These are the last four pieces from yesterday’s sale. I’m getting ready to send funds to the weavers in Oaxaca. I’d like to be able to say, We sold out, and send them 100% of the funds. Can you help get us over the top, help the weavers and have something beautiful to wear?
To Buy: Please email me normahawthorne@mac.com with your name, mailing address and item number. I will mark it SOLD, send you a PayPal link to purchase and add $12 for cost of mailing. Please be sure to select Send Money to Family and Friends! We also accept Venmo and I can send you a Square invoice (+3% fee) if you don’t use PayPal.
SOLD. #1. Soft, finely woven cotton. 29″W x 27″ Long. Was $335. Now $268.#1 Detail
The poncho is 100% cotton woven on the back-strap loom. A perfect weight to transition from to autumn and winter and back again to spring. For comfy wrapping to take the chill off. Pullover. One size fits most.
Poncho inside finish work.#3. Dress. Fine cotton with indigo. 25Wx48L. Was $675. Now $540.
A beautifully woven full-length dress with whimsical designs woven into the fabric (called bordado): fish, sea creatures, deer — reflecting the flora and fauna of the region.
Detail #3SOLD. #4 Black with shades of purple. 25Wx27L. Was $250. Now $200.
All sales are final. I am sorry, we do not accept returns. Funds go directly to the weavers to support their families and life’s work.
It’s hot on the southern coast of Oaxaca on the Pacific Ocean where it meets the state of Chiapas. Hot and humid. Situated on a spit of sand in the Juchitan district sits the fishing village of San Mateo del Mar. The region is home to about 14,000 Huave speakers, a native indigenous language. The community has been in existence for at least 3,000 years.
In all my years of living in Oaxaca, I’ve not come across these many pieces woven by the master Francisca, who Remigio Mestas selected as the most outstanding weaver in San Mateo del Mar.
SOLD. #15. Collector’s Piece. Silk, Egyptian cotton, indigo, cochineal gauze blusa, 29″W x 33″L, $995#15. detail, woven by Jazmin Azucena with her initials JAPP
As you can imagine, there is a need there for flowing, lightweight textiles, and the women are talented back-strap loom weavers who can produce extraordinary, fine, lightweight and gauzy fabrics that are replete with images of birds, fishing scenes, palm trees, sea creatures. The figures are woven into the cloth and are NOT embroidered — a remarkable talent.
To Buy: Please email me normahawthorne@mac.com with your name, mailing address and item number. I will mark it SOLD, send you a PayPal link to purchase and add $12 for cost of mailing. Please be sure to select Send Money to Family and Friends! We also accept Venmo and I can send you a Square invoice (+3% fee) if you don’t use PayPal.
#1. Cotton. 29″W x 27″ Long. $$335#1 detail
Notably, the finest weaver of the village is Francisca Palafox Heran. Her daughter Jazmin Azucena is following in her footsteps. Their textiles and those of the family are featured today.
SOLD. #2 Natural dyed mahogany cotton with indigo, 24″x39″, $455
A few of these pieces are for collectors. Most are perfect for summer into fall and back to spring daily wearing. You can layer them over a silk T-shirt for colder climates.
SOLD. #3 Signed JAPP, indigo, cochineal, wild marigold, cotton/silk, 28×28, $695#3 Detail with weaver Jazmin Azucena’s initialsSOLD. #4 Indigo, mahogany dyes by Francisca Palafox. 23×28. $525#4 Detail. Palm trees, turtles, crabs, by Francisca Palafox. Find FPH initials.
To Buy: Please email me normahawthorne@mac.com with your name, mailing address and item number. I will mark it SOLD, send you a PayPal link to purchase and add $12 for cost of mailing. Please be sure to select Send Money to Family and Friends! We also accept Venmo and I can send you a Square invoice (+3% fee) if you don’t use PayPal.
SOLD. #5. Red/black cotton blusa. 25×28. $335#5 detail, mid-weight cottonSOLD. #6 Signed FPH Francisca Palafox Heran, cotton/silk, 38×32, $395#6 Detail with signature — white threads are silk#7, cotton w/indigo, 25×48, $675#7 Detail, reindeer, crab, fish, lightening motifs
To Buy: Please email me normahawthorne@mac.com with your name, mailing address and item number. I will mark it SOLD, send you a PayPal link to purchase and add $12 for cost of mailing. Please be sure to select Send Money to Family and Friends! We also accept Venmo and I can send you a Square invoice (+3% fee) if you don’t use PayPal.
SOLD. #8 by FPH Francisca Palafox Heran, 30×28, $395#6 Detail, FPH initials#8 inside out! Threads woven back into the fabric!#9, mid-weight cotton, black contrasted with purple, 25×27, $265SOLD. #10, airy-weave cotton, 27×27, $335SOLD. #11 FPH by Francisca Palafox Heran, mahogany + indigo, 27×31, $425#11 detail. Can you find FPH initials near the boats?
