Crafters and Craft Workers

Victoria is a skilled artisan weaver from Santo Tomas Jalieza, Ocotlán, Oaxaca. She has dedicated her life to the craft of creating beautiful and intricate textiles using a waist loom. Weaving has been an integral part of Victoria's life. Her grandmother first taught her the techniques at the age of 7, and she, in turn now 73 years old, has passed on her passion and knowledge to the future generations of her family. Now her children and grandchildren work alongside her and have been creating bespoke designs for Tea & Tequila.

Over the years, Victoria has gained great recognition locally for her exceptional craftsmanship. Her textiles are renowned for their outstanding quality and distinct designs, showcasing her extensive experience and genuine love for the art.

The art of waist loom weaving holds a special place in Indigenous Oaxacan culture dating back to the pre-hispanic period and is intricately tied to the region's heritage and cultural identity. The textiles crafted in Ocotlán and neighbouring communities are renowned for their bright colours, exquisite patterns, and exceptional artistry. The process is labour-intensive, and it can take several days or even weeks to complete a single piece, depending on its complexity, making each piece unique and special.

Find Victoria's artistry on our Girasol Top, Cleo set and Magdalena dress.

Pablo is a talented jewellery artisan based in the heart of Mexico City and is the  crafter behind our gemstone and pearl pieces. Jewellery making in Mexico City dates back to the pre-hispanic period and to this day is an essential part of the city's culture and economy.

Pablo alongside Juan and his wife  operate from a family-run workshop in the outskirts of the city.. 

The majority of our natural crystal gemstones are carefully sourced from Mexico with a select few from Brazil. A considerable amount of time is invested  in the sourcing and selection process, hand-picking the right stones that possess the perfect blend of colour, size and shape for each specific design. Embracing the beauty of raw gemstones, Pablo attempts to select those that contain minimal natural imperfections, however when found, these imperfections are what make each Tea and Tequila piece so unique and special. 

This specialised way of creating jewellery has become increasingly rare and everything is made in small batches at the pace of the artisans so we have to rely on Pablo’s timings and be patient whilst waiting to re-stock.

Luna is a wonderful textile artist based in Mexico City. She specialises in natural dyeing and uses plants and flowers native to Mexico. This ancient traditional craft is a time consuming process that enables Luna to connect with nature. There is a trend that textile artisans are reverting back to natural dye, in an attempt to revive ancient traditions and protect against risks of chemical dyes. 

Luna uses items such as onion skins, avocado stones, indigo plants, mexican logwood and many more natural sources to create the vibrant colours that we use at Tea and Tequila. Mindful of the water wastage in the natural dyeing process, Luna takes proactive measures to minimise it. She repurposes any leftover water by utilising it to wash her patio, water her plants and even flush her toilet!

What makes natural dyed fabrics truly special is their unique individuality; as no two pieces will ever be identical since no plant is exactly the same and no process can be copied exactly  Luna embraces a sustainable cycle by ensuring that every element originates from mother earth, contributing to the preservation of the environment by removing the need for harmful chemicals which are typically used in conventional dyeing methods. 

Find Luna’s colourful work through our linen suits and in our ‘Natural Dye’ section.

We are very happy to work with Carmen and her team at her workshop in Mexico City.  Each piece of clothing is prepared and constructed by hand. Carmen has been passionately involved in this field since 2001, and her love for what she does is evident in the way she and her team skillfully handle the unique materials we work with such as hand-loomed fabric or cactus leather. Carmen’s team consists of:
Martha, who is the head seamstress and oversees the construction of all of our pieces with her team at her home workshop. 

Gustavo, is incharge of preparing, ironing, cutting and pinning the materials by hand before they are sewn.

Eli, is the samples and pattern cutter. She has been working with Carmen for over 20 years.

Ruth, another talented seamstress, handles the production of our clothing alongside Martha..

Ivonne, embroiders our little details by hand.

The Hernandez-Lopez family are based in Zincantán, a small Indigenous town in the highlands of Chiapas. There, the family, led by head weaver and mother Petrona Lopez Lopez create hand-woven fabrics using a telar de cintura (waist loom). The entire family unit helps out including  Petrona’s mother Antonia, nieces Maria Josefa and Laura Estefania and sister Isadora and her husband Mariano who coordinates, even their young daughter Rosa is learning by example, Petrona’s mother Antonia, nieces Maria Josefa and Laura Estefania and sister Isadora all come together at their home to weave.    They have mastered the skilled craft of weaving with patience , upholding cherished family tradition which has been passed down through generations and we hope will continue to be. 

The weaving process is slow, time consuming and physically demanding. It involves preparing threads, weaving the fabric and hand-sewing the finishing touches. The artisans we work with take 3 days to create a 2 metre piece of fabric. This process makes each piece utterly unique and each thread carries the love, heritage and soul of the Zincantán community. 

Zincantán artisans are particularly renowned for their weaving skills, producing intricate textiles and clothing. They create vibrant and skillful designs which often feature colourful patterns that represent elements of their daily life, nature and spiritual beliefs. 

Discover the Hernandez-Lopez family’s skilful work on our Bugambilia & Quetzal sets and the Chabela Dress.

Max has been creating hand beaded jewellery and accessories in a Huichol style (an ancient Mexican folk art) since moving to Mexico city from Jalisco. This community keeps their traditions alive with local fiestas, traditional clothing, and craft making. Max learnt how to bead from his parents, and plans to teach his children. 

Inspired by  Huichol art, Max created some bespoke beaded straps for us which have been used as part of our handbag collection. One of the most distinctive features of Huichol art is its distinctive use of colourful beads to create intricate designs which you can see in our interpretation of these. 

Beaded jewellery has a long history in Mexico and is deeply rooted in the country’s indigenous cultures. 

Discover Max’s work through our previous bag & beaded jewellery collections.

Doña Griselda, Jenny, Anita and Sophia live near San Juan Chamula, in an isolated indigenous community in the mountains of Chiapas, known for its rituals and crafts.These amazing women hand weave our colourful bag-straps.They speak in Tzotzil, an indigenous dialect, with just the younger members of the family communicating with us in Spanish as well. Many have been taught to weave macrame threads like these from a very young age. Originally they were created in order to carry large bundles of firewood, so they are extremely strong and resilient!   

They meet at each other's houses to weave and catch up. To create their bespoke and beautiful designs, these ladies work specifically with cotton. They use this coloured cotton & nylon thread  to create our bag straps and wool to create their beautiful black fluffy skirts and to embroider onto existing pieces of clothing. These embroideries are so intricate, they can take up to five months to make. 

We have used these straps for years creating our original handbag strap designs.

César Pérez Garcia, alongside his father Rodolfo and lifetime friend Gabino Castillo (weaving for 45 years!) created some beautiful Rebozo de bolita using a pedal loom at his at home workshop in Tenancingo, Estado de Mexico. 

This ancient technique is created by preparing the threads which in atole, a traditional mayan corn drink. Once the threads are dry, the artisans draw lines on them by hand. These lines are indicators as to where the knots are tied to separate what will be dyed.  The yarns are dyed using the Ikat technique, which creates patterns on the fabric based on knots, giving a marbled or ribbed appearance. Once dried, the knots are cut and the threads are rolled into a ball (bolita). Little by little the ball is unravelled to be placed on the loom and weaving begins. The Rebozo de Bolita is known for being a very fine, woven cotton. The weave is so tight and strong that the local indigenous women used them to carry huge ceramic pots around. 

Discover our rebozo de bolita set and jumper here.