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
Today’s post features earrings made with jicara gourd from Pinotepa de Don Luis on the Oaxaca coast, plus bags from Chiapas and Oaxaca, ikat shawls and more. We hope you will find something that says, Welcome Spring!
As we celebrate the spring holidays and give thanks for our freedoms, let’s keep Ukraine in our hearts and minds. For this sale, Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC will donate 5% of all sales to HIAS, an international refugee relief program, for support of Ukraine refugees regardless of religious affiliation and in support of Ukraine and refugees from the Americas amassed at the Mexico-USA border waiting for entry.
How to Buy: mailto:norma.schafer@icloud.com Tell us the item you want by number. Send your complete mailing address.Tell us how you want to pay (3 choices, below). We accept three payment methods:
Zelle bank transfer with no service fee.
Venmo with a 3% service fee.
PayPal with a 3% service fee.
When you tell us by email that you are ready to order and have made your selections by Item Number, you will also tell us your payment preference. We will then confirm your order, mark your item sold, send you totals and our Zelle account information. For Venmo or PayPal, we will send you a request for payment that includes a 3% service fee.
Note: We add on $13 for the mailing fee to your total order.
#31. Pillow cover 18”x16” from San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca. $65SOLD 32 wild marigold dyed ikat shawl wool weft and cotton warp made in Oaxaca. 20” wide x 76” long — great transition to spring and chilly evenings. $85.
SOLD 33. Indigo blue ikat shawl or throw or table cover or beach towel. 100% cotton. Made in Oaxaca. Lots of tone variation from pale to darker. 25”wide x 80” long. $75
SOLD. #34. Khadi Oaxaca hand-spun and woven blouson top, dyed with wild marigold and indigo. size L. 31” wide x 23” long. perfect crop top for jeans! $165SOLD 35. Wine colored carved jucara gourd earrings, 1-3/4” diameter. Very lightweight + impressive. $25SOLD #36. Black stars earrings, 1-3/4” diameter, jicara gourd carved. $25#37. Red flower jicara gourd carved earrings, 1” diameter with 2” dangle. $25#38. Purple carved jicara gourd earrings, 1-1/4” diameter with 2-3/4” dangle. $25#39. Cochineal dyed silk cocoon earrings, 1” flowers with 2” dangle. $25#40. Black circle earrings, carved jicara gourd, 1-3/4” diameter. $25SOLD 41. Embroidered face mask. cover your KN95 with a flower garden! $12#42. Teotitlan del Valle wool woven bag, zipper, lined, interior picket, sturdy leather straps. Bag is 11×11” and strap is 27” end-to-end. $55#43. Finest woven ixtle agave fiber market bag, expa dable with adjustable leather strap, 8” x 9” $65#44. San Andres Larrainzer, Chiapas small backstrap loom woven sampler, wall-hanging. 4” x 11” $50#45. Tenejapa, Chiapas woven bag, zipper close. 6-3/4” wide x 5-1/2” high, 37” strap end to end. $32#46. San Juan Chamula, Chiapas wool bag with embroidered flowers. 9” x 10-1/2” with 47” cord end to end. $32#47. Oaxaca embroidered cancas tote bag, 14-1/2” x 11” with 30” double strap. $35#48. Embroidered zipper tote, canvas, lined with interior pocket, 16-1/2” x 12”. $50SOLD #49. San Andres Larrainzar, pillow cover finest quality, densely woven on backstrap loom, 20×20” $68
Posted onSaturday, April 16, 2022|Comments Off on Day 2: Mixed (Shopping) Bag: Oaxaca + Chiapas Textiles
As I wrote yesterday for the Day 1: Mixed (Shopping) Bag: Oaxaca + Chiapas Textiles, I purchased a lot of beautiful handwoven, handspun 100% cotton blouses and huipiles when we were on the Oaxaca Coast and Chiapas Highlands. Most are naturally dyed, some with the rare caracol purpura purple snail dye. There are still many extraordinary pieces available from yesterday. Plus, today features more. We hope you will find something that says, Welcome Spring!
Meanwhile, enjoy the spring holidays. Despite all the alarming news about conflict and climate change, there is a lot to be grateful for. Let’s keep Ukraine in our hearts and minds, and make a donation to support all those displaced from this conflict in honor of freedom and democracy in this season of celebration. To life!
For this sale, Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC will donate 5% of all sales to HIAS, an international refugee relief program, for support of Ukraine refugees regardless of religious affiliation and in support of Ukraine and refugees from the Americas amassed at the Mexico-USA border waiting for entry.
How to Buy: mailto:norma.schafer@icloud.com Tell us the item you want by number. Send your complete mailing address.Tell us how you want to pay (3 choices, below). We accept three payment methods:
Zelle bank transfer with no service fee.
Venmo with a 3% service fee.
PayPal with a 3% service fee.
When you tell us by email that you are ready to order and have made your selections by Item Number, you will also tell us your payment preference. We will then confirm your order, mark your item sold, send you totals and our Zelle account information. For Venmo or PayPal, we will send you a request for payment that includes a 3% service fee.