These three ponchos below are a heavy weight cotton, all made on the back-strap loom by Jazmin Azucena Pinzon Palafox. They are perfect for transitioning from summer to autumn, from winter to spring. An easy-to-wear cover-up — for style and comfort, almost like wearing your own cozy blanket! One size fits most. A pullover with open sides.
SOLD. #13 Poncho, 37×31, $450Inside poncho detail — amazing back-strap loom finish workSOLD. #14, Poncho, cotton, 37×31, $450#12, Poncho, 37×31, cotton, $450SOLD. #16 Traditional machine embroidered Juchitan huipil, $85 — sew the sides to fit you!
To Buy: Please email me normahawthorne@mac.com with your name, mailing address and item number. I will mark it SOLD, send you a PayPal link to purchase and add $12 for cost of mailing. Please be sure to select Send Money to Family and Friends! We also accept Venmo and I can send you a Square invoice (+3% fee) if you don’t use PayPal.
Textile Care: Dry clean or wash by hand. To wash, turn garment inside out. Immerse in cold water using a mild soap such as Fels Naptha or baby shampoo. Don’t use Woolite — it leeches color. Gently massage the cloth. Squeeze and roll in a towel to absorb excess water. Hang to dry. Use medium heat to iron if needed.
Return Policy: We support artisans and funds get transferred immediately. There are no returns or refunds. This is a final sale.
I promised it would give you advance notice about when I received this next shipment of 14 huipiles from Las Sanjuaneras, San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca. The box arrived today! Please keep a look-out for when I will post them for sale. It will likely be on Friday, August 21, 2020 or Saturday, August 22, 2020. Stay tuned!
Only 14 pieces because this is all by hand, limited production. Slow fashion.
The story behind receiving these huipiles: Camerina, the cooperative leader, and Ana Paula Fuentes send me photos and I select the ones I think you will most like. Camerina packages them up and takes them to the nearest town, Pinotepa Nacional, to mail to her daughter Edivigus who lives in Oaxaca. Edivigus had a few to add to the shipment. She found a Maria’s cookie box, put the textiles in a plastic bag, carefully sealed the box and sent it to me via Estafeta.
14 pieces of artisan-made huipiles, thread made by hand using a drop spindle
Estafeta is a domestic Mexican trucking company. Their shipping prices are very reasonable, however it takes two to three weeks for the package to arrive in the USA. When it gets to the border, what happens? They have an agreement with UPS Ground to transfer international packages to the Brown Trucks and get them to their destination. Very efficient, I think!
All natural dyes, hand-woven on a back-strap loom, native Oaxaca cotton
For the next day, I will hang and steam press each garment. Then, I will take the photographs and measurements. I’ll identify the weaver and which natural dyes are used for each piece. I’ll then post each photo along with the descriptive information here. It may be Friday or Saturday before I am able to complete everything.
Natural dyes include wild marigold, indigo, mahogany, beets
These are unique, one-of-a-kind hand-woven textiles made by one of the finest Oaxaca cooperatives. Since there are only 14 pieces I am offering for sale, please be sure you check back in the next few days so you don’t miss out!
Fragile cookies. Handle with care. Don’t step on the box.
Thank you for your support of this deserving group of women and for Oaxaca. All best wishes, Norma
Oh, dear, I thought. We have a textile tour to visit the cooperatives on the Oaxaca coast this January 2021. What if we don’t get there because of Covid-19? The best I can do now is bring them to us until we know if we hold this tour … or not. I contacted Las Sanjuaneras in San Juan Colorado, a pueblo located in the coastal mountains near Pinotepa Nacional. Why? Because they weave exceptionally fine garments AND they have no Internet presence for online sales — no website, no Instagram, no Facebook. They need our help.
Las Sanjuaneras weaving cooperative
15 Gorgeous Hand-woven, Naturally-Dyed Textiles for Sale
To Buy: Please email me normahawthorne@mac.com with your name, garment number, mailing address. I will mark your choice SOLD, send you a PayPal invoice and add $12 for cost of mailing.
So, I contacted Ana Paula Fuentes from the CADA Foundation. She worked with the group in the past. I selected garments from photos she sent via cooperative leader Camerina Cabrera and I prepaid shipping so Las Sanjuaneras would have no out-of-pocket expenses. As soon as the pieces sell, I will send funds to them via Western Union. It’s a win-win for all of us.
SOLD. #2. Maker: Delfina Quiroz. Dyes: nanche, indigo, almond. 38″ wide x 39″ long. $295 SOLD. #4 Maker: Brisaida. Dyes: Indigo and ferrous oxide. 34″w x 41″ long. $295
Here’s some background about Las Sanjuaneras sent by Ana Paula to share with you:
Five weavers started Las San Juaneras in the year 2000 — 20 years ago, in the Mixtec village of San Juan Colorado on Oaxaca’s Costa Chica region where 80% of the women are back-strap loom weavers and spinners. Today, their membership has grown to 16 women. Most are younger, invited by the elders to join them to keep their traditions vibrant, to become stronger, to share ideas, and to encourage and support one another.
