Tag Archives: back strap loom

Meaningful Gifts That Support Oaxaca Artisans

This is a preview of what will be our last sale before the holidays. If you love Oaxaca and are keeping track of Covid-19 there, you know that the CDC has urged us to NOT travel there. All the social media groups I belong to warn of the same: Covid-19 is raging, hospitals are full and it is dangerous to go. In the absence of tourism, artisans are struggling. You can help by making a purchase here to directly support them.

Assortment of Las Sanjuaneras blusas and huipiles–15 pieces total

I have just received a small shipment of textiles from Las Sanjuaneras Cooperative in the remote coastal village of San Juan Colorado. These pieces will go up for sale on Sunday. Shop will open at 1 PM Eastern Time on Sunday, December 6, 2020.

Maria and her niece, Aguacatenango, Chiapas

I am also expecting a limited shipment of embroidered French knot blouses from Chiapas later next week. Most will be in large and extra-large sizes.

French knots galore–embroidery from Chiapas

Also coming from Oaxaca are a few hand-woven naturally dyed tapestry rugs from Taller Teñido a Mano, along with lengths of naturally-dyed cotton that we will sell as yardage for sewists.

Indigo-dyed wool rug, Teotitlan del Valle

I work directly with the artisans so they get full value for their work. You can be assured that as soon as you buy, I send funds directly to them via Western Union that they can pick up as cash. I also use Remitly that deposits into bank accounts, if they have one.

Indigo-dyed cotton, 12-1/2″x22″ by Taller Teñido a Mano

You get something beautiful to wear or to gift. The artisan has an income to buy the necessities of life at this moment!

Cochineal dyed cotton, 12×22, Taller Teñido a Mano

Shop Open: Las Sanjuaneras Textiles Huipiles, Kaftans, Tunics

Call them huipiles, kaftans, tunics or ponchos. Whatever you call them, call them comfortable, cozy, casual cover-ups. Perfect for lounging or working from home. Perfect for a socially distant safe get-together. Perfect for feeling good in times of Covid-19 and related stress. We are looking for beauty in our lives now especially, and this is one way to attain it.

SOLD. #1. Margarita. 34×43. marigold, iron oxide, indigo. $375.

Read about the Las Sanjuaneras Cooperative here!

There are 27 pieces I’m offering in this collection today. Some are gauzy, light as a feather hand weaves. Some are mid-weight. Some can be used as a poncho. Others are long, short, wide, narrow or cropped. Some are size large and extra-large. Others are small and will fit the petite among us. Please scroll through and make your selection carefully. All sales are final because I will have already paid the weavers by the time I mail them.

Las Sanjuaneras weaver. Photo by Ana Paula Fuentes

100% natural dyes on native, hand-spun cotton, woven on the back strap loom, with slubs and imperfect beauty

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.

#20. Andrea. Marigold, iron oxide, native cotton. 22-3/4×30. $195.

Note: All measurements are in inches. Width is across the front (one side). Please double for circumference. Length is shoulder to hem. Most necks have a 7-8″ opening from shoulder to V.

First come. First served. First email in gets first choice.

SOLD. #4. Delfina. Marigold, mahogany. 34-1/2×38. $365.
SOLD. #11. Margarita. 21×34. Marigold, nanche. $185.
SOLD. #5. Cleotilde. Indigo, mahogany. 38×45. $395.
SOLD. #6. Andrea. Oak, indigo gauze. 35×44. $395.

Read about the Las Sanjuaneras Cooperative here!

#A. Camerina. Guava, iron oxide, indigo. 34-1/2w x 34L. $285.

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. #12. Catalina. Superfine indigo, native cotton. 38×43. $395.
SOLD. #7. Maria Lucia. 40×40. Indigo, iron oxide, beet, nanche. $395.
SOLD. #8. Andrea. 33×42. Guava, indigo, almond, gauze. $360.

This is the last sale from Las Sanjuaneras for a while. I’m going on a road trip to the Midwest on Tuesday and won’t return until October.

You may purchase until Monday morning. I will be doing the last mailing on Monday. Please don’t wait to decide! As you know, we sold out FAST on the last two shipments from this cooperative.

SOLD. #9. Patrocinia. 37-1/2×42. Indigo, marigold. $295.
SOLD. #B. Camerina. Indigo, mahogany, banana. 30w x 33L. $225
SOLD. #C. Andrea. Oak, marigold, indigo, natural. 33w x 29L. $265.
#10. Andrea. Marigold, chocolatillo. 35-1/2×24. $295.
SOLD. #13. Brisaida. 31×23. Beet, mahogany, indigo, iron oxide. $295.

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! so I don’t pay commissions. We also accept Venmo and I can send you a Square invoice (+3% fee) if you don’t use PayPal.

