Back to the Chili Bowls and trays … one of my favorite products and one of my favorite suppliers .. Augustine and his family.

This is my second year of trading with Augustine and we are definately moving forward. Its a slow process .. we are both small traders … but its a worthwhile one - I really believe in him and his products.  

I placed an order of the Chili Bowls (big and small) at the end of January, so I retuned at the beginning of April to;

1) Check, collect and ship the order. Watch Augustine paint if possible.

   Checking and packaging the order late at night .. a ball ache of a process and very hot .. takes much longer than you would think, and silly things like getting hold of decent size and strength card board boxes can be tricky and take time.

  new fruit design has worked out well.

     Augustine painting a large yellow pepper bowl. great to watch him doing it … the skill and experience he has.

      

Augustine and his son (Augustine jnr) working together. Augustine Jnr is a fan of Bad Boy Rapper 50 Cent styliii hats and likes his new headphones … he is 14. 

2) On the way to and from the wood supplier we talked more in depth (through Sue who acted as a fluent Spanish translator) about longer term plans and also we learned a little more about Augustine and his story.

a) The next 18months plans - We discussed lead times  and agreed that 3 months notice was sufficient from ordering the wood to painting and shipping and arrival in the UK. 2 orders should be placed a year in January and July/August. This should give Happy-Hammock stock for the summer festival season and the Autumn Charity and Christmas seasons.   

b) Future … Augustine currently has his wife and his son who take on some painting jobs. He also employs 2 other painters when there is overflow work. These people concentrate on specific designs where he takes on the more complicated or important work. Excluding the everyday selling from the stall, he has 2 other major clients in Mexico and the group of 3 including Happy-Hammock is more than enough work for now. He is happy for our order size to increase over time as we are one of the origional 3 suppliers he is committed to … LUCKY!! 

Augustine and I have agreed that over the next 18months we have to find a way to communicate and order/supply dirrectly, as it will not be possible for me to visit Mexico every year.

My committment to this process is to continue learning Spanish … all communication can be in Spanish. Augustine’s committment is to investigate ways that he and his son can learn to use the computer and the internet. I have agrred to come back next year to take this further and maybe invest in a short course for the son (who is more open to the idea and would be a good investment for the future for both parties).   

c) Augustine the man - about 5 years ago Augustine moved (illegally) to Houstan (Texas, USA) for 3 years. He left Slyvia and the children behind in Mexico and didn’ t come back to them for the full 3 years. This seems to be a similar story for many Mexicans that was to make any significant amount of money quickly. Augustine did this so that he could buy his current market stall from his sister. A wise decision in the long run, but must have been very difficult for them all at the time. He worked for a nice man doing gardening and any other oddjobs that came up. He told us about the place he got accross the border and how a group of c. 8 of them hired a ‘coyote’ to get them accross. This is a Mexican that acts as their guide and each memeber in the group paid him US$2,000 (!). Augustine commented on how the ‘coyotes’ are very rich mexicans now, and how you don’t really need them but they play on your innocence and the dangers if you haven’t crossed before … to make you think that you do need them.

Augustine is such a nice man that I feel relieved that he found a good American to work for. I have heard other stories of how they can be exploited and treated badly. I guess if you are illegal they have you over a barrell. It made me think of the Eastern Europeans in the UK right now.    

3) Visit the wood supplier to get more information on this part of the supply chain:

   View of the village (Acahuizotla) as we came into it. Pretty isolated.

  Carpenters work shop on the side of a field.

    Pre and post carving.

We were very lucky in that Augustine came with us on this trip and let the carpenters know that we wanted to see them work and talk about their side of the operation. The 3 main men that met us were Alberto, Bernado and Raul. There were others hanging around but I think they were just curious about 2 white girls turning up to see a carpenter at work! 

  First step … Bernando sawing up the tree trunks into the right sizes. He told us that you need to have a licence to chop down trees - he assured us that he has one although I didnt feel able to ask to see it at this stage. He also told us that the new government that came in ayear or so ago has been making it clear that they are concerned about deforrestation. Bernando told us of a programme of re-planting that has come in in the last year, and how there is a new nursery near by where new trees are being grown.

