The artisans of Oaxaca

“When I first started travelling to Oaxaca, I was instantly struck by its rich craft culture,” says Obakki founder Treana Peake. “I knew that I wanted Obakki to put down roots in the area.” The Canadian e-commerce platform, which also operates a showroom in Vancouver, stocks housewares, textiles and other handmade pieces by artisans living in places such as Turkey and Kenya, and carries the work of more than 15 potters, carpet weavers and candlemakers based in Oaxaca. “The creative spirit is palpable, and I’ve been so fortunate to have been able to experience this vibrant area in a personal and meaningful way,” Peake says.
During her 30-plus years of international development work, where she orchestrated the drilling of some 4,000 water wells, Peake regularly encountered creative people who were being taken advantage of by middlemen that profited from their talent and hard work. As a result, Obakki’s focus has always been on supporting its artisans with fair payment, training, business support and direct access to local and international markets.
Earlier this year, Peake was once again in southern Mexico on a buying trip. In the centre of Oaxaca City, with its narrow, cobblestone streets lined in colourful buildings and blossoming Guayacan trees, it was instantly clear why she fell under Oaxaca’s spell. The area is home to a diverse Indigenous population that includes the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs, who have held onto a more traditional way of life that includes designing and making beautiful objects and housewares.
Her first studio visit was to the workspace of Rufina Ruiz López in nearby Santa María Atzompa. When she’s not spinning her pottery wheel, Lopez is busy opening a new community-led retail space that is supported by Obakki. The Oaxaca City store is meant to give local artisans direct access to shoppers. A leadership role comes naturally to Lopez. Over the years, she’s opened up her workshop, giving many local women refuge from abusive relationships, a place to live and a way to earn a living while teaching them how to elevate their craft and operate profitably.
“Women were used to just making the things that [tourists] were buying, like the traditional stuff,” she explains through a translator, referencing a small pot that sold for 20 pesos, the equivalent of about $1.50. Rufina has focused her work on evolving these traditional designs to meet the needs of a broader pool of buyers, including designers working on new restaurants and hotels.
That commitment to empowering women is also present at the Mujeres Del Barro Rojo (or “women of the red clay”) in San Marcos Tlapazola. To source the material needed for their signature earthy pieces, these women have been climbing a nearby mountain for generations, each returning with 35 kilograms of raw clay on their backs.
It’s a laborious endeavour but one that opens career opportunities and a path to an independent livelihood. Macrina Mateo Martinez, who describes herself as the biggest rebel at the co-operative, learned how to work with clay by hand from her mother, and refers to her abilities as a gift from her ancestors. She says she’s proud to show visitors her creative process, which has resulted in innovative designs such as rust-coloured vases and pig-shaped salsa dishes that have been sold through the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Like Martinez, Doña Viviana Alávez defied tradition to follow her creative calling. After learning traditional candle making from her grandmother at age 8, Alávez was inspired to experiment with floral designs instead of more common fruit motifs, pulling apart real blooms to count their petals and replicate them in colourful wax. When her husband found out about her work, he forbade her from wasting her time and materials, so she pursued her new designs in secret while he was out of the house, donating the petalled creations to her local church. Her persistence paid off. Alávez’s candles were an instant hit with parishioners and have been featured in Vogue.
Today, tourists arrive in droves to visit Alávez’s studio, Casa Viviana, snapping photos of the artist at work by her wax-filled cauldrons. “People from all over the world come here to watch her work, to do her craft,” Peake says. A newer addition to Alávez’s catalogue is the Vancouver candle, a design she modelled after the lush dahlias she encountered while visiting the Obakki team in B.C. in the fall.
Alávez’s creative drive is mirrored in the work of Jose Garcia Antonio. A self-taught sculptor in his late 70s, Garcia Antonio first encountered clay as a child when he would play with earth after a rainfall. He lost his eyesight in his youth but continued sculpting with his wife, Teresita, as his guide. “Losing my vision was the reason why I stuck to this because I have been feeling the texture of clay for a long time and I decided to keep feeling it,” he says. Garcia’s studio shop is filled with eccentric figures such as mermaids, a nod to the childhood bedtime stories Garcia’s mother would tell him, and life-sized Oaxacans in traditional dress.
The visit’s last stop is Amando Pedro’s studio in San Bartolo Coyotepec where the focus is barro negro, a highly sought-after black clay that is unique to the area. His designs have unusual, dramatic silhouettes that he says are inspired by his dreams.
The work has attracted the attention of food and beverage brands, including Mexican coffee company Café Blasón, which included the studio’s black mugs in gift sets last year.
“You can walk into a store in the middle of Oaxaca and find a plate and say, ‘Oh I know who made this one,’” Peake says about her growing awareness of each artisan’s subtle design quirks and how they infuse the pieces she’ll buy for Obakki with a charming uniqueness. “When that’s paired with something that’s made for you, it makes it really special.”
Style Advisor travelled to Mexico as a guest of Obakki. The company did not review or approve this article prior to publication.