How We Bring Beauty to You-Part 2

Photos and thoughts from the 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

Continued from the last post. . .
We eventually regrouped, gulped down some liquid yogurt for lunch, used the baño, and hailed a cab on the street. We told the cab driver we wanted to go to the village of Capula, a center of indigenous ceramic craft. The driver whistled, scrunched up his face and calculated: “Pues, es muy lejos...” (translation: “it’s very far” -- i.e., “it’s going to cost you a bundle”). We agreed on an estimated fare, jumped into the cab and headed out. On the way we passed miles of stone fences, laboriously constructed over the centuries – each stone lifted and set by strong brown hands. The fences looked like they had always been there.
 
In Capula, after bumping down many wrong streets and asking many puzzled bystanders, we finally rediscovered the home of the Juan Rosas family (whom we had not seen for 2 years).  Their son Juan (“Chino”), a brilliant ceramic painter who has won national awards, opened the door. Chino recognized us immediately and sent word to his father, who was in the market. Juan ran the entire distance, and leaned against a wall to catch his breath before he could speak to us. His wife Lourdes joined us later:  “Qué Milagro!” (“What a Miracle”) she said. “We have been thinking about you, and wondering why you hadn’t been back. But now here you are!” Her beautiful smile spread from ear to ear.

 Lourdes with her three sons: 
Brian (Koby), Juan Jr (Chino) and Misael (translator and accountant)

We bought some fine ceramics from the Juan Rosas family, while others gathered around to watch. The family will pack and deliver the ceramics to a stone carver in another village. The stone carver (with whom we had already placed an order), will carry the stone and ceramic pieces to Guadalajara in a pickup truck (we hope they get there). In Guadalajara, crafts from our many other Mexican stops will be consolidated in similar fashion for export to Chiripa.  The daisy chain process takes months.

In Capula, we also bought some delicate ceramic Catrinas from other sellers. These had to be wound in toilet paper and bubble wrap, carefully placed in a box, and carried with us to Patzcuaro. It was getting late in the afternoon, and the taxi driver was getting nervous.  Finally, we were ready. 

The stone carvings in Tzintzuntzan seem to grow up from the ground.

On the way back to Patzcuaro, we stopped to see the stone carver and tell him about the ceramics shipment that would be coming his way. He was eating a light meal with friends, at a makeshift outdoor table under a shade tree. At sunset, the taxi driver finally dropped us at our hotel and we give him a handsome tip (“Muy bién,” he beamed).
 

We left the box of delicate Catrinas in our room and used the baño.  After a long and hard day’s work, we decided that we deserved supper and a beer (“merecemos una cerveza”) at Lupita (photo of patio seating on the left), a new favorite restaurant up near the Basilica.  But first, we had to visit the artisans selling woven linens and milagro hearts....   -JKM

How We Bring Beauty to You--part 1

Thoughts and photos from the Feb 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

 

How do we bring the finest handmade crafts from remote Mexican villages to you? With a lot of love and hard work!  

 Corn platter by Nicolas Fabian, Santa Fe de la Laguana, Michoacan, Mexico.

Chiripa is hoping to have more in stock soon.

We personally visit dedicated Mexican artisans in their homes and family workshops. We hand-select works that have a human story to tell. We buy directly from the artisans, so they get the best possible return for their work. We pay in advance, and trust the artisans to deliver. They have never disappointed us. We have found sublime beauty in humble places, and made many wonderful friends. That more than compensates for the extra work. 

On our latest trip to Mexico, we visited the old colonial towns of Guanajuato, Dolores Hidalgo and San Miguel de Allende, as well as Patzcuaro in the highlands of Michoacán. We especially love Patzcuaro, which is within striking distance of a number of indigenous villages producing elegant crafts. On our latest trip, a typical day in Patzcuaro went like this: 

 

We threw off woolen blankets after a cold night, and took (brief) lukewarm showers. Donning sweaters, we went out for hot coffee and breakfast. Joggers were taking gentle morning turns around the sweet old plaza. The soft light filtered through the tall trees and warmed the adobe walls. After breakfast, we jettisoned our sweaters and put on baseball caps. Then to work!

