Once in a while a question shows up on my blog that is part of a key word search that I am compelled to write about, even though you can find this information through a search on this blog. And the answer is, it depends on what you are looking for. Oaxaca galleries and shops have abundant selection. If you go, please let them know you read about them here. The other option is to travel to particular villages and search out the finest craftspeople — an exercise that can take a lifetime! As a point of information, I write these reviews based upon my own knowledge and personal preferences, and am not compensated for any of these opinions. If you have suggestions for others, please feel free to comment.
Favorite shops for handwoven clothing and table linens:
Museo Textil de Oaxaca. The museum shop (closed Tuesdays and for afternoon lunch between 2-4 p.m.), features a small collection of very fine handwoven huipiles, scarves and shawls (silk, cotton, wool), pillow covers, handbags and jewelry. Prices are high, but so is the quality.
Remigio Mestas — Gallery Shop in the Los Danzantes courtyard on Macedonio Alcala features clothing and bolts of handwoven textiles. Remigio is the “go-to” man for all the major collectors. The array of textiles is mind-boggling. He encourages the best indigenous weavers from remote villages all over Oaxaca to use highest quality materials. The prices are premium and worth it.
Tally. This small, eclectic shop on Av. Cinco de Mayo between Abasolo and Constitucion, offers a small selection of huipiles.
Malacate by Silvia Suarez. She is a textile designer and friend of the Museo Textil de Oaxaca director Ana Paula Fuentes who selects high quality huipiles and embroidered fabrics and works with local seamstresses to create handbags and pillows, too. The shop is located on Gurrion, the short street that borders the side of Santo Domingo church, around the corner from El Che restaurant. Pricey and worth it.
The shop inside the La Biznaga restaurant courtyard on Garcia Virgil. They have changed owners and I don’t know the name. There are excellent textiles here at fair prices. You need to be able to discern the higher quality from the rest. Great gifts and contemporary jewelry at excellent prices, including alebrijes and stuffed animals from Chiapas.
Sheri Brautigam, La Lucita Imports, Oaxaca. (Not a shop, an individual designer). Sheri is a San Francisco textile designer relocated to Oaxaca, where she uses Tenancingo ikat woven cotton fabrics to fashion traditional quechquemetls, an indigenous shawl that is fabulous for throwing over your head to cover your shoulders. Contact Sheri directly at lalucita@yahoo.com or Mexico cell (044) or (045)-951-151-1557
La Mano Magica, Calle Macedonio Alcala pedestrian street between the Cathedral and Santo Domingo Church. Wide array of high quality folk art handpicked by Mary Jane Gagnier and textiles woven by Arnulfo Mendoza.
What to look for: uniform weave, tightly woven, strong seams, no fraying, finished edges.
Favorite shops for highest quality handwoven rugs using natural dyes:
Galeria Fe y Lola, Av. Cinco de Mayo between Constitucion and Abasolo, in Oaxaca city
El Nahual, Av. Cinco de Mayo next door to Galeria Fe y Lola, in Oaxaca city
Chavez Santiago Family Weavers, Francisco I. Madero #55, Teotitlan del Valle
Demetrio Bautista, Av. Benito Juarez, Teotitlan del Valle
Pantaleon Ruiz Martinez, Constitucion #12, Teotitlan del Valle
Bii Dauu Cooperative, Av. Iturbide, Teotitlan del Valle
All the young Teotitlan del Valle weavers who exhibited at the anthropological museum at Monte Alban I wrote about on this blog — not all their weavings use natural dyes, so you need to ask
What to look for: tight weave, double weft chords on each side, 10-12 threads per inch for traditional tapestry weave, 22 threads per inch for Saltillo weave, authentic use of 100% hand spun wool and natural dyes, straight edges so rug lies flat, securely tied fringes.
Why We Left, Expat Anthology: Norma’s Personal Essay
Norma contributes personal essay, How Oaxaca Became Home
Norma Contributes Two Chapters!
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Norma Schafer and Oaxaca Cultural Navigator LLC has offered programs in Mexico since 2006. We have over 30 years of university program development experience. See my resume.