SOLD. #14. Patrocinia. 39×28. Indigo, mahogany. Gauze. $295.
SOLD #15. Andrea. 33×28. Indigo, marigold, mahogany, natural gauze. $295.

Read about the Las Sanjuaneras Cooperative here!

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.

#16. Patrocinia. 38×25. Indigo and native cotton. $195.
#18. Aurora. 19×28. Nanche, mahogany, almond, beet. $195.
SOLD. #19. 21×23. banana, almond, indigo, mahogany, brazilwood. $195.

Return Policy: We support artisans and funds get transferred immediately. There are no returns or refunds. This is a final sale.

#21 Margarita. Marigold, iron oxide, beet, brazilwood. 22-3/4×35. $165.
SOLD. #22. Camerina. 20-1/2×26-1/2. marigold, mahogany. $165
SOLD. #17. Aurora. 21×23. indigo, banana, iron oxide. $195.
SOLD. #23. Andrea. indigo, brazilwood, oak, beet, indigo. 32×26. $295.
#24. Aurora. Beet, mahogany, nanche, almond, iron oxide. 38×22. $295.
SOLD. #3. Delfina. Iron oxide, indigo, natural. 34×32. $295
SOLD. #2. Brisaida. Beet, indigo, natural, 31-1/2×37. $325

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.

Las Sanjuaneras Huipils + More to Come

I was overwhelmed by the beauty of these textiles and overcome by your response in support of this great women’s weaving cooperative from San Juan Colorado. Thank you all for your incredible support.

This beauty is now SOLD. #5.

SOLD. #5 by Catalina Garcia Nejia. Dyes: wild marigold, mahogany bark. 34″w x 41″ long. $265.

To Buy: Please email me normahawthorne@mac.com with your name, mailing address. I will mark it SOLD, send you a PayPal invoice and add $12 for cost of mailing.

The weavers were thrilled we visited last January 2020

And, then there is this one. Blue and gold. Pericone and indigo.

SOLD. #17. by Camerina Cabrera. 21-1/2″ wide x 40″ long. $165 + mailing

Now, I’ve just spent the afternoon packing and mailing all the beautiful huipiles and blusas you bought yesterday. Some of you were disappointed because we sold-out early and fast!

So, I’ve contacted Las Sanjuaneras and I am arranging for another shipment of 16 beautiful textiles to come to me from Oaxaca. These will include more blusas and and a few tunics. The selection, again, is magnificent. I have seen preview pictures and chosen the ones I think you will enjoy most.

A selection of beautiful Las Sanjuaneras textiles — at their village

I’ll give you a heads-up when then arrive. I will need a couple of days to prepare them for posting — with photographs and descriptions.

Thank you for being so wonderfully supportive of Oaxaca and her weaving community. We are all deeply appreciative.

Spinning and cleaning cotton in San Juan Colorado
Meet Patrocinia from Las Sanjuaneras, San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca
This is Margarita, another outstanding Las Sanjuaneras weaver
Weavers Rufina with daughter Aurora and her son

Families depend on the work of women in small, remote weaving villages like San Juan Colorado. Husbands are subsistence farmers who are able to feed their families with beans, corn, squash that they raise in the field. But the produce is no commodified because everyone grows what they need to eat. It is the weaving that can bring in the extra money to the household to pay for school, medicine and health care, an occasional chicken or a fiesta.

In times like these, when there are no tourists to visit or to shop in the Oaxaca city galleries, we are doing what we can to help families sustain themselves.

Into the Villages on the Oaxaca Coast: Women Who Weave

For me, the most emotional part of our visits to the remote Oaxaca villages along the coast of Oaxaca is to meet the women who weave and hear their stories.

Our Oaxaca Coast Textile Study Tour takes us north out of Puerto Escondido along Mexico Highway 200. This region is called the Costa Chica and extends from Puerto to Acapulco, Guerrero. Small roads, often winding, are like fingers carrying people to/from the main towns of Jamiltepec, Pinotepa Nacional and Ometepec.

We travel deep into the foothills into these weaving villages where isolation has preserved a traditional way of life.

Three generations in San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca

We meet the women who are the backbone of their families. For the most part they work in cotton. Their work is intense. They grow and pick native cotton. They clean and card it. They preserve the seeds of natural cream-colored, green and coyuchi brown cotton. They use the malacate drop-spindle to make thread. And, they weave wefts of cloth using the back-strap loom, creating designs formed by a technique called brocade or supplementary weft.

Grandson works the Internet to use credit cards

There is a growing market for natural, hand-made cloth dyed with natural plants and cochineal and the caracol purpura snail. But the market is still not big enough to create widespread prosperity. It takes years to be recognized and sometimes, not at all.

Nanache tree bark and indigo dye, hand-woven cotton

Women and families struggle. Mostly it is the women’s work that brings the income that buys medicine for aging parents or a sick relative. Mostly it is the women’s work that pays the school tuition, buys books and uniforms for children and grandchildren. Mostly it is the women’s work that brings food to the table — the tortillas, the hot chocolate, the occasional chicken for a fiesta.

