalers, curators, universities and others come to us to develop artisan relationships, customized itineraries, study abroad programs, meetings and conferences. It's our pleasure to make arrangements.
Select Clients *Abeja Boutique, Houston *Selvedge Magazine-London, UK *Esprit Travel and Tours *Penland School of Crafts *North Carolina State University *WARP Weave a Real Peace *Methodist University *MINNA-Goods *Smockingbird Kids *University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Oaxaca has the largest and most diverse textile culture in Mexico! Learn about it.
When you visit Oaxaca immerse yourself in our textile culture: How is indigenous clothing made, what is the best value, most economical, finest available. Suitable for adults only. Set your own dates.
One-Day Custom Tours: Tell Us When You Want to Go!
Ruta del Mezcal One-Day Tour.We start the day with pottery, visiting a master, then have lunch with a Traditional Oaxaca Cook who is the master of mole making. In Mitla, we meet with our favorite flying shuttle loom weaver, and then finish off with a mezcal tasting at a palenque you will NEVER find on your own! Schedule at your convenience!
October 27, 28, 29: People and Place Photography Workshop in Teotitlán Del Valle with Luvia Lazo, featured in The New Yorker Magazine. Portraits and Street Photography, recipient of Leica Women Foto Project Award Winner 2024. This is an insider's Street and Portrait photography experience. We visit families in their homes to arrange photo sessions, we take you on the back streets where tourists rarely go.
October 30: Day of the Dead in Teotitlan del Valle--Altars and Studio Visits. A one-day immersion into culture, traditions, and meaning in Teotitlan del Valle. In this traditional village, where the native language is still spoken, we take you to meet local artisans who also explain their personal family traditions including who and what is on the altar and why. P.S. We know Teotitlan. We live here!
November 1: Day of the Dead Magic in Mitla--Visit the cemetery with our local host, understand the meaning of the pre-Hispanic altar, help honor the ancestors with offerings, enjoy a traditional meal of mole negro, a feast day speciality in Mitla. A one-day immersion experience.
January 11-19, Oaxaca Coast Textile Study Tour. Visit five remote weaving villages on the Costa Chica--Pacific Coast. See backstrap loom weaving, natural dyeing with rare purple snail dye, diverse language, culture, food. Discover Afro-Mestizo roots. This is one of our more Amazing study tours! We will not offer this tour in 2026! Don't miss it.
February 6-15:Guatemala Textile Study Tour: Cloth and Culture. Discover Antigua, Lake Atitlan and Panajachel, Chichicastenango Market, and visit Coban where they weave fine gauze cloth called pikbil. SOLD OUT
March 12-17: Deep Into the Mixteca Alta: Oaxaca Textile + Folk Art Study Tour 2025. This is cultural immersion at its best! Following the Dominican Route, we visit potteries, churches, Triqui weavers working in natural dyes, a cooperative in Tijaltepec that makes smocked blouses, the expansive Tlaxiaco Saturday Tianguis. Experience another side of Oaxaca.
We require 48-hour advance notice for map orders to be processed. We send a printable map via email PDF after your order is received. Please be sure to send your email address. Where to see natural dyed rugs in Teotitlan del Valle and layout of the Sunday Tlacolula Market, with favorite eating, shopping, ATMs. Click Here to Buy Map After you click, be sure to check PayPal to ensure your email address isn't hidden from us. We fulfill each map order personally. It is not automatic.
Dye Master Dolores Santiago Arrellanas with son Omar Chavez Santiago, weaver and dyer, Fey y Lola Rugs, Teotitlan del Valle
