This piece is handwoven on a traditional Zapotec pedal loom by Anna, a master weaver whose family has lived and created on The Chávez Ranch in the Teotitlán Valley for more than 170 years. Their family belongs to one of the 13 Zapotec tribes that have called this valley home for generations, preserving one of the most respected weaving traditions in Oaxaca.
The soft gray base of the textile is made from 100% natural, undyed wool sourced from sheep raised in the surrounding valley, where local herders have supplied wool to Zapotec weavers for centuries. The deeper charcoal and warm taupe accents are dyed using oak galls combined with iron, a traditional Zapotec method that has been practiced for centuries. Oak galls—small, tannin-rich growths found on local oak trees—produce warm brown tones on their own, but when they are simmered with iron-rich water or rusted metal, they transform into a rich charcoal-black dye. This technique creates long-lasting, earthy tones without the use of chemicals, connecting the textile to the land and the ancestral knowledge of the Teotitlán Valley. These ancestral dyes produce the earthy mineral tones that have colored Zapotec textiles for hundreds of years.
At the center is the embroidered Zapotec arrow symbol, historically connected to protection, hunting, and provision. The arrow also echoes the message of Psalm 127, where the next generation is described as “arrows in the hands of a warrior,” representing purpose, direction, and legacy.
The surrounding geometric border patterns represent the mountain ridges and ancient pathways of the Teotitlán Valley—the same landscape that has shaped the Chávez family’s weaving lineage for nearly two centuries.
More than a travel purse, this is a piece of heritage art—woven with patience, tradition, and the quiet beauty of natural materials gathered from the land that has sustained Zapotec artisans for generations.
This piece is handwoven on a traditional Zapotec pedal loom by Anna, a master weaver whose family has lived and created on The Chávez Ranch in the Teotitlán Valley for more than 170 years. Their family belongs to one of the 13 Zapotec tribes that have called this valley home for generations, preserving one of the most respected weaving traditions in Oaxaca.
The soft gray base of the textile is made from 100% natural, undyed wool sourced from sheep raised in the surrounding valley, where local herders have supplied wool to Zapotec weavers for centuries. The deeper charcoal and warm taupe accents are dyed using oak galls combined with iron, a traditional Zapotec method that has been practiced for centuries. Oak galls—small, tannin-rich growths found on local oak trees—produce warm brown tones on their own, but when they are simmered with iron-rich water or rusted metal, they transform into a rich charcoal-black dye. This technique creates long-lasting, earthy tones without the use of chemicals, connecting the textile to the land and the ancestral knowledge of the Teotitlán Valley. These ancestral dyes produce the earthy mineral tones that have colored Zapotec textiles for hundreds of years.
At the center is the embroidered Zapotec arrow symbol, historically connected to protection, hunting, and provision. The arrow also echoes the message of Psalm 127, where the next generation is described as “arrows in the hands of a warrior,” representing purpose, direction, and legacy.
The surrounding geometric border patterns represent the mountain ridges and ancient pathways of the Teotitlán Valley—the same landscape that has shaped the Chávez family’s weaving lineage for nearly two centuries.
More than a travel purse, this is a piece of heritage art—woven with patience, tradition, and the quiet beauty of natural materials gathered from the land that has sustained Zapotec artisans for generations.
