I spent the morning with Keiko-San at her home gallery twenty steps away from the Red Bridge. There is a green bridge, white bridge, and red bridge here. Landmarks to navigate location. Japanese are very organized and clean. Hisa, a local translator, met me at the red bridge along with Keiko-San to take me to her house. As we entered i was asked to take off my shoes before climbing the steep stairs to where she lives.
Keiko-San is a master Sashiko embroiderer. She does not have a shop. One must know about her and arrange a meeting through her son who lives in the US. I was grateful to have Hisa with me to make the communication easier.
Upon arriving upstairs, I was surrounded by this Japanese artwork of making little embroidery stitches on hand dyed indigo cloth. I was there for two hours. We even worked together to make two beautiful berets a bit smaller to fit. Fun is not enough to describe the experience.
Of course I bought something and if I never bought another piece of clothing in my life, this would be enough. My friend Svetlana Suggested I visit Keiko and also referred me to Hisa. Going into an artisan’s home is what I treasure most. I hope to return someday. Perhaps in 2025!
if you want to go to Japan with us in late 2025, please send me an email to get on the interested list.
it’s now 8:09 am. We are 13 hours ahead of you. I’m not sure how to calculate when the debate will happen or if we missed it.
the started with $9 cups of coffee — price unknown to us in the Hotel Granvia lobby cafe until we were presented with the check. Saving grace is there is no tipping in Japan.
We first took a taxi to the famed Nishiki Market filled with restaurants, food stalls and boutiques. We pick out an oyster restaurant where they are as big as fists. Then, we set out to meander and got stalled at Japan Blue. This shop showcases indigo dyed blue jeans and jackets from Okoyama, the town where the fabric is dyed and sewn.
Then, a taxi to meet ceramics pottery expert Robert Yellin, who has lived in Japan for many years. We did not take a tour with him (we will save that for our Japan 2025 tour). We spent about an hour and a half with him learning about the ancient and traditional pottery techniques here. Most of what he carries are rare and collectible pieces. He has sold and exhibited to museums a d clients throughout the US.
To thank him for his invitation to visit, I presented him with a box of green tea (matcha) mochi rice candies. He poured and gave us green tea to sip as we arrived and heard more from him. Gifting and reciprocity are very important here.
To get on our list to consider coming with us to Japan in October 2025, send me an email.
Good morning from Denver. I’ve got my ticket to Oaxaca for Day of the Dead, arriving on October 21 and staying for three weeks. Like many of you, I like to be home with my family for the winter holidays. I plan to participate in the Teotitlan del Valle photography workshop led by Luvia Lazo. She is an award-winning photographer, recognized in The New Yorker Magazine and Vogue for her interpretation of village life. I’m excited because I’ve known Luvia since she was a very young woman who was just getting started. She has a keen eye that notices the juxtapositions of composition and I’m confident that she will teach us how to see people and place in different and innovative ways. BTW, you don’t have to be a photographer to participate. Our only requirement is curiosity!
Today is my last appointment with my surgeon who performed the spinal fusion surgery. I’m hoping for a clean bill of health on the road to recovery. I’ll keep you posted about the outcomes. This is one reason I haven’t been writing much. The surgery and related recuperation was much more intense than I ever expected and I’ve been completely focused on the process of getting better in time for my departure to Japan for two weeks on Friday, September 6.
I’m excited. Japan has become one of my favorite countries and this will be my second visit. I’m traveling with friends who have been there nine times! As I write, they are on a six-day hike through geological formations along the southern coast. They are covering ten miles a day. I can now manage two miles walking at a slow pace with two hiking poles for support!
This is going to be a research trip for me. Eric and I are planning Japanese Folk Art and Textile Tour for Oaxaca Cultural Navigator in late October 2025, if all things align. We will focus on pottery, indigo dyeing, temple markets, sashiko embroidery stitching, and exploring food and culture. We are working with our friend Nancy Craft, Conde-Nast Japan Travel Expert, to assist us in building an itinerary and securing all the logistics to make a trip like this possible.