Second step was to watch Alberto carve out a bowl. The diameter of the required bowl is marked on the raw circular piece of wood which is then attached to a motorised spinning wheel (like a potters wheel). Alberto then goes to work and within a few minutes the bowl starts to take form. This really is hand made … it made me realise that getting a standardised shape may be possible but the bowls will never all be EXACTLY the same because a machine doesnot control the shaping process.   

Alberto carving a bowl ….   

        

      

Types of wood used :

a) Huimuchil - a tropical wood, light, grown locally and easy to carve. Favoured by Augustine because it is a blonde wood so easy to paint over with white or yellow and no ’shadows’ show through.

b) Parotoa - again a tropical wood but lighter and darker in colour. Not favoured by Augustine because of the colour but we discussed using this for the bowls with the natural background because it gives them more texture.

 the gang…Bernado, Augustine and Alberto 

  beers all round … after a hectic day seemed rude not too and the boys certainly appreciated it as a ‘thank you’.

New ideas:

  Discussing options for the sizes and shapes of the bowls.

  Ideas … stacking bowls .. maybe sets of 3 or 4 bowls.

All in all a very interesting, sucessfull and productive visit. A good day for Happy-Hammock!

Hobo out!

 

 

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San Cristobal is also known for its Amber, and there are a group of Artisans that work here producing some pretty fabulous jewlerry .. based around this material.

  Here it Amber in its raw state

I worked with 2 Artisans in San Cristobal to bring a starter range of earrings to you. See what you think.  

1) Albero

  pretty chilled kinda dude .. likes to play the recorder and wear Bob Marley hats. Great Atrisania … I really liked his style.

Albero hard at work making our earrings ….

       

finished products …

  Amber and Turquoise drop

    Amber and Amethyst

2) Marta

  packaging up the finished order

   the finshed product, amber and turquoise … LUSH!

Here are some models from the local cafe Paticia and Maria.

     the troublesome duo … my breakfast friends in San Cristobal.

  Patricia (Patti 26)     Maria (27) 

They would like would my male readers to know that they are currently single … and I would like you to know that they make up a really good eggs and bacon breaki … so if you are ever in San Cristobal, Chiapas .. please consider popping into Cafeteria Del Centro on Real de Guadalupe. Say ‘hi’ from me.

Hobo out x

This group of weavers and embroiders did an order for me last year and I was impressed with its quality, the timliness of the order and also you guys liked and bought their goods .. so I returned this year to further the relationship and place another order.   

This is placing the intial order with Lucas and his wife Juana at the beginning of February.

   

Lucas and Juana act as the representives for the group and are middle and right in the first picture.

 Here’s a new design of embroidery (flowers) that I have asked them to work on for this order of bags.

I then re-visited the village at the end of March to collect the order and talk about future plans. I hired a translator for this trip (Angel .. prnounced Anhil) .. because my Spanish wasnt good enough to ensure that my message got accross clearly. These meetings with the village are so precious and few and far between, I feel enourmous pressure to acheive as much as I can in a short space of time, and ensure that I communicate well and my thoughts and intentions are made clear.

 Me discussing the order with the group and watching them work.

The meeting was held in their area of the village about 5 miles outside of Chamula. We are sitting outside Lucas and Juana’s house in a circle around Lucas, Juana, Angel and me and the order. The women are sitiing around us working on new items listening intently.

    the way the meeting works is that I talk to angel in English, he then interprets in Spanish to Lucas who then translates into Tzotzil to the women in the group .. and vice versa.  

A lot was discussed at this meeting .. and I dont want too bore you too much .. I will try and summarise into a few points the most important exchanges.

a) Firstly, both parties agreed how happy we were to do see each other again and do business. I asked what difference my order made to their small group and they said that it was significant because it was quick business. When they sell goods to the Co-Operative in San Cristobal it can take upto a year for them to see any return (no joke).

b) I let the group know that last year I did my inital sample trading with 5 groups in different villages in the region but theirs was the only one that I had returned to. This was for 3 reasons; - 1) the goods were made to a high quality and on time 2) they sold well in UK .. and are have a more commercial edge and 3) I enjoyed the visit with the village in the previous year and I felt there was opportunity for us to work and to learn together.  

