Sunday, September 29, 2013

Otomi's From China...Just Not the Same...

I was distraught to see the 
cover of the latest 
Wisteria catalogue.
On the sofa was a collection of pillows
 of Otomi design.
I noticed that they were being
done by machine using a crewel pattern.


The first thing that I noticed was that, 
 of course, the pattern on the pillows was exactly
 the same on each one.  
Definitely machine made, probably
in China or India.
One of the attractions of this ancient art 
 to me was that the 
Otomi women embroidered them
 free hand so that each was different.
 Of the hundreds I have 
sold, they were all one of a kind.
You can see the difference for yourself.
Insects, fauna, animals, flowers.
You always noticed something different as you
lived with them.
  A decade ago I went to the 
Enart trade show in
Tlaquepaque,  Mexico. 
 I am always looking for new textiles and
I found this family who had lived
for generations in the
 Sierra Madre Mountains and hand
embroidered fabric.
I placed an order and requested
 that they all the pieces
be done in one sold color. 
And in thread colors that they
 normally didn't use.
I immediately started a great 
relationship with these artists.
They were so kind and caring and just 
needed any outlet to support
their families.
My disappointment was that this would
 greatly cut into how many 
I sold, and then ordered from Mexico.
The Wisteria pillows are 
listed for $69 each.  
So this is an example of 
how doing trade with China has 
a global effect.
Kind of sad.

1 comment:

  1. More than sad. We've all been so conditioned in the US to seek the lowest price no matter what. What we end up with is No Matter What. Thanks for bringing attention this.

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