In the early 16th century, when the Maya greeted the Spaniards friendly, they do not suspect how much misfortune would bring them these visitors. More than 500 years and many colonial crimes later, however, have preserved their cordiality towards foreign visitors. Many still wear their traditional clothes in everyday life, for which some tourists would give up their new Balenciaga dress without batting an eye. Most of the Huipils, the most common traditional garment in Guatemala are made on a backstrap loom. According to Quiche tradition, the art of weaving comes from the moon goddess Ixchel, and she is often represented as the Cosmic Weaver, seated in a backstrap loom.

These handmade bags made of colourful plastic stripe are maybe one of the most successful products in Mexico. Probably every woman in the country has at least one. The iconic baskets are everywhere specially at the markets and on the streets. The Basketry of Mexico has its origins far into the pre Hispanic period, it’s on of Mesoamerica’s oldest crafts, specially products for the daily use like the transport of wares. Nowadays the bags are traditionally made by prisoners, to earn some money for their familiy. This job oppartunity based on a government initiative that began in the early 20th century, to learn an artisan skill in order to provide a small income. The prision give only permission, they do not support the business nor provide the material.

Miniature Christmas trees made with rhinestones from the Czech Jablonec nad Nisou, bring shine to the smallest hut. The place is located in Bohemia, a region where glass jewelry and glass beads have been produced for centuries and whose production temporarily accounted for half of the world’s production of glass beads. Bangles were delivered to India, glass beads to Africa and small rocaille beads to the Native Americans in North America. Even today, the region still produces beautiful glassware, such as these trees.

Since 1937, the Jolka Festival has been celebrated in Russia on NewYear’s Day. Jolka stands in Russian for „fir tree”, which is splendidly decorated as a symbol of winter. Originally, the festival was intended as a substitute for the Christian Christmas, which the Soviets had banned in the October Revolution of 1917. Christmas with all its gifts was considered a capitalist feast for the wealthy bourgeoisie. The prohibition lasting until about 1935 when the New Year’s tree was revived for the children, and celebrated with Soviet ornaments and decorations. Ornaments of a religious nature were not allowed, but ornaments that could be used as toys or candy containers were available. The themes of the small glass objects were as secular as the occasion of the festival.

The Rhodope mountains lie in the South East of Bulgaria – on the border with Greece. It is said that they were once the home of Orpheus, the poet and singer of Greek mythology, who could sing so beautifully that even the hellhound Zerberus stopped barking. In these high lands the weaving skills learnt over generations to make warm and very durable blankets.

Among the desert communities in the state of Gujarat these vibrant embroidered door-hangings suspended over the entrance to homes and important rooms. These signs of welcome called toran, they have next to their decorative surfaces, ancient and sacred origins and an important ritual role.

For our new ceramics from Bulgaria we revived the magnificent history of the local pottery from Troyan. Over centurys the craftmen were inspired by the paintings of the famous Troyan monastery nearby. Nowadays fine examples of traditional pottery can be seen only in the town’s museum. We start to immitate these old models in a modern way with one of the last remaining pottery workshops in Troyan.

Candle carving is an old craft nowbody knows exactly where it came from. The candles is dipped into various waxes in different colors, adding layers and layers of colored wax nearly 30 -35 times. Due to the fact that after 15 minutes the wax hardens the carver has to work quickly.

Khadi is a hand-woven natural fiber cloth made from cotton, spun into yarn on a charkha, the famous indian spinning wheel. The term Khadi is derived from khaddar, which means a handwoven and handspun textile cloth. The production and trade with fabrics has a very long history in India, which goes back to ancient times. Mahatma Ghandi believed every yard of khadi bought would put food in the mouths of the starving and the poor of India. Along with the small hand-spinning wheel, the Charkha, Khadi became THE symbol of the nonviolent struggle for independence that Ghandi led.

The real Madras Handkerchief, RMHK, was made only for the indian export. During the long trade history of the cloth there was the rumor that it all started with with tartan plaids of the Scottish regiments, but in fact it was only the description of the european for their orders as „in the pattern of Scotch tartan“ that started these confusion. In fact plaid fabrics were in use in India long before any Highland regiments were sent abroad, and it’s not like they „imitating foreign patters“ as James Forbes Watson describes in his book about indian textiles.

