Happy July 4th everyone! Here in Taos, New Mexico, the town has lifted the fireworks ban and the celebrations are popping with live music everywhere. I hope you are celebrating what it means to live in a democracy and how we can best protect our personal rights that were heretofore guaranteed by the federal government and past Supreme Court rulings.
Oops! one more for sale! and it’s gorgeous!
SOLD #10 We can send you this one immediately. Measures 32” wide x 36” long. dyed with indigo, wild marigold and mahogany. $255 plus $14 mailing
I leave for Oaxaca on July 20 and return on August 5 for our Summer Mountain Textile Tour. Eager to be returning there. If you make a huipil purchase, I will bring it back with me to mail to you after August 5.
We are offering Brisaida’s weavings at below retail. Why? To encourage women weavers like her to find direct markets for their work. Remote Oaxaca villages like San Juan Colorado on the Oaxaca coast where Brisaida lives, was born and raised, have little access to selling directly to collectors. They often rely on middlemen to come and buy up their work below fair market rate to resell in Oaxaca City. Their husbands work subsistence farming with no chance to sell, raising crops solely to feed the family. The only cash income for the family might be from what the women are able to make and sell or from remittances. Brisaida reached out to me to ask me to help her and I said YES.
These are garments that you can wear with pride that are completely handwoven on the back-strap loom and dyed with natural materials. They are lightweight and gauzy, perfect for the heat. with your purchase, you support indigenous weavers who live in remote areas where tourists rarely travel. You are supporting sustainable entrepreneurism. As soon as a piece sells, I send funds directly to Brisaida. She is among the finest weavers of this village and a member of Las Sanjuaneras cooperative.
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. Choose one of three ways.
You can pay one of three ways: 1) with a Zelle transfer and no service fee; 2) with Venmo or 3) with PayPal. If you choose either #2 or #3, we add on a 3% service fee which is their charge to us, and we will send a Request for Funds to your email address. The request will include the cost of the garment + $14 mailing. If you want more than one piece, I’m happy to combine mailing. Tell me which payment method you prefer and I’ll send you more information. Buy now and I’ll bring your garment back with me on August 5 when I return from Oaxaca to New Mexico.
A Note from Brisaida
My name is Brisaida Garcia Quiroz, and I’m 34 years old. I learned to weave on the back strap loom at age 10 and I am very proud to do this work. I am happy and love the process of creating the cloth and using natural dyes on cotton that I often hand spin myself from pre-Hispanic native Oaxaca cotton. I am an indigenous woman and with the weaving I do, I know I can help my children get ahead. I am thankful that you are able to help me.
SOLD. Blusa #1: Indigo, with supplementary weft (called brocado) with natural white cotton and cotton dyed with mahogany bark. Size is 27″ long x 29″ wide. $235 plus mailing.
SOLD. Blusa #2: Indigo with supplementary weft dyed with cochineal, mahogany, wild marigold, plus natural white cotton. 29″ long x 30″ wide. $235 plus mailing.
SOLD. Blusa #3: Dyed with indigo and iron oxide. 28″ wide x 28″ long. $200 plus mailing.
SOLD. Blusa #4: Dyed with indigo and Brazil wood, and supplementary weft dyed with natural white cotton, mahogany, wild marigold and indigo. 28″ long x 29″ wide. $235 plus mailing.
SOLD. Blusa #5: Dyed with iron oxide and indigo, with supplementary weft dyed with indigo and native white cotton. 29″ long x 26″ wide. $235 plus mailing.
SOLD. Huipil #6: Raw indigo is uncooked leaves which are rubbed on the cotton to get this soft green tone. This huipil is embellished with a supplementary weft dyed with the shell of the cacao (chocolate) bean and native white cotton. 43″ long x 32″ wide. $298 plus mailing.
SOLD Huipil #7: Dyed with wild marigold and the supplementary weft is dyed with hand-spun white cotton and guapinol. 37″ long x 31 inches wide. $298 plus mailing. Liliana
SOLD. Huipil #8: Mixed colors with natural dyes of indigo, iron oxide and wild marigold. 37″ long x 27″ wide. $247 plus mailing.
SOLD Huipil #9: Dyed with mahogany, with the brocade supplementary weft threads dyed with natural white cotton and wild marigold. 39″ long x 29″ wide. $298 plus mailing. NOTE: Please measure for fit; width is across the front of the garment, side seam to side seam. All sales final. Thank you.
