Scott Roth on Rug Weaving Art History in Oaxaca, Mexico–Part 1
Scott Roth and I have been friends for about 15 years. I met him a few years after I first arrived in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, in 2005. Scott is a legend. He is one of the early adventurers who identified the weaving talent in the village, and intuited that blankets and rugs could be […]
Scott Roth Says: How to Value a 1960’s Era Rug From Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca
This week I received an email from Dorothy saying she had bought a rug in Teotitlan del Valle in the 1960’s when she visited here that she wanted to sell and asked for help to value it. I’m not an appraiser, nor am I a collector of vintage rugs. So, I turned to my friend […]
Visiting the Oaxaca Wool Mill: Lanera de Ocotlan
In 1996 Englishman Graham Johnson came to Ocotlan de Morelos from Mexico City to open a woolen mill. The mill was designed to streamline the production process for making yarn and weaving cloth from local churro sheep wool* without sacrificing quality. Graham was a tinkerer. He loved machinery, especially the old carding and spinning […]
Names
Federico Chavez Sosa: People here have at least two family names. The first last name is the father’s name followed by the mother’s name. Federico’s father was Jose Chavez Ruiz and his wife is Soledad Sosa XXX. Federico’s wife is Dolores Santiago Arellanas. Their children are Eric Chavez Santiago, Janet Chavez Santiago and Omar Chavez […]