My Question: Would you like me to report on what I discovered on this Japan trip that starts Friday with intermittent blog posts? Would you be interested in this?
As ever, thanks for reading. All my best, Norma
This is a Sashiko embroidered hat made by Keiku in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, in the Hida region of central Japan. She works on indigo dyed cloth, much of which is vintage. I will visit her with the hope that we can include a hands-on experience for our October 2025 tour. I’m meeting her on the east side of the Red Bridge and she will take us to her home in the historic district, where she has her studio. It’s been a back-and-forth arranging this private visit. Keiku doesn’t speak English and I’ve been communicating with her son Atsushi, who lives in the USA with the help of my friend Svetlana, a textile installation artist.
Three Days — October 27, 28, 29, 2024, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Arrive just before Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead to explore the Zapotec village of Teotitlan del Valle as preparations begin for this grand celebration to honor the ancestors. We take you inside people’s homes and workshops where you might never have access on your own. We explore the 17th century church, ancient archeological sites, the local market, and wander cobblestone streets to find hidden treasures that you will capture with your camera. We arrange portrait sessions with local families where we take you on an insiders journey to document how locals live and work.
We welcome novice and experienced photographers who want to capture people and place. We focus on portrait and street photography, how to look for that great shot and compose it for greatest impact. We do NOT teach you how to use your camera. We teach you what to look for, how to frame a photograph, perspective, how to determine what to shoot close-up and from a distance. We will discuss editing techniques, too. We welcome all types of cameras from DSLRs to iPhones.
Our workshop day is from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. We will meet each morning as a group to discuss process and technique, show our work, give and receive feedback. Then, we will venture out into the village to explore.
Your instructor is Luvia Lazo. She is featured in The New Yorker magazine. You can read more about Luvia and see her work on her website. You can also do a Google search to see and read more!
Luvia is described this way: Photography is her way of portraying the worlds to which she belongs. Her work aims to capture reality from the perspective of the contemporary Zapotec woman, creating a constellation of images through time and spaces in Oaxaca, documenting the generational gaps and the transformation of identities across ages.
She is a recipient of the Jóvenes Creadores grant of the FONCA 2020 (National Fund for the Culture of the Arts, Mexico) and inaugural recipient of the Indigenous photo grant 2021 supported by Leica and Photoville.
Cost: $995 per person. This includes three workshop days, all instruction, three lunches, and one Grand Finale Dinner where we present our best work.
The cost does not include lodging, breakfast or transportation. We recommend several bed-and-breakfast inns where you can book your lodging directly with the innkeeper at your own expense, once you register for the workshop. These are Casa Elena, La Cupula, and Las Granadas.
The workshop will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. We will send you meeting location and other details in late September. We suggest you book your lodging to arrive October 26 and depart on October 30.
Photos by Luvia Lazo
How to Reserve Your Space — We are limiting participation to 10 people.
We request a $995 payment in full to reserve. Payment can be made with a Zelle transfer (we will send you a request for funds when you send us how your Zelle account is registered), or we can send you a Square invoice to pay with a credit card (4% service fee added). Please advise which payment method you prefer.
Cancellations. If you cancel on or before August 15, 2024, we will refund $500 of your fee. After August 15, there are no refunds. You may consider purchasing international travel insurance that would allow you to file a claim in the event you are unable to attend.
If we cancel for whatever reason, we will offer a 100% refund of all amounts received to date, less the non-refundable deposit.
NOTE: Please bring one Covid test kit and a face mask to use in crowded spaces and inside homes where there is no air circulation. Local people do not have wide access to effective vaccines and are very vulnerable to Covid. We urge you to be up-to-date with all vaccines, including influenza and RSV.
Walking and Group Courtesy: We are at almost 6,000 feet altitude. Streets and sidewalks are cobblestones, and narrow. We will do a lot of walking. We will walk a lot — up to 10,000 steps per day at a moderate pace. We recommend you bring a walking stick and wear sturdy shoes.