Note: We add on $13 for the mailing fee to your total order.
#16. Outstanding huipil from the Amusgo village of Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero, across the Oaxaca border. Natural dyes, backstrap loomed, finest supplementary weft gauze. Flowing, drapey. 30×44” Collector’s piece. $795SOLD. #17. Embroidered blusa from Aguacatenango, Chiapas made by Francisca. Wear your summer flowers. Size Medium. $75#18. Night sky blusa made by Grand Master of Mexican Folk Art Lucia Santis Gomez in Magdalena Aldama, Chiapas. Backstrap loomed. three months of work! 23”w x 25” long $450#19.Blusa dyed with gourd and caracol purpura rare purple snail dye, from Pinotepa de Don Luis, Oaxaca. 29” wide x 30” long. $275#20. i’ve never seen one like this. Too amazing! Handspun native silk from Oaxaca dyed with iron oxide and wild marigold. Garden party? 22” wide x 39″ long, $1,200
SOLD #21. San Juan Chamula, Chiapas. Agave fiber handwoven market bag with adjustable leather strap. bag is 13×13” and expands to twice the size. $125SOLD#22. Black on black handwoven, backstrap loomed gauze top from Venustiana Carranza, Chiapas. 23×23” $145#23. Confetti huipil from Pinotepa de Don Luis, handwoven by Sebastiana from handspun cotton. Subtle stripes and iconic symbols of double-headed eagles accent this piece. Size L-XL. 33”wide x 39” long. $265#24. Shoulder bag, Xochistlahuaca, Guerrero Amusgo cooperative. Design is supplementary weft wiven into the cloth on the backstrap loom. Bag is 16” wide x 14” l long. strap is 25” long (50” total). $80#25. Pillow cover, San Andres Larrainzar, Chiapas. 20×20”. backstrap loomed. $75
SOLD #26. From Pinotepa de Don Luis, handspun cotton dyed with rare caracol purpura purple snail. Use as scarf, wall hangin or table runner, or make into a dress. 23” wide x 68” long. $95
SOLD 27. From Venustiana Carranza, Chiapas, where the climate is tropical! Gauze woven shimmering silver huipil embellished with white, purple, and pink supplementary weft designs of mountains, rain and corn. 24” wide x 32” long. $285#28. From Famed Alberto Lopez Gomez, Magdalena Aldama, Chiapas. Handwoven, backstrap loomed. 22” wide x 25” long. $450#29. A rare find from San Juan Cancuc, Chiapas, huipil dyed with nanche bark and cochineal. 21” wide x 36” long. $265SOLD. #30. San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca, huipil with all natural dyes: coyuchi, iron oxide, mahogany. L-XL. 36” wide x 40” long. $285#31. Handwoven, backstrap loomed, from Chenalho, Chiapas. 100% cotton, supplementary weft. 23”x 26” $85
Posted onFriday, April 15, 2022|Comments Off on Mixed (Shopping) Bag: Oaxaca + Chiapas Textiles
I’m back in Taos, arriving just in time for April winds and lots of blooming plants. Kerchoo. They tell me this is springtime in northern New Mexico and the Rockies. Now I know why my friend Winn, who has lived here for a long time, chooses to stay in Oaxaca until the end of April despite the heat there!
I’m settling in to high desert life here after Jacob and Shelley’s wedding in San Clemente, California on March 26. The new house construction is coming along, albeit more slowly than anticipated because of all the obvious supply chain slowdowns. I’ve finished my taxes (early), and have settled down to sorting through all the wonderful clothes I purchased to support some very talented artisans on the Oaxaca coast and Chiapas highlands. I’m dividing the more than 24 pieces I’m offering for sale into two posts in order not to overwhelm you with choices! Here is the first group. I’ll likely publish the next group either over the weekend or on Monday.
Meanwhile, enjoy the spring holidays. Despite all the alarming international and domestic news, there is a lot to be grateful for. Let’s keep Ukraine in our hearts and minds, and make a donation to support all those displaced from this conflict in honor of freedom and democracy in this season of celebration. To life!
For this sale, Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC will donate 5% of all sales to HIAS, an international refugee relief program, for support of Ukraine refugees regardless of religious affiliation and in support of Ukraine and refugees from the Americas amassed at the Mexico-USA border waiting for entry.
How to Buy: mailto:norma.schafer@icloud.com Tell us the item you want by number. Send your complete mailing address. Tell us how you want to pay (3 choices, below). We accept three payment methods:
Zelle bank transfer with no service fee.
Venmo with a 3% service fee.
PayPal with a 3% service fee.
When you tell us by email that you are ready to order and have made your selections by Item Number, you will also tell us your payment preference. We will then confirm your order, mark your item sold, send you totals and our Zelle account information. For Venmo or PayPal, we will send you a request for payment that includes a 3% service fee.
Note: We add on $13 for the mailing fee to your total order.
