Made in Mexico: Primera Parte (Part 1)

I adore Mexican decor, especially their furniture. Natural wood, rustic, robust, simple. And I love their whimsical use of color. Unfortunately, not a lot of used stuff from Mexico makes its way up in these parts of Canada.

Lots of untouched, unfinished wood. I love the natural finish but as I learned from hubby, the climate is too humid up here to not seal pine as it will eventually rot, but say, somewhere in the Southwest where it's dry, you can let the beautiful natural wood shine. 

I've seen some upcycled antique Mexican pieces on the internet and I think it's a shame. I feel the same way about a lacquered wood hutch as I do about a beautiful woman getting a nosejob or collagen injections.

Talavera pottery and ceramic tiles. I actually collected a couple vintage ones when I was in California but I can't wait until I have a full collection. NB: Talavera uses a lot of blues and warm colors. The more kalaidoscopic colors are most likely Spanish.

Hand-painted furniture and bowls.

Otomi textiles.

Oaxacan textiles.

Chiapas textiles

NB. There are some lazy bloggers out there, particularly ones who are in the professional field of home decor, who don't pay attention to the origins of the items or subjects that they write about. They feign knowledge and throw around information like it's last season's accessory. Not only do I think it's lazy but I think it's irresponsible and egotistical on the part of the writer. These people clearly have the confidence to spout out bullshit without doing a self-imposed fact check.

For instance, women who write a post about how to add color to your home; they dedicate an entire section to Mexican fabrics and how much they love Mexican blankets, and they'll post a photo with a source link to a website, and the post on that website will be titled "From Peru" and it will discuss textiles...you guessed it...from Peru!

Here's the photo that I see gets mislabeled the most, mostly on Pinterest, but also on several lifestyle blogs.

Peruvian blankets.

And then you get people who see this photo and make comments like "I love the Mexican blankets! The ethnic look is really in!" And it makes me wonder, perhaps the author is at fault but isn't the reader also? 

I mean, I saw the photo, I questioned the caption, I looked into its veracity, and I learned that the author was incorrect, and I, as the reader, have done my due diligence. Unless these people don't actually give a shit and are simply distracted by bright pretty colors! As long as ethnic is in, Mexico and Peru are just interchangeable nations, I guess. 

Part 2: The Mexican coffee table I found!

- J