Tag Archives: clothing

Drumroll! Shop Oaxaca Culture Now Open

Posted on Wednesday, September 13, 2023 | 3 comments

Shop Oaxaca Culture — https://shop.oaxacaculture.com — is our new online marketplace for all things Mexico! We hope you check it out. Of course, we offer clothing including amazing blusas (blouses) and huipiles (dresses), rebozos (shawls) and bufandas (scarves), made by our weaver friends in Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guerrero, Puebla, Michoacan, and remote villages tucked into mountain folds throughout the country.

We are also featuring hand-woven, naturally dyed rugs by Eric Chavez Santiago — these beautiful, sustainable, and ethically made floor and wall coverings make a perfect accent piece for any decor. Eric and his wife Elsa Sanchez Diaz are my partners in our Oaxaca Cultural Navigator tours and workshops. They also operate Taller Teñido a Mano, a natural dye studio where they use locally sourced plant materials, including indigo and cochineal to dye wool and cotton, and teach workshops.

Speaking of decor, we have a Home Goods section that offers hand-woven baskets from the Mixteca, hand-carved mezcal cups from the Oaxaca coast, and felted floor mats and rugs. You can find ixtle hand-woven market bags here, too. We will be adding more to this section soon.

In our quest for the remarkable and well-crafted, we have included a Jewelry + More section. This includes a mash-up of materials, from gold to silver, to clay beads, semi-precious stones, and vintage pieces we collect along the journey. See the earrings and necklaces we have posted to date.

As always, we will be adding new items as we source them, so please bookmark the URL and come back to visit us often. We will no longer be using the Oaxaca Cultural Navigator blog for sales.

I’ll be returning to Oaxaca soon, arriving on October 23, just before Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), and I’ll be keeping my eyes open for new and vintage pieces I know you will love. If there is anything in particular you are looking for, too, please let us know and we will try to find it for you.

BTW, we still have a few openings in our Day of the Dead day tours to Teotitlan del Valle and Mitla.

Now you know why you haven’t heard much from me in the last few weeks. Eric and I been working frantically behind the scenes to get this website up and running. We are also working on developing a textile tour to Guatemala for winter 2025, as well as a Women’s Creative Writing Workshop Retreat for January 2025, all as we get ready for upcoming programs, including Original in Mexico City, November 15-20.

True confession is that it’s hard for me to write about Oaxaca when I’m not there, so I hope you forgive me. And, personally, my other endeavors include landscaping, which I call taming the wilderness around my Taos home, and writing creative non-fiction that I read monthly at the open mic at SOMOS, the Taos literary society. At the end of this month, my sister and I embark on a two-week road trip to visit Zuni, Hopi, and Navajo pueblos, as well as Monument Valley, Mesa Verde, Canyon de Chelly, and Chaco Canyon. My connection to and appreciation for native peoples runs deep, whether in Mexico or New Mexico. Let me know if you’d like me to blog about this travel experience.

Sending you all my best, with deepest thanks and gratitude for your interest and support over the many years I have been writing and organizing cultural experiences.

-Norma

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Rare: Purple Snail Dye, Indigo Clothing Sale from Oaxaca

Posted on Saturday, August 5, 2023 | 1 comment

Monica contacted me this week and asked for help to sell her hand-woven, naturally dyed cotton huipiles and blusas. She is from the Oaxaca coast village of Pinotepa de Don Luis and is married to Rafael Avedaño, the son of the famed purple snail dyer Don Habacuc Avedaño. Rafa learned how to milk the purple snail from his father, extracting the dye and then putting the snail back into the water to regenerate. They dye the hand-spun native white cotton right there on the rocks along the tide pools near Huatulco. Monica is a master weaver and creates stunning, well made and airy garments perfect for the heat and humidity along the coast. Yes, it’s even hot there in January — the coolest month.

P.S. We still have one space open in our January 2024 Oaxaca Coast Textile Study Tour.

There are still many days left in summer and it’s likely that this heat we are experiencing will not let up for quite some time. A perfect time to adorn yourself in something hand made, sustainable, and elegant. These clothes are easy-to-wash-and-wear, and will allow your body to breathe while still looking fresh. Each one is one-of-a-kind! You know you are supporting a Oaxaca weaver directly when you purchase.

Here’s how it works: Monica sent me photos that I am posting here with dimensions and prices. Please order by August 12, 2023. You will pre-pay and I will add on $20 mailing cost. If you order more than one piece, I will combine mailing. Monica will then send me a package of all to take to the post office.

How to Buy: mailto:norma.schafer@icloud.com Tell me the item you want by number. Send me your mailing address. Tell me how you want to pay and include your account name, email or phone number. Choose one of three ways.

