Valuing the Authentic

Yesterday, the questions came up about how we get the younger generations excited about authentic folk art. In a world where trends are moving towards designing around the image of the "hand-made", "global traveler", "authentic person", we continue to be inundated by mass produced machine made goods. Urban Outfitters & Anthropologie are amazing at portraying the image of the "global chic traveler", but most their goods come from factories in east Asia. How do we elevate our generations consciousness and thus purchasing power to seek out the "real deal" when it comes to authentic art?

On my pinterset page, http://pinterest.com/marizaco/bringing-your-travels-home/, I started a board called Bring Your Travels Home. It's a sort of homage to homes and designed interiors that display folk art items and value authentic art. These homes, whether modern or eclectic, display hand-made Zapotec rugs, hand-woven baskets from Rwanda, table runners from Chiapas, etc... What I love most about these homes (and this board) is that it reflects a myriad of interior design styles. You don't need a colorful Mexican hacienda to display a mexican textiles, in fact, I personally think the textiles is  more amazing when it's paired with a minimalistic modern home. Mixing a matching is key.

The leader in bringing authentic folk art to new markets is the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market. This Market brings over 170 artists from around the world together every summer for one weekend. The artists, along with over 60,000 supporters who flock to Santa Fe for this event, create a magical weekend where for a moment one can see the beauty of the global economy. The results: the artists' average $16,000 in sales, enough to often feed their entire cooperative/community for a year and to begin working for the following year's Market. The supporters walk away with beautiful hand-made items, items that are one of a kind and are sure to turn heads. Items that have a soul, tell a story, represent a culture, a women, a heritage, etc... For me, personally, these items make my house a home and make me smile every time I see them.

So, I'm going to share a few of my favorite hand-made items that add richness and elegance to homes.

Below, the home of Desmond Design co-owner, Megan Desmond. The mirror is from San Miguel de Allende and was hand-made by the Gonzalez family. The top right shelf has a hand-made white felt hat from Mongolia, a gift from Desmond's cousin, and the beautiful white ceramic rose on the wall, hand-made by an artist in Phoenix.


Below, my house and a few of my favorite items from the Santa Fe Intnerational Folk Art Market. 

A traditional necklace from Kenya. 


A hand-woven basket from Rwanda.


The Mariza & Company office where a beautiful shyrdak felt rug, hand-made from the nomadic kyrgyz people, shares space with products from artists in Mexico.