Use the Registration Form to tell us you want to participate in the 2021 Oaxaca Coast Textile Study Tour.

Weaving natural, native cotton dyed with indigo on a back-strap loom

Men work the fields. They raise corn, beans and squash. They tend the animals. This work is not income producing because every family grows its own corn, beans and squash to feed themselves. There is no commercial market for the basics that go on the table. This work for men is subsistence farming. In the socio-economic life of a village, weaving cloth can mean a path out of poverty.

Native, pre-Hispanic wild green a coyuchi cotton on the looms

Another path out of poverty is the long road north, to El Norte, where uneducated village men can migrate with a coyote across the desert at night, cross a border without papers, and become undocumented workers. They are the farm laborers, restaurant dishwashers and cooks, gardeners, poultry slaughterers and handymen, doing the work that few others want. They stand in line on Friday afternoon, wiring remittances home, sometimes never returning.

The women continue on.

A few women go on to university in Pinotepa Nacional or Acapulco and become accountants or lawyers or teachers, but not many. Some women choose not to marry, a bond that requires them to go live with a husband’s family, taking on their livelihood and craft, contributing to the household of the in-laws. Some women see that the men are in despair, turn to alcohol for consolation when they have little earning capacity and lose their self-esteem. For this reason, many choose a life of independence.

Kristy holds a huipil made with coyuchi and caracol purpura dyed cotton

We come not to judge but to understand. We do what we can. We support their work by visiting and buying direct. We are the appreciators who admire, wear and collect what they make. We are cultural appreciators rather than cultural appropriators.

Sebastiana who left a technology job for full-time weaving, her passion

The women who make cloth learned from their mothers and grandmothers. They have been around thread all their lives. Most started weaving at age twelve. They might sit tethered to the back-strap loom for six or eight hours a day or longer. It can take three months or longer to make a fine huipil.

Maximina shows us algodon verde, wild green cotton, Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero

Do you love what you do? One of us asks a weaving cooperative member.

I weave to help feed my children and family, and cover costs for school, one woman answers.

I do love to weave, and I’m proud to continue the work of my grandmother, answers another. It provides for us, but we need places to sell.

We must support each other economically, says a cooperative spokeswoman. It’s in our solidarity that we will help each other and raise us up. It’s more than a social get-together. It is our livelihood.

Handmade dolls, Muñecas, wear handmade huipiles, Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero

Children, boys and girls, age eight to twelve, are learning to weave. This is our future. Our boys are also learning to make loom parts and grow cotton. Men can always help and we encourage their participation, she continues.

In the outdoor kitchen, at the comal, a group of women pat masa into tortillas. They turn the corn dough with thumb and forefinger, careful not to burn themselves. Their fingers are worn with years of cleaning cotton, turning tortillas, washing clothes, spinning, caring for others. Some have lost their fingerprints to hard work.

They salt the hot tortilla, picking up the salt between thumb and forefinger, drizzling the tortilla, rolling it and handing it to us as a gift of welcome. It is fresh, slightly chewy and crunchy, the taste of real food. A simple life can also be a harsh one, and I caution our visitors not to romanticize the experience of being here.

Making the randa is time-consuming and adds beauty

In our home countries, we are absorbed with technology, family isolation and the intensity of politics. Indigenous women in Mexico are absorbed with finding access to markets for their work, good health care and education for their children. What unites us is our humanity and our mutual respect.

Eye glasses are a luxury. Mike brings them to give as gifts.

For many of us who go off-the-beaten-path to visit makers, we can first be surprised, even shocked at how humbly they live. Some of the most famous artisans I know live in adobe houses or those made with concrete blocks. They may not be able to afford a finished floor or it is not a life-style value.

Homemade green corn pozole, pickled cabbage and carrots, potato flautas

We go into homes with packed dirt floors, swept clean. We go into outdoor kitchens where amazing food is prepared over a simple wood-fired stove; sometimes this is a grill over a cut off garbage can. Occasionally, the sanitary facilities are not plumbed and we must put a bucket of water into the toilet to flush it. We note these differences and appreciate the abundance in our lives.

Jesus Gomez and his weaver mother, Zacoalpan, reviving lost traditions

We also appreciate the abundance in the lives of Mexican families who live close to the land: they live among their mothers, fathers and grandparents. They are supported by a deep network of community, of friends and tradition. They eat homegrown food. They yearn for the same things we do: health, education, contentment and prosperity. They create works of art.

The children are our future

Summer Blouses: Mexico Style, For Sale

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, #4
SOLD. #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.

SOLD. #10 turquoise cotton blouse, hand-loomed, Chiapas, $68

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.

#11, blue/magenta cotton blouse, hand-loomed, Chiapas, $68