Posted onMonday, June 13, 2022|Comments Off on Life Update and All Things Mexico Spring Clearance
Here in Northern New Mexico the winds are gusting. While some of the early spring wildfires are contained, more are igniting, mostly from lightening strikes. Near Georgia O’Keeffe’s home in Abiquiu a new fire erupted in El Rito, a small mountain community about 30 miles from where I live. Scary stuff. Smoke obliterated the mountains and I had to wear a face mask in the car. The air smelled like a campfire. We are in severe drought conditions and global warming is taking its toll. A couple of weeks ago, an unusual early spring hurricane hit the Oaxaca coast hard. My friends reported lots of devastation. Climate change is wrecking havoc.
Meanwhile, I’m waiting for my small house to be completed on the Rio Grande Gorge. everything is delayed and costs have soared. It was supposed to be May, then amended to the end of June. I’m hoping for this so I can close, get my mortgage and return to Oaxaca in time for the Summer Textile Mountain Tour. Hoping this will happen, though not sure. (We can still register you — there are a few open spaces — register by June 20 and get 10% off!)
Celebrate summer with a colorful hand-embroidered shoulder bag. 9×10” with 42” strap, lined with zipper. Specify by color. Was $56 each. Discounted to $29 each.
I’m still culling my collection and will continue to do so as I prepare for another move. Here are some wonderful pieces to offer to you today.
To Buy: Please send me an email with your name, email address, mailing address and include the Item Number you wish to purchase. We add $14 flat rate to mail and we are happy to combine orders in one shipment. Tell me if you want to pay with a Zelle transfer (no service fee) or use PayPal or Venmo (with a 3% service fee). For PayPal or Venmo, I will send you a request for funds. Thanks very much. -Norma
#1 Las Sanjuaneras blusa. natural dyes, indigo and banana bark. 30” wide x 23” long. $225SOLD #2 Las Sanjuaneras blusa. Índigo and mahogany. 30” wide x 27” long. $225.SOLD #3 Tote/weekend bag, indigo and leather, lined, zipper, interior pockets. Wool tapestry hand-woven. $155.SOLD #4 Coyuchi cotton huipil from Zacoalpan, Guerrero. 28” wide x 37” long. Deeply discounted $295.#5 From Pinotepa de Don Luis, Oaxaca, gorgeous fuchsine huipil, handspun cotton. 31” wide x 46” long. sturdy fabric. $325#6 Pinotepa de Don Luis blusa dye with gourd and rare purple snail. 29” wide x 29” long $290.#7 from Cancuc, Chiapas, huipil, dyed with nanche fruit and cochineal. 20” wide x 35” long. $250.SOLD #8 Xochistlahuaca backstrap loomed shoulder bag Bargain! $65SOLD #9 Collector’s Huipil from Xochistlahuaca. 30” wide x 45” long Was $875 NOW $475.#10 Size XL french knot embroidered blouse from Chiapas, spectacular workmanship. Was $145 Now $110. #11. San Andres Larrainzar blusa. Backstrap loomed. 22-1/2” wide x 25” long. $68SOLD #13. From the famous Palafox family of San Mateo del Mar, Oaxaca Size XL 35” wide x 33” long. cochineal, wild marigold, indigo. sea creature motifs woven into finest handwoven gauze cotton. You get this for what was paid for it. $375#14. from Chiapas designer Alberto Lopez Gomez, the best quality huipil from the region. Size Medium. You get this for cost! $375#15. And this one from Alberto Lopez Gomez. size Medium Also at cost $375
COMING UP — JEWELRY!
Comments Off on Life Update and All Things Mexico Spring Clearance
Posted onThursday, January 20, 2022|Comments Off on San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca, Where Textiles Tell Stories
San Juan Colorado is up the mountain about an hour-and-half from Pinotepa Nacional along the Costa Chica. It’s at the end of the road, so secluded that the Spanish Conquest and proselytizing priests didn’t reach here until much later. It’s why traditional backstrap loom weaving and natural dyeing have survived over the years.
Mostly women weave here, but some men are also learning. Girls start when they are around ten years old. Native wild preHispanic cotton grows here, too — caramel colored brown, mint green, creamy white make up the palette. White thread can also be dyed red with cochineal, blue with indigo, yellow with wild marigold, brown with nuts and bark. Brazilwood turns white cotton to a fucsia hot pink. Cooking cotton in an iron pot dulls the color. White becomes a soft grey.
We visit one of the oldest cooperatives, Jini Nuu. We gather in the courtyard under the shade of an almond tree The bark is also a dye material. Yuridia and Verónica welcome us. The older women are sitting on the ground, legs tucked under them, bare toes peeking out from their posahuanco wrap-around skirts, spinning cotton with the drop spindle, picking seeds from the cotton to get ready to spin it, and weaving on the backstrap loom.
Our group sits down for lunch. We are served tamales stuff with a local specialty of mangrove mussels and another type stuffed with chicken. There is a spicy beef broth soup, tasty fruit waters, avocado, Oaxaca queso fresco, and plenty of made in the comal tortillas. We are in foodie heaven. Our desert is a shot of Piedra de Alma mezcal.
