| |  | | | | | | So close and yet a world away, Mexico is one hot location, both literally and figuratively. From the vast expanse of its capital city, to quaint colonial towns rich with art, to the sun-kissed resorts on silky sand beaches, Mexico is a land of surprising depth and diversity. No other city exemplifies this diversity like Oaxaca. Known as “Tierra del Sol”, this compelling land of the sun locale is blessed with rich geographic color, historical architecture, blended cultures and spiritual mysteries. It's like no other place in all of Mexico and the perfect setting for our fresh new Summer collection. Our first ever Summer catalog is filled with breezy, beautiful pieces that embrace the ethos of Oaxaca and its spirited energy. Our photo shoot team was eager to blend the two mediums; design and spirit; textile and city. It is an artistic arrangement that has inspired locals for more than two thousand years.  A Kaleidoscope of Textures
For millennia, Zapotec and Mixtec families have come from the countryside into Oaxaca City every single day to sell their wares, as did their parents and grandparents before them. The market is a cultural extravaganza that titillates all the senses simultaneously with buzzing conversations, rich woven fabrics at once soft and rough, and the blissful taste of dark mole. The air is strongly scented with chocolate, cilantro, peppers, tortillas and incense smoke. You can watch someone with generations of experience grind cacao beans for hot chocolate. Women in one area hold huge flat baskets of garlic; others display white onions artfully set on end and rows of woven buckets are filled with the local favorite chapulines (grasshoppers, fried in chili and salt), a crunchy hors d'oeuvre that we were assured was as tasty as beer nuts. Most of us tried them and some of us even went back for seconds!
Being in the knitwear business for over 32 years we can appreciate the intricacies and complexities of texture. Oaxaca is a kaleidoscope of texture hiding its most intriguing features behind high stone walls, weathered doors and Spanish Colonial fixtures. Sidewalks are cut from green volcanic rock and all seem to mysteriously lead to the city’s central square, the beautiful Zócalo. Graced by giant Indian Laurel trees and a sea of red poinsettias the historic buildings frame the pulsating life and activity of the square. Strolling guitarists, sax players, accordionists, and the occasional a cappella singer compete with the Mariachi and Marimba bands for the attention of the strolling crowds. Couples huddle on benches and try to sneak a kiss as the sun goes down. Ambulantes (roving merchants) sell rugs, clothing, wood carvings, pralines and a variety of balloons, the most notable being 20-foot long cylinders which the children love to toss up into the air in the Cathedral plaza. I am willing to wager that everyone on our crew has at least one picture of these fascinating yet seemingly indestructible balloons.
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