c) I cheked the order that was put infront of me. I was happy with the quality but there were some errors in the mix of quantities. The group acknowledged the errors and said that they were really embarrassed and that it wouldn’ t happen again. It was a bit of a tense moment and I had to quickly reasure the group that whilst it was an error, it wasn’ t a major one and I was much happier that they had acknowledged the mistake and taken responsibility for it rather than act like they didn’ t undernstand and/or care. I reasured the group that for me that was a VERY positive sign.

d) I put the women the question of how I can place an order with them from England and we had a long debate about communication. The end result was that they undestood that I would financially not be able to come over every year, so we had to seek alternative methods. My agreement was to continue learning Spanish and Lucas has agreed to investigate over the next year, learning how to use the computer and internet. This is a big step forward. My gut feeling is that I will need to visit them next year as well, but by the end of that visit we should be able to be in a position where I can place an order from England using a combination of phone and Internet. Fingers crossed!

  Amazing group shot with the order in front.

 

   Working away embroidering a kids top

   Embroidering a bag

It was lovely to see the same people again and start to recognise their faces and see how the kids have grown.

  Yolanda and her new baby brother Albero.   

   Lucas’ 3 sons.

The visit with the group was a really positive and happy one. I was knackered at the end of the day but ecstatic … it is days like today when the reason behind Happy-Hammock seems clear and even ‘do-able’ to me. It’s a long process for sure .. would be much easier to source from a factory in China … but its the people and their stoies that really make these products special. I love trading in this way.

A very happy hobo out x

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Happy Hammock has been very busy in Guatemala … starting to develop the kids clothes range …

The basic idea is to try and use tradionally woven materials with designs inspired by existing Guatemalan fabrics and then to turn these into cute little outfits and accessories suitable for your little ones.

Guatemalan fabrics are pretty amazing anyway .. so it wasn´t hard to find inspiration. Here are some pictures of women carrying children on their backs in the traditional way …

                             

The fabrics they use are amazing … but also the method seems totally practical, leaving their hands free, and often a sleeping baby content to go and do whatever their busy mother needs to.   

We have decided to try a range of these types of accessories, including the baby sling, which conveniently comes with an instruction manual showing you the ways that the fabric can be tied and how you can carry your infant. The colours that will be available are a red stripe and a blue/turquoise stripe….. the product range also includes matching booties (!) and a matching baby changing mat which conventiently folds up to a handy size.

More pictures to follow .. so watch out Happy Hammock friends with babies .. you will be our models for these products in England … the baby slings are amazing - I´m really excited about them.

We also happily discovered a man called Sebastian and his wife, Juana who are sourcing materials locally in fab colours and making up very cute little dresses and ´capuchas´or hoodies to you and me.

    Juana at their stall

   Dresses …     Sample dress in green.

    

Capucha´s as modelled by Sebastian´s son, Gerzon (2 1/2 yrs olds) .. although not too keenly!

       also modelled by Lourdes Garcia (age 4) 

Coming to Happy Hammock we have:

Dresses (design above) in Green, Red and Blue/Purple. The sizes are age 6m´s, 1-2yrs and 2-3yrs.

and;

Capuchas in the traditioanl dark blue ´Jaspe´(as above), also in Turquoise and Red (strippy design). Ages 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4.  

´Jaspe´is the most traditional design on material .. it is the design that most women use for their skirts.

Other dresses coming soon to Happy-Hammock are these below - they are beautifully made with great attention to detail including a little bow tie at the back above the clasp.

  Lourdes Garcia (4yrs in Green) and Melanie Reyes (2yrs in Pink)

   Melanie .. giving me her best pose! 

   Bow at the back and detail of the material

       Melanie in the blue dress .. front and back

3 colours available, Pink, Blue and Green - and in 2 sizes, ages 1-2 and 2-3. although the dresses are long so can easily extend up and age bracket as shown by Lourdes in the Green dress in the first picture.

As always we have also sourced some goods for the market stall .. and have managed to aquire more stock of the old favorite from last years markets … Hippy Dungarees .. and this year they come in dress form as well!!

