Product Features: 

• Dimension: 6.75" H x 2.8" W x 1.6" D
• Weight: 0.088
• Color: Yellow
• Material: Wool felt, cotton tassels and trim
• Made in Mexico

Story Behind the art:
Latest Update

As an artisan, I am happy to do something that I like that also provides income for me and my family. This past year that I have worked with Novica has allowed me to heighten my vision for selling my work. I realized that I could export at a worldwide level, just like I dreamed.

One of the challenges at the beginning was adapting ourselves to the quality required, creating more precise items with quality processes that reflected our passion. This was something that we did not originally take into consideration. But, with the help of each one of our artisans, we have continued to improve our finishing techniques and create new designs.

We began to realize that our sales were growing as your asked us for more and more designs. We were scared at first, but my niece Petrona put herself in charge of our production and it began to flow better. We started to organize as I coordinated myself with my nieces and nephews in order to grow more. They are are the ones who are most active now in preserving this beautiful Chamula tradition. Today, my niece creates the pieces that are destined for the catalog. I have taught her the same way my mother once taught me.

We are very happy to work in this way, knowing that our work is going to places that we didn't even imagine existed. We want to continue sharing our best with as many people as possible, which makes us so happy. Thank you very much.

Maria's work has participated in national exhibits and she is included in the book Grand Masters or Mexican Popular Art.

Original Artisan Story

My greatest inspiration is the Maya culture, its symbology, my roots.

I'm Maria Patishtan. I was born in a small Maya village in Chiapas. When I was just a girl, my mother taught me to weave using wool on a backstrap loom. She did a lot of weaving.

My mother knew how to weave in the style of San Juan Chamula. She also knew how to weave blankets and cushions in the brightly colored style of Tenejapa, decorated with roses in red and fuchsia.

When my father died, my mother supported us with her weavings. I remember her working at her loom and I learned just from watching her.

I married when I was 15 but I had just turned 17 when my husband died. I didn't have any way to feed my children but, amid my desperation, I met Marta Turok, who worked with the Instituto Indigenista de México. I started working with her and selling my handicrafts.

I began working and working. I took many trips to Mexico City and worked on my weaving there, too. I sold my designs in the Museum of Popular Arts. I looked after my work to be sure it was good. At one time, Marta and I had 88 artisans working with us. They even consider me a grand master artisan.

When things in my life were getting better, some of my neighbors in the village began feeling jealous. They started all kinds of gossip about me and I couldn't stop laughing at the outlandish things they were saying.

The handmade touch of artisan skill creates variations in color, size and design. If buying two of the same item, slight differences should be expected. Note: Color discrepancies may occur between this product and your computer screen.

Imported