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

�

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!

 

 

�

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