      

We can not sell these on line because each pair is unique .. so only for the market stalls and events over the summer.

Anyway .. I hope you like so far … let me know your thoughts via the contacts page!

Happy Hobo out

 

 

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The woven textiles here are AMAZING …. I´m in love .. there are so many great colours and designs.

Weaving is a part of life for most women (i.e those still living in villages and not residing in the main cities) .. it is just part of their family role. Like just accross the border in Chiapas Mexico, most villages have their own type of style of paterrn on the weaving, and these partterns are used in their clothes (huipiles). It identifies where people are from.

The weavings that i have taken too are from the Todas Santos village that is near the Mexican border in the mountains. I have not been able to visit there yet (a tad difficult to get to and not too much time) .. but there are many examples of their work in the markets and there are families from this village that live in Antigua weaving and selling their work in the market.

One such lady is Marina (left) and her mother Candalaria:

  

Their tops are made out of the woven and embroidered material that the purses, cushion covers and cosmetic bags are based on. The skirts are usually the darker plainer ´Jaspe´material that are used for a lot of the backs or backgrounds of the products.

Here are some pictures of Marina weaving and embroidering a piece for a cushion cover for Happy-Hammock.

      

Here are some of the finshed product ….

        

Some great colours here … Red, Green, Blue, Purple & Turquoise.

Im not sure whether I will be able to sell these on line as each one may have the same base colour but the pattern of the stiching may be slightly different.

I attach a few more pictures of the stiching up close so that you can see the kind of work that goes into each one …

            

This is the back of one of the central pieces .. !

  Lots of work … the pattern is individually stiched into the weave.

As you know my aim is to find and develop products that use traditional techniques and materials to make commercial items for you … cushion covers here … but also they make cosmetic bags using the embroidered huipile design for pattern.

        

Nicely lined with 2 zipped pockets. great colours .. purple and red. Approx 20cm in length.

Another product made form the huipiles is purses of differnt sizes. Unfortunatley they are all different .. amazing but different .. so I will only be able to sell these directly or at one of my market stalls or events over the coming year.

Here are some pictures of the purses and the colours …

                         

It may be easier to see how extrodinary they are .. by looking at a few individually …

         

  

Pretty cool huh …. I´ve accumulated about 6 for myself so far ….

Happy Guatamalan Textile Hobo out

Hola!

I have retuned to Mexico and Guatemala on a much briefer trip to try and develop the relationships with existing suppliers further.

The main suppliers and products I will be working on are:

A) Hand Painted Bowls and Trays with Augustine.

These have been a real sucess story at the shows and in private sales … it has become clear in the last year that this is a person and product line worth pursuing and investing in.

My goals with Augustine are: 

1) Currently Augustine and I are both small time traders and I want to talk with him about how much I believe in his product and that in order to make this trading relationship long term and sustainable we have to build it reasonably slowly and with strength. 

2) I want to visit the wood supplier in the mountains and talk about the importance of uniform size bowls for sale on the internet. I also want to see how the wood is treated.

3) My aim is to increase the volume and frequency of the orders. I want to intruduce Augustine to the idea of a rolling order .. e.g. every 4 months, so that he can plan his side the supply chain and manage his work load. I would like to be able to commit to this for at least the next 18 months. I want to ask Augustine about how he will manage the work load if it doubles within the next 18 months .. what are his plans for the future etc…

4) I will consider expanding the product range .. fo example including the fruit design for bowls and trays.

B) Silver Taxaco

Then to Taxco to re-order some Silver - in particular the increasilngly popular Stars or Estrella (in Spanish). More on this in a later post … I have placed the orders but collect in a month or so.

As a heads up .. I am very pleased with the new Star design … it´s a chunky smallish star but on a long chain so that it hangs mid-riff. Love that length!!

C) Hammocks

Considering the name of the company .. it really is about time that I included Hammocks in product range. Mexico Yucatean Hammocks are well known as some of the best in the world … (no one hangs in a hammock like a Mexican man!) … I started to investigate sourcing hammocks here last year and bought a few samples but had major issues in shipping them. Lessons learn´t, I will return and pursue.

