Craft Travel: The Mexican State of Michoan

Mexican_State_of_Michoacan-

Photo Credit: Mexico by Hand

Take your love of crafts on the road! Whether you want to shop for crafts abroad, learn traditional crafting from indigenous masters, attend a craft school in a beautiful natural setting, or immerse yourself in a craft retreat, you have a world of opportunities to choose from in designing the perfect craft vacation for you. This is the first in a series of blog entries focusing on crafting tours, retreats, workshops and getaways.

Mexico By Hand, a company which sells Mexican handcrafts online, also offers craft enthusiasts an opportunity to visit the source. Their 8-day Mexican Folk Art and Culture Tour takes you on trip to the Mexican state of Michoacán in the central mountain highlands region of the country. Mexico By Hand’s owner Peggy Stein puts her in-depth, insider’s knowledge of the Mexican crafts community at your disposal, arranging visits to the best craft markets and to the workshops of artisans working in pottery, hammered copper, backstrap weaving or embroidery. If tour participants let her know in advance, she can partially customize the trip to your tastes: Different styles of pottery are distinct to different villages,” she says. We can arrange to visit a place where they specialize in a particular style of weaving or claywork as well.” Stein also assists tour participants in purchasing and arranging shipment of crafts from artisans they particularly admire.

The trip begins in Morelia, the capital of Michoacán. The trip fee of $1,600 (double occupancy) includes all accommodations and meals, as well as group travel between destinations in Mexico. Peggy draws on her years of experience visiting the region to select 3 and 4-star hotels and restaurants featuring authentic Michoacán cuisine. In addition to craft-oriented excursions, tour participants receive a well-rounded cultural experience, visiting the ruins of ancient Mexican civilizations and joining in a community’s saint day festivities. The small size of the tour (3-8) participants means each vacation receives individual attention.

You may also like