News — handmade

Raquel Ayala--master artesana of Capula

September 11, 2026 • artesania • artisans • Capula • ceramics • handmade • lead-free • pottery • sin plomo

Who makes this beautiful pottery?

Cinco de Mayo

May 02, 2025 • artesania • artisans • authentic • handmade

For us Cinco de Mayo represents pride and respect for Latino culture, which of course includes the beautiful handmade Mexican art we are proud to share with you.

Quality Matters

August 11, 2024 • artesania • buying artesania • handmade

Over our twenty year history (yes, 20!) we've had to struggle a bit with quality control. The artisans we continue to buy from year after year do a very good job. Sometimes we receive pieces that aren't up to our standards, and we usually let the producers know so they'll be more careful in the future. Occasionally we decide not to buy again from an artisan when he or she appears to be uninterested in improving the quality of their product. We strive to get the best quality because customer satisfaction is very important to us.

Fabulous--but NOT "fast fashion"

May 24, 2024 • embroidered clothing • embroidery • handmade • indigenous

In a couple of weeks we'll be heading to Michoacán to buy more artesanía, and as I've mentioned before, the prices on everything continue to rise. The biggest increase by far is with textiles. So while we in the U.S. see cheap clothing from China and elsewhere at Old Navy and Target costing sometimes less than we paid five years ago, the cost of a handmade embroidered blouse in Michoacán has actually doubled. So, the gorgeous blouses now on our website are in fact a real bargain. Like really inexpensive. You might be able to get one of these beauties yourself at the...

Capula Pottery: A Closer Look

September 23, 2023 • Arroyo • artesania • Capula • ceramics • clay • handmade • lead-free • pottery • traditional

Artisans in Capula sell thousands of quickly produced pieces like the ones in these photos every week (cazuelas, bean pots, plates and bowls) because it’s traditional and VERY inexpensive. What a lot of people don’t realize is that there are artisans in Capula who create similar pottery for cooking and serving food, pero es otra cosa--it's a whole other thing. Their work is definitely not ordinary, and “charming” doesn’t even begin to describe it.