Here are some of the designs being pursued:

  Mexican Fiesta Hammock

   Sea Breeze Hammock

I will also include some plain colours like red, green and blue.

These are string hammocks .. made of cotton and are extremely comfortable. I went to visit the place where they are made and was lucky enough to be able to film them at work .. so hopefully when I get back we will be able to put a bit of this video on the website. There are also clips of how to string up the hammock .. and even a Mexican man showing us how to a good position for a quality snooze!!

D) Kids Clothes Guatemala  

This is a product group that I really want to work hard on in this trip. I was not able to take this very far on the last trip .. so I anticipate that most of my time will be spent here. For those of you that have visited me on the market you may remember the funky kids dungarees …

        

Well, these are my inspiration .. I want to find some funky kids clothes that use traditionally woven and designed textiles but are made up into more commercial items for kids 6m´s - 4yrs. Not too hippy .. just cool with Guatemalan inspiration.  

More on this later …..

So .. here we go again !!

Hobo out.

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India - Rajasthan  

I arrived for the final month in India at the end of May. Straight into Dehli which has to be one of my least favorite places in the world … it is just soooo full on and finding a decent reasonably priced place to stay can be a bit tricky. Within 24hrs I was out of there and on a night train to Udiapur … a small lake town in Rajasthan. I had been here c. 8 years previously and was very keen to return. If you have ever seen the James Bond movie ‘Octapussy’, part of it was filmed here. There is a rather amazing hotel in the modlle of the lake called ‘The Lake Palace Hotel’ (funnily enough) .. this was the place used as Octupussy’s all woman palace in the film. It’s an incredibly romantic and beautiful town. 

              and crazy … 

Within a few hours I had run into a friend that I met here 8 years ago (wierd I know .. but he does live here). That was great and very interesting to catch up after all this time and see how each other had changed and yet were the still the same.

I decided not to do much sourcing here as I was out of cash and energy. HOWEVER .. I did do a little research on some potential products. In particular one of the things I like most about Rajasthani women is the colours and the elaborate jewellery they wear. These girls really know how to dress (having said that I would never bear my tummy in a sari any more … way too old for that). I found one shop just FILLED with bangles … it was like heavan. I have brought some of these back but because they are all different I will not be able to sell them on line just yet, but only privatley or at the shows / events. The owner of the shop Sanjay, was suitably fabulous and had a knack for posing in photos … check this out !

        

After a very hot 2 weeks in Rajasthan I decided to take the opportunity (season wise) to head to Northern India and visit Kashmir and Ladakh .. 2 very different states.

Kashmir:

A complex place for me .. Srinigar the capital of the province is pretty rough, not a pleasant place to walk around for me. Then on the outskirts of town are these lakes with houseboats on. A craze taken up by the English in colonial times because they couldn’t own homes in Kashmir. The houseboats are where the tourists and travellers stay and the lakes are very peaceful.

I went to a place called Mt Aru near Phalagram to walk, c. 3 hours from Srinigar. It was a bit off the beaten track but incredibly beautiful. Approached from Phalagram up a valley with cool mountain rapids flowing below. The area reminded me of the Alps .. cool Alpine forrests. The hike from Mt Aru was one of the most beautiful I have ever done … forrests, gypsies, shepherds, wild horses, snow capped mountains and glaciers in the distance. The scenery was magic, I kept expecting hobit like creatures to pop out. 

                         amazing pictures which hopefully give you an insight into the peoples and scenery of rural mountainous Kashmir. 

One downside was that we met 2 armed groups of surrendered militants (now working for the Indian Army to find real militants) .. meeting any armed group is enough to shake me. So I say with caution that this is am AMAZING place to walk and rest … but read up on it first .. be prepared because there are some issues here as well. Naturally I don’t have any pictures of these groups … wasn’t too sure how to ask! 

         The evenings entertainment in Mt Aru … guy dressed as a girl with a band of unusual intsruments, strutting his stuff .. very unusual and very funny ! 

After Mt Aru we went to another place c. 3 hrs the other way otherside of Srinigar called Yousmarg. Another stunningly beautiful walk ina remote place. Lush green forrests, covered in Fox Glove flowers, shephers and local women wandering with pots on their heads.    