SOLD #1. Coyuchi native brown cotton and indigo huipil, handspun, backstrap loom woven gauze in San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca 24” wide x 44” long. $345 #2. SOLD Venustiano Carranza, Chiapas gauze huipil, backstrap loom woven w/sparkly yellow, green, red accents in supplementary weft. 23” wide x 33” long. $245SOLD #3. Native Oaxaca green, coyuchi and cream cotton, handspun, backstrap loomed from Amusgo group in Guerrero. 22” wide x 28” long. $85#4. From Alberto Lopez Gomez, Kokul Pok cooperative, Magdalena Aldama, Chiapas. He was invited to 2020 NY Fashion Week! Workmanship is outstanding. 22”wide x 24” long. $450SOLD. #5. Cafe au lait color with coyuchi and green cotton accents, handspun cotton, backstrap loom woven from San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca. 24” wide x 22” long. $165#6. French knots and organic cotton, Aguacatenango, Chiapas Size L 15” of embrodiery across the bodice. 27” long. $145
#7. same color as above #6, but size XL. $145
#8. Zinacantan Flower Garden. Embroidered on polyester, drip dry. 25” wide x 29” long unfinished hem. $110
SOLD #10. San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca, crop top, perfect for jeans, too. Indigo and wild marigold. backstrap loomed. 31” wide x 21” long. $225#11. Chenalho, Chiapas dog paw design, supplementary weft, blackstrap loomed. 100% cotton. Shawl or table runner! 19” wide x 80” long. $95SOLD #12. San Juan Colorado, Oaxaca, backstrap loomed. Dyed with raw indigo leaves, supplementary weft woven with coyuchi native cotton. 28” wide x 39” long. $325SOLD. #13. Tixinda Cooperative, Pinotepa de Don Luis, Oaxaca, handspun, backstrap loomed. 31” wide x 49” long. $295
#14. Black backstrap loom woven gauze blouse from Venustiano Carranza, accented with supplementary weft colorful pattern. #15 Complimentary scarf included. Blouse is 23” wide x 23” long. Scarf is 15” wide x 72” long. Buy both for $185. Blouse alone is $155. Scarf alone is $75.
Thanks for looking. Remember, please take your measurements to see if a garment will fit. All sales final.
Making progress. Home building on the Rio Grande River Gorge.
My modus operandi is to visit the homes and cooperatives of the finest weavers wherever I travel in Mexico and elsewhere. I can’t possibly wear everything I love. But that does not deter me from buying to support what they do. We hear time and again from weavers on our textile tours that the pandemic has wrought economic havoc on their lives and there have been few if any customers who come to visit and buy. Without this support, extraordinary artisans will give up their work and turn to something more economically sustainable — servers and cooks in restaurants, hotel maids, shop girls. The men who make the looms, leave to work in the USA to provide food for their families.*
We don’t want that to happen! So, here I am again, with a stash of beautiful textiles to offer to you for sale.
Buy now. I’ll be mailing after April 1 when I return to the USA.
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 Zelle (account number 919-274-6194) 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 + $12 mailing. If you want more than one piece, I’m happy to combine mailing. I’ll be mailing from Santa Cruz, CA, when I return to the USA after April 1, 2022.
SOLD 1. Magdalena Aldama huipil. Cotton. 25” wide x 29” long. $450 + mailing. a stained glass window for Joan!#2. Venustiano Carranza gauze huipil, 24” wide x 36” long. Cotton. $195 + mailing.SOLD 3. Venustiano Carranza huipil, 23” wide x 35” long. Cotton. $195 + mailingSOLD 4. Venustiano Carranza, Chiapas shawl. Cotton. 14-3/4” wide x 56” long. pair with the hot pink huipil. $85 + mailing.SOLD 5. San Lorenzo Zinacantan, land of flowers, free-form machine embroidered blouse. 21” wide x 30” long. Polyester. $120 + mailing.SOLD 6. 29” wide x 23” long. Rayon with a subtle hint of glitter. Chiapas. Backstrap loom. $135 + mailing.#7. Aguacatenango, Chiapas French knot embroidered blouse. Size M-L. 23” wide across embroidered bodice. 25” long. Sleeve length from shoulder 21” $135 + mailing.This short sleeve green bodice blouse is also available, Size XL $135 + mailing gorgeous smocking
*Agustin, the husband of my friend Francisca who made this blouse (above), left almost a year ago to work in a Chinese restaurant in High Point, NC, where he is washing dishes. He will be there another year to pay off debt incurred during the pandemic. She is at home with her daughter and mother.
SOLD 8. Cream on cream from Venustiano Carranza. 23” wide x 26” long. Loose drape. Gauze weave. 4-Selvedge edge. $135 + mailing.SOLD 9. White on white. 4-Selvedge edge. Gauze. Venustiano Carranza. 19” wide x 23” long. $110 + mailing.SOLD 10. White on white gauze. 4-Selvedge edge. Venustiano Carranza. $110. 23”wide x 26” long. To Olive SOLD #11. White on white. Gauze. 4-Selvedge edge. Venustiano Carranza. $135 + mailing. 22” wide x 23” long.
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.
