Chiapas Textile Study Tour 2026: Deep Into Textiles
Dates are set and registration is now open — March 3-11, 2026 At Oaxaca Cultural Navigator, we aim to give you an unparalleled and in-depth travel experience to participate and delve deeply into indigenous culture, folk art, and celebrations. The Maya World of Chiapas, Mexico, spans centuries and borders. Maya people weave their complex universe […]
Xi-Guia: Making Handbags in Teotitlán del Valle
I spent the morning with Estela Montaño and Edith Montaño Martínez at their home and workshop in Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca. Xi-Guía is the name of the town in Zapteco, the indigenous language here. We were filling out a grant application to WARP (Weave a Real Peace). They needed my help since they are not […]
Introducing Taller Teñido a Mano Natural Dye Textiles For Sale
I’m doing my best these days from my little apartment in Durham, North Carolina, to help promote Oaxaca artisans, primarily those who work in textiles. Today, I am excited to announce that I am representing the work from the natural dye studio Taller Teñido a Mano located in downtown Oaxaca city. See below for photos […]
EXPOventa: Textiles + Jewelry, Oaxaca Centro, Thursday, February 6
We have curated this POP-UP, one-morning-only EXPOventa with the Best of the Best textile artisans we know plus ONE GREAT filigree silversmith who is usually hidden away in his studio in the LaNoria neighborhood of downtown Oaxaca. Please share. Tell your friends. Don’t miss it! Cash sales. We are winding up our whirlwind Oaxaca City […]
Mexico Art Show Brings Oaxaca Artisans to Lake Chapala, Jalisco–Party Time
The 18th annual Feria Maestros del Arte happened last weekend at Lake Chapala, Jalisco, about 40-minutes from Guadalajara. I had never been before and I decided it was time! Plus, it gave me a chance to spend some time with friends Chris and Ben, who moved to Ajijic from North Carolina last year. I knew […]
Japan Textile Study Tour: November 2020
Japan Textile Study Tour, November 6 – 19, 2020, 12 nights, 13 days, start in Kyoto and end in Tokyo — SOLD OUT. Get on the waiting list. We take you on a textile adventure of a lifetime to the land of the Rising Sun. Japanese style elevates textiles to a fine art form. We […]
Oaxaca Artisans in Santa Fe, New Mexico 2019 IFAM
The 2019 International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has come to an end. The three-day extravaganza is a chaotic mix of tribal, ethnic, indigenous creativity from around the world. It brings together many talented artisans who have no other paths to reach international markets. Santa Fe is a destination for many reasons. […]
Mexico in Santa Fe, Nuevo Mexico—International Folk Art Market
Tonight the famed Santa Fe International Folk Art Market opens on Museum Hill to the thrill of all of us who embrace the work created by indigenous people as an expression of self, culture and community. It will continue through the weekend. On Thursday afternoon, skirting a dramatic downpour of rain, the IFAM officially began […]
A Day in Xochistlan de Vicente Suarez, Puebla with Merry Foss and Friends
Xochitl is the Nahuatl word for flower and Tlan de Totonaco is the literal meaning for beautiful place. Xochistlan is the beautiful place between the flowers. (You can tell if a word has a Nahuatl origin if it ends in tl.) Here in the Sierra Norte of Puebla state, a lush landscape of rugged mountains, […]
Que Supresa! Oaxaca in San Diego, California
As I drive south from my son’s home in Huntington Beach, California, on my way to visit Barbara and David, and dear friend Merry Foss in San Diego, I marvel at how the landscape looks like Mexico, how the climate feels like Mexico. Except there is development everywhere, new houses, shopping centers, freeway congestion. Infrastructure. […]
Injustice, Coping: Fine Oaxaca Black Pottery Maker Goes to Santa Fe International Folk Art Market
Right now, there’s mango cardamom chutney cooking on the stove. It’s a clear, cool day after a series of heavy rains and the sky is brilliant blue. White puff clouds hug the mountain just beyond my reach, and I’m thinking about the injustices in our world and how people cope. In about three weeks, I’m […]
Color Culture: Oaxaca at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market
Oaxaca and Mexico is well-represented at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market, a knock-your-socks-off bazaar of many of the world’s best artisans. Interspersed among the over 150 exhibitors are some of Oaxaca’s best artisans, too. Selection to participate is very competitive. Preference seems to be given to collectives and cooperatives that further the economic, […]
Oaxaca Folk Art: Jose Garcia Antonio Ceramic Figures
Jose Garcia Antonio, one of Oaxaca’s best clay sculptors, participated in the 2014 International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this July. This is no small accomplishment. This juried exhibition invites only the most accomplished artisans from all over the world to show and demonstrate their craft. Last Friday, we drove out […]
Oaxaca Show & Sale, July 25-26: To Benefit Artisans and Artists at Las Bugambilias B&B
More Than 36 Hours: Oaxaca, Mexico — Shopping & Galleries
Where to Shop and Galleries The list that I sent to Freda Moon, The New York Times travel writer who created the feature 36 Hours: Oaxaca, Mexico, included some of my favorite places to see art, shop and explore. Of course, it would have been impossible for Freda to include them all. Nevertheless, I’m sharing with you […]