Vintage Tech: Tyrian Purple — Caracol Purpura on Oaxaca’s Coast
Writer Alex Szerlip came with us on the 2019 Oaxaca Coast textile tour to investigate and write about the purple snail dye that is on the verge of extinction. While she already knew so much in advance, we took her to the source: the Mixtec village of Pinotepa de Don Luis to meet the few […]
Blue Hands Special — Oaxaca Day of the Dead 2-Day Natural Dye Workshop
So, you are coming to Oaxaca for Day of the Dead! Here is a chance to get beyond the sugar skulls and cemeteries, the masks and parades, and go deeper into the natural dye traditions of our wonderful region without leaving the city of Oaxaca. Put your hands into the indigo dye bath. Watch them […]
India Journal: Top Artisans at Nature Bazaar
Nature Bazaar is an effort by the Delhi Department of Tourism to bring the best artisans from throughout India to the city for permanent exhibition. Or, let me say, the space is permanent and the artisans rotate. So, it’s more of a pop-up and the artisans change about every six weeks. This group goes until November […]
Searching for Indigo in India: Countdown to Travel
It’s a 24-hour flight from California to New Delhi, not including the layover in Tokyo. I’m getting ready for a month of travel, focused mostly on the India State of Gujarat, with my Canadian friend Fay Sims, leaving San Jose on November 15. My motivation to go to India is multi-fold: to experience first-hand indigo […]
Pop-Up Sale: Oaxaca Quechquemitl, Mexico Stylish Scarf/Poncho
This pop-up clothing sale features the indigenous Mexico short poncho or triangular bodice cover-up called a quechquemitl in the Nahuatl language, used by pre-Hispanic women throughout the country. It’s my favorite accessory and that’s why I have too many of them! Slip one over your head, and your shoulders and bodice are covered beautifully, even […]
Travel for Texture and Oaxaca Natural Dye Workshop
Natalie and her mother Olga traveled north from Guatemala, through Chiapas and came to Oaxaca to take a natural dye workshop with Taller Teñido Natural. We scheduled a two-day program for them to go deep into Oaxaca’s traditions for using natural plant materials, including indigo, fustic and wild marigold plus the cochineal bug to create […]
Indigo Blue, Color of Kings: Oaxaca Natural Dye Workshop
If you are looking for hands-on instruction, a cultural immersion into natural dyes of Oaxaca, and would love to have an experience learning from the Museo Textil de Oaxaca’s director of education Eric Chavez Santiago, please contact me. We organize programs for museums, textile guilds, fiber artists, designers and anyone wanting to know more about hand-dyeing with […]