NOTE: If you have mobility issues or health/breathing impediments, please consider that this may not be the program for you.
Traveling with a small group has its advantages, and also means that independent travelers will need to make accommodations to group needs and schedule. We include plenty of free time to go off on your own if you wish.
Jump into the magic of Oaxaca, Mexico, from January 11 to 17, 2025. During this six-night, seven-day immersion tour you will discover (almost) everything this UNESCO World Heritage city has to offer. You will take a hands-on cooking class from a traditional chef who uses an outdoor wood-fired kitchen to prepare acclaimed pre-Hispanic dishes, visit the bustling Mercado de Abastos to shop, taste and savor artisanal mezcal especially distilled from rare wild agave, visit outstanding makers of craft and textiles that distinguish Oaxaca and elevate her above and beyond any place in the world, sample street tacos, take a graphic arts and printmaking workshop from a renowned artist, and enjoy the best that Oaxaca has to offer. Recap it all at our Grand Finale Dinner at one of Oaxaca’s top restaurants. A perfect Oaxaca Visitor’s Tour.
We will be based in one of Oaxaca’s most trendy, vibrant neighborhoods where murals will dazzle you, coffee bars will delight you, restaurants will tempt you, and galleries will excite you.
PRELIMINARY ITINERARY
Day 1 – Saturday, January 11. Arrive to Oaxaca, check into our comfortable hotel located in one of the city’s most captivating neighborhoods filled with murals, galleries, coffee bars. Meet for a no host dinner at 6:00 pm. We suggest you arrive before 3 p.m. today. Meals included: none.
Day 2 – Sunday, January 12. Today we start with an orientation and introduction during breakfast. Then we get in the van for a short trip to Santa María Atzompa, where we will meet a traditional cook who specializes in pre-Hispanic food prepared in an outdoor smoke kitchen called Cocina de Humo. First, she takes us on a culinary shopping tour of Mercado de Abastos, the largest Oaxaca market, to procure all the ingredients we need. After our workshop and delicious lunch, we will visit our friend Rufina who specializes in making pottery with lead-free glazes and oxygen reduction techniques. We will return to the hotel in time for you to enjoy Margaritas and dinner on your own. Meals included: breakfast and lunch.
Day 3 – Monday, January 13. After breakfast, our luxury van takes us deep into the Ocotlan Valley. We call this the Handcraft Route since it takes us through black pottery studios, embroidery workshops, and wood-carving spaces. We introduce you to the famed painter Rodolfo Morales who created extraordinary murals of rural life in the municipal building and then move on to meet a cooperative of embroiderers where we will learn about the different techniques used for ceremonial garments in San Antonino Castillo Velasco. Our lunch is at an outdoor kitchen in San Martin Tilcajete, one of our favorite spots for relaxed al fresco dining. Meals included: breakfast and lunch.
Day 4 – Tuesday, January 14. Wear your comfortable shoes for a city walking tour – we will cover a lot of territory! First, we stop to meet our artist friends at a printmaking collective gallery, learn about the rich graphic art movement in Oaxaca, and take a deep dive into learning more about lithography by taking a workshop. We guide you every step of the way. After a lunch of street tacos at one of our favorite taquerias, we recharge and refresh, then carry on to the Benito Juarez Market, the Museo Textil de Oaxaca, and a noted folk art gallery. Meals included: breakfast and lunch.
Day 5 – Wednesday, January 15. Weaving is Us! Today we travel to Teotitlán del Valle, the famed tapestry weaving village forty minutes outside the city to meet our family of weavers who create outstanding traditional and contemporary designs using all natural, sustainable dyes. Then, we visit a cooperative of women who specialize in making bags and purses from leather and tapestries. After lunch on the way to Mitla, we will meet up with our friend Arturo for a demonstration on flying shuttle land back strap loom weaving techniques. Home goods are his speciality!