         

Kashmiri Papier Mache Boxes:

One sourcing thing I was interested in in Kashmir was these papier mache boxes. I had bought a few in Rajasthan c. 8 years ago and they made wonderful pressies to put on your dressing table and keep jewellery and precious things in.

I found a place in Srinigar that had an ‘Alladins Den’ full of these  boxes .. heavan again.  

I have bought some sample boxes to see how they are received.

           

Ladakh.

Ladakh and Kasmir are neibouring provinces but to me the people and the vibe couldn’t have been more different. Kasmir is mostly Shia Muslim whereas Ladakh is mostly Tibetan Buddhist.

The road from Kashmir to Leh (capital of Ladakh) is a pretty hairy one. The first mountain pass was literally a small road cut out of the mountain winding up and down .. definately no room for errors with a shear drop on the side.

           an Indian man sitting next to me in the jeep declared that we were ‘close to heavan’ at this point! I just put my i-pod in and hoped for the best. Reaching Leh after a c. 16hr drive was a relief.

Leh was a wonderful place to end this epic enormous trip. I met a wonderful Maltese couple called Nicky and David and spent a week chilling at 3,500 altitude in the Himalayas. Walking and resting.

Here are some pictures from the end of the trip.

             yeahhhhhhyyyyyy love the mountains!

Until next time

Hobo out x   

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These are screen printed and come in fabulous colours, muted and bright. Very funky and cool, they are easy to dress up or down. They also come with matching lined purses.

       

 There are also cushion covers:

These are made by a small company in Phnom Penh, again providing vital employment to many people.

I came accross this organisation in 2006 at a Silk Fair heald in one of the main green squares in Phnom Penh. I had bought a few purses for friends and retuned to the UK with them. I specifically wrote to them this year telling them of my intention to return and see what other stock they make.

The organisation was set up in 2004 with an idea to develop job opportunities for Cambodian and socially business motivated people. It uses the Fair Trade guide when paying its artisans.

I liked the simplicity of some of the items that were being made here and decided that I could set up a ‘mix and match’ theme with the purses and jewellery pouches.

Here’s the colour theme:

  Orange, Chocolate Brown and Turquoise .. great colours individually or mixed in any combination.

  Blue Set     Chocolate Brown set    Orange purse       

 There are also some rather funky silk flower purses available:

  

Unfortunatley I was unable to make any of the groups making up this order as I was in Thailand getting bags. When I came back to Phnom Penh I was able to go and visit a couple of families/groups in the city. It was a similar story to the Kravan House visit. From what I can see the most important thing that these organisations provide is employment. The ability to make some money. That’s a hard thing in Cambodia … you only have to walk around the town for an hour and have literally 50 people ask you if you need a moto to see that earning money in this country is tough.

  One of the groups I went to visit in Phnom Penh, making silk business card holders.

When I return I want to develop this relationship further and visit more of the groups producing these items.

I have come across a nice organisation in Phnom Penh that sells amongst other things very sweet silk painted gift cards. It employs c. 20 disabled and disadvantged youths in Phom Penh and a few more at stores in Shianoukville and Siem Reap. It is one of the few organisations that I have dealt with that is offically classed as ‘Fair Trade’. The workshops are on 2 levels above the store in PP and they invited me up to watch them work. Most of the disabilites that I encountered were in relation to hearing.

Great idea to be able to order a card with your gift .. and a for a good cause.

 Lotus flower (1)

 Lotus flower (2)

 Gecko

   Elephant

  Cambodian Tree

I also got some small cards made up with stars and hearts for the ‘Estrella’ and ‘El Corozon’ ranges.

In Mexico I bought some small heart shaped pendants (think ‘Tiffany’ style) so together with a small heart card painted on silk will be perefect for Valentines day (maybe wrapped up in a red silk scalf from Cambodia and in a red bamboo bag from thailand). I also bought some small simple star/estrella pendants, that I was thinking would make awesome gifst for young girls .. together with the star card you can just tell someone ‘you’re my little star’. How cute is that!

  Estrella and El Corozon cards

  Estrella and El Corozon pendants

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