Study Tours + Study Abroad are personally curated and introduce you to Mexico's greatest artisans. They are off-the-beaten path, internationally recognized. We give you access to where people live and work. Yes, it is safe and secure to travel. Groups are limited in size for the most personal experience.
Programs can be scheduled to meet your travel plans. Send us your available dates.
Designers, retailers, wholesalers, universities and other organizations come to us to develop customized itineraries, study abroad programs, meetings and conferences. It's our pleasure to make arrangements.
Our Clients Include
*Penland School of Crafts
*North Carolina State University
*WARP Weave a Real Peace
*Methodist University
*MINNA-Goods
*Selvedge Magazine
We offer textile experiences in our studio where we weave and work only in natural dyes.You can see the process during our textile tours, dye workshops or customized weaving experiences. Ask us for more information about these experiences, customized scheduling, and prices.
Oaxaca has the largest and most diverse textile culture in Mexico! Learn about it.
1-Day OaxacaCity Collectors Textile Tour.Exclusive Access! We take you into the homes and workshops of Oaxaca State's prize-winning weavers. They come from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the Mixteca, Mixe, Amuzgos and Triqui areas and represent their weaving families and cooperatives here. For collectors, retailers, buyers, wholesalers, fashionistas.
1-Day Oaxaca Textile Walking Tour 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.
2022 Going Deep, Not Wide--Extended Tours
October 28-November 4, 2022: Women’s Creative Writing Retreat in Teotitlan del Valle — Memory and Tradition. Click this link to read about it. ONE SPACE OPEN FOR SHARED ROOM.
October 29-November 4, 2022:Day of the Dead Culture Tour. We meet locals and visit 4 villages to experience this mystical pre-Hispanic observance, awesome and reverent. Still space for a few more!
February 5-13, 2023: Bucket List Tour: Monarch Butterflies + Michoacan. Spiritual, mystical connection to nature. Go deep into weaving, pottery, mask-making and more! We haven't offered this tour since 2019 and we anticipate it will sell out quickly. TWO SPACES OPEN
February 21-March 1, 2023: Chiapas Textile Study Tour--Deep Into the Maya World Based in San Cristobal de las Casas, we travel to distant pueblos to meet extraordinary back strap loom weavers --Best of the Best! TWO SPACES OPEN
Stay Healthy. Stay Safe. In Oaxaca, wear your mask. Questions? Want more info or to register? Send an email to Norma Schafer.
Maps: Teotitlan + Tlacolula Market
We require 48-hour advance notice for map orders to be processed. We send a printable map via email PDF after order 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.
Dye Master Dolores Santiago Arrellanas with son Omar Chavez Santiago, weaver and dyer, Fey y Lola Rugs, Teotitlan del Valle
Where to Buy Fabulous Oaxaca Textiles
Once in a while a question shows up on my blog that is part of a key word search that I am compelled to write about, even though you can find this information through a search on this blog. And the answer is, it depends on what you are looking for. Oaxaca galleries and shops have abundant selection. If you go, please let them know you read about them here. The other option is to travel to particular villages and search out the finest craftspeople — an exercise that can take a lifetime! As a point of information, I write these reviews based upon my own knowledge and personal preferences, and am not compensated for any of these opinions. If you have suggestions for others, please feel free to comment.
Favorite shops for handwoven clothing and table linens:
What to look for: uniform weave, tightly woven, strong seams, no fraying, finished edges.
Favorite shops for highest quality handwoven rugs using natural dyes:
What to look for: tight weave, double weft chords on each side, 10-12 threads per inch for traditional tapestry weave, 22 threads per inch for Saltillo weave, authentic use of 100% hand spun wool and natural dyes, straight edges so rug lies flat, securely tied fringes.
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Posted in Clothing Design, Cultural Commentary, Oaxaca Mexico art and culture, Oaxaca rug weaving and natural dyes
Tagged best Oaxaca textiles, Chavez Santiago family weaver, La Biznaga, Oaxaca fabrics, Oaxaca textiles, Remigio Mestas, Sheri Brautigam, shops that sell fabulous textiles, Silvia Suarez, Tally, where to buy great Oaxaca textiles