You can pay one of three ways: 1) with Zelle (no service fee; 2) with Venmo or 3) with PayPal (3.5% service fee for either one). We will send a Request for Funds (tell us how your account is registered). The request will include the cost of the garment + $17 mailing. If you want more than one piece, I’m happy to combine mailing.

Please measure carefully. We are unable to accept returns since we will have already paid the artisans. Width is measured across the front. Length is measured from shoulder to hem. Thank you!

SOLD #1. White huipil with designs in purple snail dye and gourd. 26″ wide x 30″ long. $245
SOLD #2. Mahogany dyed huipil with purple snail + native white cotton designs. 24″ wide x 33″ long. $275
#3. Coyuchi native brown cotton huipil, rare, hand-spun, with purple snails dye + native white cotton. 31″x45″ $665
SOLD #3A. Coyuchi native brown cotton huipil, rare, hand-spun, with purple snails dye + native white cotton. 31″x45″ $665
#4 Virgin of Guadalupe embroidered collar w/white and purple snail dyes. 30″x47″ $395
#5. White cotton w/purple snail dye designs. 26″x 45″$295
SOLD #6. Virgin of Guadalupe collar embroidered with purple snail dye. White on White w/indigo stripes. 30″x31″ $365
SOLD #7. White on White w/indigo stripes. 30″x29″ $235
#8 Gourd dye with coyuchi native brown cotton + purple snail dye. 29″x47″ $635
#9. Indigo huipil w/coyuchi + purple snail dye. 25″ wide x 39″ long. $335
#10. White gauze w/purple snail dye + coyuchi. 26″ x 30″ $285
#11. Huipil dyed with gourd, designs with coyuchi + purple snail dye. 24″ x 31″ $295
#12. White with purple snail + embroidered collar. 27″ x 45″ $395
SOLD #13. White with purple snail dye. 21″ x 25″ $195
#14. White gauze with purple snail dye. 28″x 45″ $325
SOLD #15. Indigo + purple snail dye on white. 25″ wide x 28″ long. $265
SOLD. #16. Indigo with purple snail dye + coyuchi cotton. 28″ x 45″ $395
SOLD #17. Indigo with purple snail + cochineal, embroidered collar. 30″ wide x 30″ long. $325

SOLD. #18. Gourd dyed huipil with purple snail dye, native white cotton. 26″ wide x 30″ long. $275
SOLD #19. Indigo, with wild marigold, native white cotton, purple snail dye. 28″x 47″ $395
#20. White with purple snail dye. 21″ x 25″ $195

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Clothing for a Hot Summer: Light and Airy

Posted on Tuesday, July 25, 2023 | 3 comments

We need to dress lightly to be comfortable in this extraordinary heat. I brought these pieces back from Mexico when I returned in April, thinking they would be perfect for summer dressing, not realizing how much we now need lightly woven gauze cotton or beautifully embroidered linen to keep our bodies cool. We still want to look good when we go out or invite others in, and these blusas and huipiles fit these needs. Plus, they are easy care — wash in the machine on gentle using a mild soap (not Woolite, it leeches color) like Ivory. Then hang to dry. Press with a warm iron, if needed. There are 16 items. Be sure to scroll down to see everything!

How to Buy: Send me an email.Tell me the item you want by number. Send me your mailing address. Tell me how you want to pay. Choose one of four ways.

You can pay one of three ways: 1) with Zelle and no service fee; 2) with Venmo or 3) with PayPal or 4) with Square. If you choose either #2, #3, or #4, we add on a 3.5% service fee which is their charge to us. Tell us which payment method you prefer and how your account is registered (email, phone number, other?). We will send a Request for Funds to your account. The request will include the cost of the garment + $14 mailing. If you want more than one piece, I’m happy to combine mailing.

P.S. Please measure carefully. All sales are final. Why? Because we have already purchased and paid the artisan makers for these textiles at the price they set, doing our part for cultural continuation and sustainability.

#1 San Juan Colorado Huipil

#1. From San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca, handwoven on the back strap loom by Brisaida, this native white cotton is a loose weave. The blue is indigo dye, with designs achieved using the supplementary weft technique. Measures 22-1/2″ wide x 25″ long. $235.

#2 Coban, Guatemala Huipil

#2 From Coban, northern Guatemala, where a tropical climate dictates that women weave very fine cotton. This, too, uses indigo dyed threads to achieve the designs in the cloth created using the supplementary weft technique. Measures 27″ wide x 35″ long. $295.

#3 Embroidered blusa, Chiapas

#3. From San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, a very fine white cotton blouse embroidered with blue trim. Easy wearing! Measures 23-1/2″ wide x 27″ long. $135.

#4 Woven blusa with embroidered color

SOLD #4. Egg yolk yellow cotton blouse handwoven on the back strap loom with an amazing embroidered collar from Pinotepa de Don Luis, Oaxaca. Measures 23″ wide x 26″ long. $95.