We plunged into the labyrinthine public market to find the tiny stall belonging to Salvador Farran, one of just two remaining practitioners of the traditional Purepecha silver jewelry craft.

You should not expect to find Señor Farfan’s jewelry stall without an expert guide; but, if you want to try, you should look near the large collection of butcher stalls that have unrefrigerated beef sides, pig heads and strings of spicy red and green chorizo prominently on offer.

With a little luck, we found Señor Farfan. To the sound of hacking meat cleavers, we purchased some delicate hand-wrought traditional jewelry for Chiripa. 

We squinted as we emerged from the dark warren of the market. To save time, we divided our forces: some went to the basilica market to buy pine needle baskets, bracelets, weavings and carvings from the indigenous vendors. Others, drawing the short straw, went to the bank to exchange traveler’s checks for cash (artisans in remote villages do not accept credit cards, wire transfers or like forms of payment). The bank never cashes traveler’s checks with undue haste, so there was time to shop most of the basilica market. -JKM

The day in Patzcuaro will continue . . .

The San Miguel de Allende Flea Market

Thoughts and photos from the February 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

Markets are everywhere in Mexico. We were introduced to the Tuesday Flea Market in San Miguel de Allende. Located just outside of town, it has a circus atmosphere. Booth tarps rise from the ground with ropes and are tied together at large posts. The vendors move on to different cities in the area for the other days of the week. What a lot of work! You can find anything you need from clothes to tools to music to antiques, but, my photos seem to concentrate on the FOOD! Surprise.

The Mexican version of a Friday night Wisconsin Fish Fry!

 The best gorditas at the market!

 This is how to get kids to eat vegetables!

 Bushels of beans and anything else you can think of.

Jim M serenades our guide, Cherie. Jim L totes the bag of baskets I found.

A fun morning break. Then back to "real" shopping.  -kl

Artists in the Mercado

Photos and thoughts from the February 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

We never miss tromping through the Artisan Market in San Miguel de Allende. We have vendors there who we've worked with for years and we discover new ones every year. What I realized this year was that many are women. The shops open in the late morning and close around 5. Often children play while their parent(s) works. Sometimes young people practice their English on the tourists. Often the shop keeper is also the artist. Other times the workshop is off-site and the market booth is the retail outlet.

These four women were part of the Mercado experience on this trip.

We met Adela Flores on our very first buying trip to San Miguel de Allende six years ago. Her family makes the colorful painted blue clay figures, frames and boxes that brighten our walls. They also sell other items from their home state of Guerrero like coconut masks and silver jewelry. This year Adela greeted us again. We learned that she now has 3 children! "That's enough!" she volunteered.

We found Julieta Perez hammering milagros onto wooden hearts and crosses. Her work was very finely detailed and she greeted us warmly. I put together an order sitting on the tiny stool she uses as her workshop. Her fingers are stained from the finish on the wood. I marveled at the crude workspace virtually in a tunnel. No wonder the merchants are reluctant to arrive before noon.

Leonor is my new source for plain tin nichos; those tin boxes with glass doors that you can decorate with your own pictures, beads, and trinkets. Her shop has lots of tin things. I was admiring the variety and inquiring about quantities when she told me she could bring pictures and then make anything I wanted. I came back the next day, sat on yet another baby stool and worked on an order. The reason I had to sit for all this negotiating is that I'm quite sick with a cold at this point. The photo includes her son who is learning English.

The son on the right in this photo was also doing some translating for his very proud mother, but in this case he was translating from the native Huichol language to Spanish. This family was originally from Nyarit on the west coast of Mexico. They create the amazing beaded figures and yarn art that is embedded in beeswax. We will have a few new pieces of yarn art and beaded earrings to share when the shipment arrives. -kl

Mornings in San Miguel de Allende

Photos and thoughts from the Feb 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

San Miguel de Allende, in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, is an artist community welcoming visitors from all over the world, including the US. In fact, there is such a large community of US citizens and expats that people feel very comfortable visiting this idyllic town. I usually say that I prefer a more "authentic" Mexican experience, but, in fact, there is a lot to love about San Miguel.