Mid-afternoon we cross the village to visit Camerina and the Las Sanjuaneras cooperative where they weave beautiful gauze fabric and work only in natural dyes. Their oldest member is age 81 and their youngest is in her 30’s. Cooperatives are important social and economic organizations, offering ways to marketi and also provide mutual support.
Designs woven into the cloth are selected by each weaver. They I clise the flora and fauna of the region. Since we are near the coast, this includes crab, turtles, ducks, birds, stars, rainbows, mountains, scorpions, pine trees, corn plants, chickens. The row of women figures holding hands depicts solidarity. Shoulder decorations of zigzag depict the Feathers of Quetzalcoatl — the serpent god. The double-headed eagle has special significance: the duality of life, ting-hangs, man-woman, fertility.
Glorious, textiles, talented weavers, tamales with mussels, hand-carved masks
Comments Off on San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca, Where Textiles Tell Stories
It’s been 19 months since I’ve been to my home in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca. In the past several years I’ve been walking, and eating for health (gluten and lactose free). Most of the handwoven clothes I have, mostly from Oaxaca and Chiapas, do not fit! If you wear a size Medium, Large or Extra Large, then look closely below for some beautiful blouses (blusas) and dresses (huipiles). Many rare, most with natural dyes.
How to buy: 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 once piece, I’m happy to combine mailing. I’ll be mailing from Taos, NM when I return after November 15.
SOLD. 3.0. From Rancho Grande in the Chinantla region of Oaxaca in the mountains between the city and Veracruz. An eye-popping huipil with embroidered flowers and butterflies, birds and bees. 27” wide x29” long. Sells for over $400 in Oaxaca. $165. SOLD #3.1. This open cut work is called deshilado. Very difficult to achieve. 100% natural cotton. Simple and elegant. 28” wide x 29” Long. $68. SOLD 3.2. Blusa from San Antonino Castillo Velasco near Ocotlan. Bodice is filled with embroidered birds and flowers. Truly remarkable work. 24” wide x25”long. $125. SOLD. 3.3. From Remigio Mestas and Los Baules de Juana Cata in Oaxaca City. Handwoven on backstrap loom. Indigo and iron oxide natural dyes. A fine blusa from San Juan Cotzocon. 27” wide x 27” long. $145. SOLD 3.4. Dimensions and description same as #3.5. $72. #3.5. From Remegio Mestas and Los Baules de Juana Cata, the finest indigenous textile gallery in Oaxaca. Size large. Cotton with intricate smocking to make the deer bodice design. 23” wide across chest, 29” long. $72. SOLD. 3.6. Chiapas top. Sturdy cotton woven on the backstrap loom. 31” wide x 35”long. Embroidered trim around neck, sleeves, hem. Great with jeans. $75. SOLD 3.7. From Pinotepa de Don Luis, caracol púrpura purple sea snail dyed threads embroidered collar on backstrap loomed fabric. 28” wide x 29” long. $185. SOLD. 3.8. Elaborately woven gala huipil, the fanciest and most detailed from the Amusgo village of Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero just across the Oaxaca border. This is a $700 garment. Takes a year to weave. Gauzy for hot weather. 33” wide x 35” long. $350. Sold. 3.9. From Pinotepa Nacional, a detailed embroidered collar on white back strap loomed fabric. 25” wide x 29” long. $145. SOLD. 3.10. Khadi Oaxaca natural dye blusa in wild marigold and indigo design in the supplementary weft. Design is woven and not embroidered. Comfy and like a poncho but closed side seams. 32” wide x25”long. $95. SOLD 3.11. Dreamweavers cooperative in Pinotepa de Don Luis. Rare caracol púrpura purple snail dye and handspun fine white cotton. Subtle. Elegant. 29” wide x 32” long. $175. SOLD. #3.12. An outstanding example of an Arte de Amusgo huipil from San Pedro Amusgo and Odilón Morales in indigo and native brown coyuchi cotton that is hand spun. Woven on the backstrap loom. 28” wide x 40” long. A true collector’s piece. Look at the exquisite detail of the bodice. A $1,200 garment. Yours for $495.
A handmade, hand-woven textile from Oaxaca is a meaningful gift this year when so few tourists are there to support artisans. Instead of taking you into remote villages to meet the makers this year, I am bringing what they make to the USA to offer them to you. Please support them.
We can collectively help alleviate the economic ravages of Covid-19 this way. Please consider helping the women who make these beautiful garments by making a purchase either for yourself or for a loved one. These are one-of-a-kind treasures.
Growing the organic, native cotton in small mountain plots.