#5 San Antonino embroidered blusa

#5. Black on White embroidered blouse from San Antonino Castillo Velasco, Oaxaca, where they make the famous wedding dresses! A crop top for ultimate coolness. Measures 25″ wide x 23″ long. $165.

#6 San Juan Colorado huipil woven by Brisaida

#6. San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca, huipil with natural dyes — wild marigold and logwood, handwoven on the back strap loom by Brisaida. Measures 30-1/2″ wide x 30 ” long. $265.

#6 Pinotepa de Don Luis blusa with Caracol Purpura trim

#7. White on White blusa woven in Pinotepa de Don Luis with rare purple snail dye trim around neckline and collar. Measures 22″ wide x 26″ long. $185.

#8 Chiapas finely embroidered linen blusa

#8. Pale yellow linen blouse with the finest embroidery I’ve ever seen, made in Chiapas. Measures 23-1/2″ wide x 24″ long. $135.

#9 Venustiano Carranza Quechquemitl

#9. This quechquemitl, which is a native Mexican design, is like a short poncho. You put it on over your head. This one is handwoven on the back strap loom in Venustiano Carranza, Chiapas, a light cover-up to embellish your dressing. Measures 35″ wide x 31″ long. $145.

#10 Triqui blusa

SOLD. #10. Handwoven cotton blouse with supplementary weft designs from the Triqui group in Oaxaca’s Mixteca Alta. Measures 20″ wide x 24″ long. $110.

#11 Purple and Red blusa

SOLD. #11. This blouse from San Juan Guichicovi, Oaxaca, is cotton woven on the treadle loom and decorated in free-form machine embroidery. It measures 21″ wide x 23″ long. $145.

#12 White on White

SOLD. #12. From San Juan Colorado, a White on White blouse with a beautiful square collar, perfectly executed on the back strap loom Measures 24-1/2″ wide x 24-1/2″ long. $165.

#13 Embroidered Chiapas blusa darker

#13. San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, embroidered blouse on very fine cotton. Measures 24″ wide x 24″ long. $135.

#14 Embroidered Chiapas blusa lighter

SOLD #14. San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, embroidered blouse, similar to the one above. This is a somewhat lighter color way. Measures 24″ wide x 26″ long. $135.

#15 All natural dyes, Triqui huipil

SOLD. #15. All natural dyes are what makes this Triqui huipil very special. It incorporates cochineal, wild marigold, indigo, and tree bark. It measures 25″ wide x 35″ long. $295.

#16 Turquoise blusa, Venustiano Carranza, Chiapas

SOLD. #16. A turquoise blusa embellished with sparkly threads in the supplementary weft design, from Venustiano Carranza, Chiapas, where tropical weather dictates a lighter weave. Measures 23″ wide x 24″ long. $125

Thank you for looking and shopping. Buy today and I will mail on Wednesday, July 26. Otherwise I will mail on August 4.

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Meet Us in Nashville, TN — Pop-Up, June 9-11, 2023

Posted on Monday, May 29, 2023 | 2 comments

If you live in or near Nashville, TN, or want to make a weekend trip to this legendary music capital, come join us at Parachute Home in The Gulch neighborhood. We will be there for three full days with Galeria Fe y Lola handwoven and naturally dyed rugs, and beautiful wearables from southern Mexico — Oaxaca and Chiapas.

If you’ve never been to Nashville, or it’s been a while, here is the attraction. Nash is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and home to Vanderbilt University. Legendary country music venues include the Grand Ole Opry House, home of the famous “Grand Ole Opry” stage and radio show. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and historic Ryman Auditorium are Downtown, as is the District, featuring honky-tonks with live music and the Johnny Cash Museum, celebrating the singer’s life. 

When I was there in early April, I made a stop from Oaxaca on my way back to Taos to visit dearest friend Kathryn, who just moved from UNC Chapel Hill to a new job at Vanderbilt. I became enamored with Downtown Nash and Broadway, where music venues open to the street, and for the price of a tip to the musicians, you can hear some amazing tunes, all day and well into the night. We made a forage to Parachute Home and the manager who is originally from Northern Mexico, was keen on the idea of a pop-up. So, here we are! Janet Chávez Santiago will represent galería Fe y Lola, coming from Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca.

Everyone is invited! Please distribute widely!

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Think Spring! 13 San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca Huipiles by Brisaida for You

Posted on Tuesday, April 18, 2023 | 2 comments

SOLD OUT! Thanks to all for your support.

Brisaida is one of my favorite weavers from San Juan Colorado, on Oaxaca’s Costa Chica, that stretch of land along the Pacific Coast extending from Puerto Escondido north to Acapulco. We visit her on our Oaxaca Coast Textile Study Tour. She contacted me last week to appeal for help. She has some amazing huipiles and blusas available for sale. I said, sure, I’ll help you! Finding buyers for extraordinary work is the biggest challenge that indigenous weavers face. Most speak only a native language and without Spanish, markets elude them and they depend on middlemen who often pay less than the value of a textile and the work women put into making them.