One stumbles on art classes in almost any place. The town is beautiful with a scenic overlook, cobblestone streets and stunning cathedrals. Maybe someday I'll have time to join a class like this.

Mornings in Mexico can be a challenge for shoppers. Things don't really get going until 10 or maybe 11, or even Noon. And breakfast is sometimes hard to find. Street vendors are an option. They are busy places serving locals on their way to work. I'm not brave enough for street food, but I appreciate the effort and the delicious smells.

 

We received a recommendation for a new restaurant that is open at 8 a.m. (usually) and serves great coffee. Buen Dia, just off Reloj. It used to be called Buenas Dias and you can find reviews under that name. It's under new ownership, but the workers are the same. You can spot it by the lovely geraniums in the painted chair by the door.

I was still battling a cold at this point and mocha appealed more than straight coffee. This is what I got! It tasted as good as it looked. Buen Dia has become our every morning stop when we're in San Miguel de Allende.

Across the street from the restaurant we spotted a star just like the many we sell at Chiripa. Mexicans are a little more casual about their wiring. This photo was taken from the rooftop seating at Buen Dia.

One interesting feature in many Mexican plazas is the finely pruned wall of trees. One day we got to witness the pruning of these mammoth trees. It's all done by hand; not buzz saws; with gigantic ladders and a pruning sheers.

 

But, we have a lot of our own work to do in San Miguel de Allende and the next post will take you to some of our artist.  kl

Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato

Photos and thoughts from the Feb 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

From the city of Guanajuato, we bussed to Dolores Hidalgo, another city in the state of Guanajuato and home to fabulous ice cream sold on the central plaza. We arrived late, had dinner and I was too full to enjoy an ice cream. Tomorrow. . . But, tomorrow was Sunday and our morning walk told us that ice cream would be a later delicacy. Darn.

No one is shy about color in Mexico. I love it.

It was a calm Sunday morning; no flags unfurling in front of Father Hidalgo's historic church. I'm not your Mexican history maven, but, this is one of the most significant locations for the Mexican revolution. Look it up!

Our morning restaurant was still decorated in Valentines Day papel picado. 

Dolores Hidalgo is home to much talavera pottery and hand painted tiles. I love how the bandstand tiles were repaired on the side of the steps. 

 

Our prior trips to DH were quick stops at our favorite shop Liceagui. (I'll post more about them when the shipment arrives.) We were in need of a hotel and Estela recommended Hotel Hidalgo just off the main plaza. Now we can recommend it, too. Clean, convenient and very affordable: all Chiripa requirements.

Beginning in Guanajuato

Photos and thoughts from the Feb 2012 Chiripa buying trip to Mexico.

We began this year's trip with a stop in Guanajuato. Guanajuato is the captial of the state of the same name which is in the center of the country and northwest of Mexico City. The state sponsors an exposition to encourage importers to buy from state artisans. We were graciously met at the Leon airport by Rodrigo who had to pass on another state sponsored reception for Korean auto makers. They put us up for 2 nights at Edelmira Hotel Boutique in the center of the city and just a couple blocks from the expo.

We arrived close to 10 pm and the streets were teaming with people. I snapped this photo of a spontaneous sing-along. Rodrigo said this happens often; a favorite group starts playing and the fans gather and sing along. I wanted to roam the streets but was too exhausted from long and delayed flights. (I will try to avoid Houston in the future.)

The hotel is more upscale than typical Chiripa accommodations. We especially liked the down comforters. I took this photo to illustrate something I had not seen before. At the ends of the beds were wool weavings (tapetes). We usually tell customers this size is a table runner, but, in this case it looked lovely as an accent on the bed linens. 

I was sick most of the two days we spent in Guanajuato and I have no photos of the new products we found. I'll do an update when they arrive later this spring.  -kl