Into the Oaxaca Rain Forest: San Pedro Cajonos
Ten of us traveled by van for almost three hours to get to the Sierra Norte mountain village of San Pedro Cajonos where silk worms are cultivated, their cocoons spun and then woven on back strap looms into glorious silk garments colored with natural dyes! At the end, were were at almost 7,000 feet altitude, […]
Rare Opportunity, Day Trips, July 27 + July 29: San Pedro Cajonos and Santa Maria Tlahuitoltepec
We are doing a cultural textile tour from July 25-31, 2022 where extraordinary garments are made by very talented weavers. This includes two days up into the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains. We want to fill our van! So, we are offering one-day travel opportunities to Oaxaca residents, collectors and visitors. Join our travel group […]
Let’s Go Shopping: Eleven Mexican Shawls, Scarves, Rebozos for Sale
Rebozos are part of Mexican female identity and culture. Frida wore them. So did the women of the Mexican Revolution, 1910-1920. Aristocrats from Spain loved their shoulder coverings as they strolled the Alameda. Indigenous women still rely on them to swaddle and carry infants. Women in El Norte (USA and Canada) find them comforting on […]
India Journal: Double Silk Ikat of Patan Patola, Gujarat
It’s two-and-a-half hours from Ahmedabad to the town of Patola in the Patan district of Gujarat. Only four ikat weavers continue to make the double it — both the warp and weft threads are knotted then dyed to form intricate patterns of birds, flowers, elephants, dancers, monkeys and trees on silk. The double it refers […]
Textile Felt Fashion Designer Teaches Oaxaca Workshop
Maddalena Forcella is an Italian fashion designer who has lived in Mexico most of her adult life. She works in felt and creates beautiful, comfortable clothing that is Art-to-Wear. In the workshop we create the felted nuno cloth and then design garments using indigenous Mexican textile patterns including the quechequemitl, huipil, rebozo and blusa. You […]
Art of the Rebozo: Painting on Silk Oaxaca Style with Costume Designer Hilary Simon
Oaxaca is the ideal location for this 8-night, 9-day silk painting workshop led by London, U.K. costume designer, artist and curator Hilary Simon from March 22-30, 2013. Hilary will curate a London and Mexico exhibition on the rebozo in 2014, and we are fortunate to bring her to Oaxaca to give you this incredible experience […]
Felted Fashion Workshop: Making Wearable Art Oaxaca Style with Wool, Silk and Cotton
For hands-on fun, escape winter and come to Oaxaca from February 2 until February 9, 2013. Together, during this one-week workshop, we will be immersed in the textile culture of Oaxaca to create naturally-dyed felted fabric combining wool, silk and cotton that can be hand or machine stitched into an indigenous clothing design of your choice. Our […]
Oaxaca, Mexico Weaving Examples: San Bartolo Yautepec
Photo courtesy of the Museo Textil de Oaxaca, September 21, 2011. I have written about San Bartolo Yautepec in the past on this site. It is the home of extraordinary silk weaving. You can see the intricacies of the patterns created above. Not much is written about San Bartolo or its sister community San Carlos […]