Whatever sells in the next 10 days, Brisaida will package up and ship to me. This takes about a week to arrive in Taos. I’ll then package up what you choose and mail to you. I’d like to receive all that sells in one bundle to minimize shipping cost. So, please make your selections by April 28. Thank you.

We have 13 amazing pieces to offer you. They are all hand-woven on the back-strap loom, created from naturally dyed cotton. Dyes include Brazilwood, mahogany bark, raw and fermented indigo, guava, iron oxide, and wild marigold. Much of the cotton threads are hand-spun on the malacate (drop spindle) from locally sourced native cotton, grown since pre-Hispanic times. What you are purchasing is a piece of art! In doing so, you support a woman from a small indigenous community who has little opportunity to sell her work. Women here struggle to support their families with cash income when the men in their families are subsistence farmers who have no commercial outlet for their produce — everyone here grows corn, beans, and squash to feed their kin — when men stay! Most have left for employment in larger Mexican cities or risk their lives to go to El Norte with a coyote ($3-4,000 USD cost) to enter the USA as undocumented labor. It’s not an easy life. We have an opportunity to help!

How to Buy: Send an email to norma.schafer@icloud.com and tell me the item(s) you want to purchase by number, your email, your mailing address, your phone number, and which payment method you prefer: 1) Zelle bank transfer with no service fee; 2) Venmo or 3) PayPal each with a 3.3% service fee. Please send me your account name or number! I will send you a request for funds and then add on a $14 mailing fee. Happy to combine shipping if you buy more than one piece. These are one-of-a-kind. Note: Thank you for understanding that all sales are final. Please measure carefully.

SOLD. #1. Mahogany and raw indigo. Raw indigo has not been fermented. The leaves are rubbed on the cotton to give us a lovely fresh green color. 42″ long x 28″ wide. $345 plus mailing.

SOLD 2. Rainbow of natural colors with indigo and wild marigold brocade* embellished with hearts. 42″ long x 31″ wide. $345 plus mailing.

SOLD #3. Mahogany bark, guava, iron oxide and Brazilwood. 38″ long x 31″ wide. $345 plus mailing.

SOLD. #4. Pinole seeds and bark with indigo. 43″ long x 30″ wide. $345 plus mailing.

SOLD. #5. Mahogany, indigo, and natural white cotton. 34″ long x 30″ wide. $345 plus mailing.

SOLD. 6. Mahogany, iron oxide, and natural white. 34″ long x 30″ wide. $345 plus mailing.

SOLD. #7 Guava, Brazilwood, and natural white. 35″ long x 28″ wide. $298 plus mailing.

SOLD. #8. Subtle rainbow base cloth with indigo, mahogany, and white brocade. 34″ long x 29″ wide. $298 plus mailing.

SOLD. #9. Raw indigo and multi-color base cloth with multi-colored bordado. 32″ long x 29″ wide. $298 plus mailing.

SOLD. #10. Wild marigold, indigo, and mahogany. 29″ long x 26″ wide. $275 plus mailing.

SOLD. 11. Brazilwood, indigo and natural white. 26″ long x 29″ wide. $255 plus mailing.

SOLD. 12. Rainbow Rayas. 26″ long x 25″ wide. $245 plus mailing.

SOLD. #13. Brazilwood. 30″ long x 25″ wide. $245 plus mailing.

Care Instructions: Hand wash with a mild soap (Fels Naptha or Zote — do not use Woolite) and hang to dry. Press with a warm iron, if desired.

*About the Cloth: The cotton threads may have been grown locally, cleaned, beaten to smooth the fibers, and then hand-spun using the malacate (drop spindle). Weavers also use top quality, fine Omega thread sourced from the last cotton mill in Puebla, Mexico, and then dyed at home with local plants. The designs and patterns embellished in the cloth are made with the brocade (bordado) technique of adding threads into the woven cloth using the supplementary weft technique. These garments are perfect for spring, summer and fall, or layer them over an insulated T-shirt for winter dressing to add color to your life during the dark days. The pieces range from medium weight to gauze weave, giving us cloth that is breathable and luxurious for warm and hot weather.

Meet Brisaida. She is in her 30’s. I’m with her in San Juan Colorado in late January. Yes, she wove what I’m wearing and of course, it’s now part of my collection! Brisaida embodies the heritage of many Mexican women along the coast whose heritage stems from indigenous Mixtec roots mixed with the Afro-Mexican slave experience and their quest for freedom beyond the mines, sugar cane fields of Veracruz, and entrapment.

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