In the famous pottery workshop of the Narzullaev family in Guijdovan, in the Province of Buchara, Uzbekistan, they still use the traditional manufacturing process. During the early Soviet years there was a prohibition of entrepreneurship and small workshops, but the grandfather didn´t give up. Later Folk crafts became popular and even fashionable at the times of USSR, and so he was able to passed on his secrets of pottery making to two of his sons,- Alisher and Abdullah. Their children are now 7th generation and keep the family business and ancient traditions alive.

Since 2012 the handmade pottery from Horezu is part of the Unesco´s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. As explanation they wrote: „The handmade Horezu ceramics from Valcea originates in the traditional craftsmanship of the region. Each object is shaped with the help of a certain finger technique that is clearly individual making every piece a signature one. Each potter applies his own technique using luminous colors in traditional motives. The expertise is passed on from the senior to the apprentice.“ 

There are around 15 different stages of dying, washing, reprinting…the technique of block printing is more than 3000 years old. In Kutch, Gujarat, it´s practiced solely by men.

Known as ajrakh, this double-sided textiles is made by the Kathri block-printers from Ajarakhpur in Gujarat. Ajrakh is realated to the arabic world for blue azrak.

Pottery from Romania is a goal. 

Naga, the snake, has a central role in the textiles of the Lao Tai from Laos. She can be found meandering across almost all Tai fabrics. The Tai believe they are intimately connected to Naga. In an interview, one of the Lao Tai weavers from Houaphanh in Laos explained: »If the snake notices that we aren’t wearing any textiles with her image, then she might think we don’t respect her and then, maybe, she’ll kill us.“

Kutch, Gujarat, India: Lac, a material taken from insect resin, has been used in Indian craft for centuries. Coloured lacquer is applied to wood by heat through turning with a hand lathe.

Taquile/Peru: This old knitting men knows how to act like a super model. He is doing his lovely job in front of the knitting village collective. The whole island is under self determination of the indigenous people. Investors from abroad are not allowed ↑

La Paz/Bolivien: If you want to make a break as a weaver of bolivian textiles stop weaving patterns for a while and doing this kind of test screen pattern in between. 

In Guizhou, south china, the miao people make wonderful batik textiles. They use paper stencils and rice paste for the resisting dying and printing process. The tiger is a symbol to keep the evil spirits away.

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Guizhou/South china: To give a textile a crisp, laquered look the fabirc is dipped repeatendly in an indigo bath, beaten with a wooden mallet and treated with secret recipes with blood, eggwhite and other stuff. At the end you can fold pleats inside like paper. 

For the people from central asia Ikat is something like the tartan from scotland. Uzbek believe that all textiles and patterns go together. When Russia won the great game with Britain for central asia, English textiles were largely replaced by industrial goods from Russia. 

„The style of Armenian carpets is characterized by a close unity and integrity of vegetal, zoomorphic and geometric motifs, each of them being aimed at expressing and amplifying a definite idea.“ (Armenian Carpet Art, Yerevan 2012)

In Central Asia they call Ikat textiles Abr, named after their cloud-like patterning. The warp and the weft are dyed prior the weaving. The warp threads are dyed by wrapping certain parts of them in order to obtain a given pattern. This requires an enormous amount of skill.

The folk art in romania is strongly wedded to work, husbandry, community, traditions and belief. The style is characterised by balance and symmetry, and a very striking concept of rhythm. The same can be said about Romania as a country.

King Ludwig II of Bavaria was also called the Swan King, Mad King or fairy tale King. He built three castles, one of them the famous Neuschwanstein castle. He said: “I want to remain an eternal mystery to myself and others.” He definitely achieved it.

India/Gujarat: Patan Patola is a double ikat textile, that means both, the warp and the weft, are dyed before the weaving. As a result patterns and colours are extraordinary vibrant and elaborate.  With such thin silk thread it takes a lot of time and it´s an extreme test of precision and planning. A sari starts around 10 000 $.

Northern Romania: The patterns and motifs of Romanian blouses refer to local traditions and provide clues to the marital, social and/or economic status of the person wearing them. After all, Romania had been occupied by the Turks for centuries, which, inevitably also left its traces in the motifs and elaboration of folk art.

Kutch/Gujarat/India: The walls of this Meghwali roundhouse in Hodka village in Kutch are constructed with whitewashed mud and dung and a lot of mirrors. Normaly the toran is hanging above the door, here he´s  protecting the inhabitants agains the devils coming out of the TV.

The general rule governing interior design seems to be: the more, the better. The close arrangement of textiles along the walls, stacked cushions on beds – embroidered side turned out to face potential visitors – as well as the many tapestries and table cloths seem to point to a horror vacui, a kind of fear of empty spaces.