Then we will stop at our favorite Palenque – the distillery — to learn everything about how artisanal mezcal is made, ending our day with a tasting of rare wild and espadin agave spirits. Meals included: breakfast and lunch.
Day 6 – Thursday, January 16. After breakfast you are on your own to explore the city at your leisure until we meet at a top-rated Oaxaca restaurant for our Grand Finale Dinner. Meals included: breakfast and gala dinner.
Day 7 – Friday, January 17. Depart to home. We will help you arrange transportation at your own expense to the Oaxaca airport, or extend your stay independently, or add-on a one- to three-day natural dye workshop (lodging not included). Meals included: breakfast.
What’s Included:
6 nights lodging at a comfortable hotel in the heart of one of Oaxaca’s most artistic neighborhoods
6 breakfasts
4 lunches
1 Gala Grand Finale Dinner with complimentary Margarita
Luxury transportation to artisan villages
Cocina de Humo cooking class
Printmaking workshop
Mezcal tasting
Demonstrations and market visits
An immersion experience beyond your dreams!
Tour Cost:
$2,790, Single—one-traveler in room with one bed and private bath
$2,190, Double—two travelers in room with either two beds or one Queen or King bed, private bath
Add 10% for a ground floor room and eliminate the stairs
Discounts: Oaxaca snowbirds and residents with your own lodging, take $500 off tour cost!
Send a $500 non-refundable deposit (first payment) to guarantee your place.
The balance is due in two equal payments. The second payment of 50% of the balance is due on or before September 1, 2024. The third payment, 50% balance, is due on or before November 15, 2024. We accept payment using Zelle cash transfer or a credit card with Square. For a Zelle transfer, there is no service fee. We add a 4% service fee to use Square. We will send you a request for funds to make your reservation deposit when you tell us you are ready to register. Please tell us how your account is registered (email or phone number).
After November 15, 2024, there are no refunds. If you cancel on or before November 15, 2024, we will refund 50% of your deposit received to date (less the $500 non-refundable deposit). After that, there are no refunds UNLESS we cancel for any reason. If we cancel, you will receive a full 100% refund.
Required–Travel Health/Accident Insurance: We require that you carry international accident/health insurance that includes $50,000+ of emergency medical evacuation insurance. Check out Forbes Magazine for best travel insurance options. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/travel-insurance/best-travel-insurance/
Proof of insurance must be received at least 45 days before the tour start date.
Add from 1 to 3 days of a natural dye workshopeither before or after the tour for a deeper dive into textile arts. Work with indigo, cochineal, wild marigold, tree bark and other plant dyes. Create your own sampler and record formulas to carry home with you.
Why Travel With Us: Help sustain regenerative traditions.
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
October 27, 28, 29: DAY OF THE DEAD PHOTO WORKSHOP in Teotitlán Del Valle with Luvia Lazo, featured in The New Yorker Magazine. Portraits and Street Photography, recipient of Leica Women Foto Project Award Winner 2024. This is an insider's Street and Portrait photography experience. We visit families in their homes to arrange photo sessions, we take you on the back streets where tourists rarely go.
October 30: Bucket List Day of the Dead Immersion in Teotitlan del Valle A one-day immersion into culture, traditions, and meaning. Build an altar. Gather altar decor at the special market. Savor a homemade tamale lunch. Taste mezcal. Visit artisans. Dye a special textile. Register FAST.
December 6-14: Oaxaca Textile Tour and Workshopsincluding dye and weaving workshops, Tlacolula market and 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, potteries, eat street tacos, taste artesanal mezcal, shop at markets, explore the depths.
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. Get on the Interested List. Details to Come. 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 pottery, visiting a master, then have lunch with a Traditional Oaxaca Cook who is the master of mole making. In Mitla, we meet with our favorite flying shuttle loom weaver, and then finish off with a mezcal tasting at a palenque you will 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. 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.