SOLD. #5 Maker: Catalina Garcia Nejia. Dyes: wil marigold, mahogany bark. 34″ w x 41″ long. $265
To Buy: Please email me normahawthorne@mac.com with your name, garment number, mailing address. I will mark your choice SOLD, send you a PayPal invoice and add $12 for cost of mailing.
#6 by Margarita Nicolas Hernandez. Dyes: guava, wild marigold, Brazil wood, beets, iron oxide. 37″ wide x 43″ long. $325
In September 2017, Ana Paula with Maddalena Forcella were invited to collaborate with the group to build their creative competency, design innovation and quality. Their goal was to differentiate their weavings from others in the community and to create a more cohesive team. This included integrating the younger women and developing skills to transform lives in a positive, healthy and sustainable way. The important by-product was to revive and reinforce their traditional techniques and empower the community through shared knowledge.
SOLD. #7 by Delfina Quiroz. Dyes: Brazil wood, mahogany, guava, beet. 34″w x 36″ long. $295.SOLD. #8 by Delfina Quiroz. Dyes: indigo and nanche. 34″ w x 38″ long. $265.
They dye the native wild cotton that grows in the region themselves using only native plant materials — flowers, fruit, wood bark. They buy coyuchi cotton and the purple shell-dyed (caracol purpura) cotton from others in San Juan Colorado and Pinotepa de Don Luis.
Sold. #9 by Brisaida Garcia. Dyes: indigo & coyuchi. 31″ w x 45″ long. $285.Indigo-dyed cotton. Las Sanjuaneras. Photo by Ana Paula Fuentes.#11 by Camerina Cabrera. Dyes: indigo & nanche. 31-1/2″ w x 34″ long. $195.Sold #13 by Camerina Cabrera. Dyes: indigo & natural cotton. 35″ w x 41″ long. $195SOLD. #14 by Aurora Nicolas. Dyes: almond bark, indigo. 35″ w x 36″ long. $225
The garments represented here are some of the finest workmanship I am aware of in all of Oaxaca state. I hope you find something you will enjoy collecting and wearing. And, on behalf of the women, thank you for your help and support.
To Buy: Please email me normahawthorne@mac.com with your name, garment number, mailing address. I will mark your choice SOLD, send you a PayPal invoice and add $12 for cost of mailing.
SOLD. #15 by Brisaida. Dyes: mahogany, marigold, indigo. 37″ w x 40″ long. $225SOLD. #16 by Maria Ines. Dyes: mahogany, wild marigold. 36″w x 38″ long. $295.SOLD. #17 by Camerina Cabrera. Dyes: indigo, wild marigold. 21-1/2″w x 44″ long. $165.
All these garments are made with natural cotton native to the Oaxaca coast. The cotton is cleaned, beaten, and hand-spun using a malacate drop-spindle. Then the threads are dyed in the dye bath before they are put onto the back-strap loom. The process is labor-intensive and painstakingly precise. This is the work of women (and some men are now learning) that goes back centuries, millenia! Most learned to weave starting at age eight. Only a few are masters at spinning.
Las Sanjuaneras weaver. Photo by Ana Paula Fuentes
To Buy: Please email me normahawthorne@mac.com with your name, garment number, mailing address. I will mark your choice SOLD, send you a PayPal invoice and add $12 for cost of mailing.
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.
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.
We organize private travel + tours for museums, arts, organizations, collectors + appreciators.
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.
OCN Creates Student Scholarship at Oaxaca Learning Center Giving back is a core value. Read about it here
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.
Arts organizations, museums, designers, retailers, wholesalers, curators, universities and others come to us to develop artisan relationships, customized itineraries, meetings and conferences. It's our pleasure to make arrangements.
Select Clients *Abeja Boutique, Houston *North Carolina Museum of Art *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
December 6-14: Oaxaca Textile Tour and Workshopsincluding dye and weaving workshops, Tlacolula market, spinning village visits, plus lots more. With Fiber Circle Studio, Petaluma, California. Registration open!
January 11-17, Deep Dive Into Oaxaca: Cooking, Culture + Craft.Take a cooking class and printmaking workshop, visit artisan studios, weavers, and potteries, eat street tacos, taste artisanal mezcal, shop at markets, and explore the depths. SOLD OUT
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.
October: Japan Folk Art and Textile Tour.ONE SPACE OPEN! Email us.
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 Tours: Schedule When YOU Want to Go!
Ruta del Mezcal One-Day Tour.We start the day with a pottery master and then have lunch with a traditional Oaxaca Cook, who is the mole-making expert. In Mitla, we meet with our favorite flying shuttle loom weaver, and then finish off with a mezcal tasting at a palenque you may NEVER find on your own! Schedule at your convenience!
Teotitlan del Valle Map with select rug weavers, restaurants, village attractions
Tlacolula Market Map -- where to find food, shopping, ATMs, and more
Our Favorite Things to Do in Oaxaca -- eating, shopping, gallery hopping + more
We require 48-hour advance notice for 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. You can click here to Buy Map. After you click, you can check PayPal to double-check you included your email address. We fulfill each order personally. It is not automatic.
