Traditions of Yesterday in Today’s Interior Design

P-A-R-T-Y!!!! Still in Mexico and thrilled to discover new things! It’s about the allure of the tropics with the brilliant colors that are so vividly expressed in textiles, architecture, flora, tableware, and jewelry suggesting happy, carefree times. The festive colors evoke the mood of a party – a fiesta in this case. It’s a tradition of color in the southern climes that has been around for ages and is continued today in fabulous passed-down handcrafts and artwork. These exquisitely detailed table runners are woven with care and great historical symbolism and merit by the indigenous people of Chiapas.
While traveling, I enjoy the hunt – ferreting out treasures from various sources, meeting the vendors and in many cases the artisans themselves. The other day, I discovered these tightly woven textile table runners. The workmanship is quite fine, the patterns delightful and the colors bold and exhilarating!
When I weed through the myriad offerings to uncover what I regard as the treasures, I always picture the scene. Where will these beautiful art pieces end up?…From where they were made in the verdant lush hillsides of the jungles of Chiapas to someone’s distressed farm table in a kitchen or dining room in my world. By bringing these things to my shop and my clients, I feel a small connection to the people who fabricated them and a sense of travel – time travel and cultural travel – worlds apart but incredibly, not so far away.
We live in a fast world of commercialism and consumption. Yet, to handle one of these individually woven art pieces and actually take a moment to appreciate the origin and not the mass production that is apparent in so much of what we see and procure, is an awesome opportunity. It’s good to know that these traditions still exist and that they are so appreciated by those who value the art of it all.
So gather your friends and bring out your Fiesta-ware – hand blown glasses and party platters of fun and festivity and enjoy these wonderful focal points at your party! Or…merely place them on your table for everyday enjoyment as a reminder of artisans in the hills, living as they have for centuries with little change and at the least a continuation of these fantastic techniques, the not-yet-lost traditions of yesterday in today’s interior design!