Cleaning, carding and then spinning the cotton with the drop spindle (malacate).
Picking locally sourced plant materials for natural dyes; buying cochineal and indigo from specialty farmers.
Making the dye baths and dyeing the threads.
Dressing the back-strap loom.
Weaving the threads on the ancient back-strap loom.
Hand-sewing the wefts of cloth together with intricate stitches to make a garment.
Washing and pressing the finished textile.
Packing it up and mailing it to us to prepare for you.
Measurements: First number is width. Second number is length. Width is measure across the front, side seam to side seam.
#12. Brisaida. 30×21″ $320
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! DO NOT SELECT buying goods or services–so we don’t pay commissions. We also accept Venmo and I can send you a Square invoice (+3% fee) if you don’t use PayPal.
Where is Las Sanjuaneras Cooperative located? At the end of a winding mountain road up from MEX 200 on the coast at Pinotepa Nacional is the weaving village of San Juan Colorado. It’s about four hours from Puerto Escondido and is part of our Oaxaca Coast Textile Tour 2022 (next year). Meanwhile, we can support this talented group while we wait until it is safe to travel again!
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 steam heat to iron if needed.
#11. Claudia. Marigold, medium weight. 35×40″ $425.#10. Claudia. Iron oxide, mahogany. Medium weight. 36×37″ $425SOLD. #7. Andrea. Indigo, mahogany gauze. 34×27″ $340
Return Policy: We support artisans and funds get transferred immediately. There are no returns or refunds. This is a final sale.
SOLD. #14 Finely woven, iron oxide. 34×39″ $325#15. Iron oxide + indigo. 30×34″ $285Picking native green cotton in San Juan Colorado#8. Camerina. 31×21-1/2″ Brazilwood, nanche. $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! — DO NOT SELECT buying goods or services — so we don’t pay commissions. We also accept Venmo and I can send you a Square invoice (+3% fee) if you don’t use PayPal.
Why We Left, Expat Anthology: Norma’s Personal Essay
Norma contributes personal essay, How Oaxaca Became Home
Norma Contributes Two Chapters!
Click image to order yours!
Norma Schafer and Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC has offered programs in Mexico since 2006. We have over 30 years of university program development experience. See my resume.
Study Tours + Study Abroad are personally curated and introduce you to Mexico's greatest artisans. They are off-the-beaten path, internationally recognized. We give you access to where people live and work. Yes, it is safe and secure to travel. Groups are limited in size for the most personal experience.
Programs can be scheduled to meet your travel plans. Send us your available dates.
Designers, retailers, wholesalers, universities and other organizations come to us to develop customized itineraries, study abroad programs, meetings and conferences. It's our pleasure to make arrangements.
Our Clients Include
*Penland School of Crafts
*North Carolina State University
*WARP Weave a Real Peace
*Methodist University
*MINNA-Goods
*Selvedge Magazine
We offer textile experiences in our studio where we weave and work only in natural dyes.You can see the process during our textile tours, dye workshops or customized weaving experiences. Ask us for more information about these experiences, customized scheduling, and prices.
Oaxaca has the largest and most diverse textile culture in Mexico! Learn about it.
1-Day OaxacaCity Collectors Textile Tour.Exclusive Access! We take you into the homes and workshops of Oaxaca State's prize-winning weavers. They come from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the Mixteca, Mixe, Amuzgos and Triqui areas and represent their weaving families and cooperatives here. For collectors, retailers, buyers, wholesalers, fashionistas.
1-Day Oaxaca Textile Walking Tour 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.
2022 Going Deep, Not Wide--Extended Tours
October 28-November 4, 2022: Women’s Creative Writing Retreat in Teotitlan del Valle — Memory and Tradition. Click this link to read about it. SOLD OUT
October 29-November 4, 2022:Day of the Dead Culture Tour. We meet locals and visit 4 villages to experience this mystical pre-Hispanic observance, awesome and reverent. Still space for a few more!
February 5-13, 2023: Bucket List Tour: Monarch Butterflies + Michoacan. Spiritual, mystical connection to nature. Go deep into weaving, pottery, mask-making and more! We haven't offered this tour since 2019 and we anticipate it will sell out quickly. SOLD OUT
February 21-March 1, 2023: Chiapas Textile Study Tour--Deep Into the Maya World Based in San Cristobal de las Casas, we travel to distant pueblos to meet extraordinary back strap loom weavers --Best of the Best! SOLD OUT
Stay Healthy. Stay Safe. In Oaxaca, wear your mask. Questions? Want more info or to register? Send an email to Norma Schafer.
Maps: Teotitlan + Tlacolula Market
We require 48-hour advance notice for map orders to be processed. We send a printable map via email PDF after order 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
