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Traveling Traders Bazaar

@travelingtradersbazaar

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Working with artisan communities in Thailand & Mexico and connecting textile lovers through meaningful travel and hands on learning.

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Happy World Mushroom Day from the field! I’m grateful for the opportunity to experience nature and connect with fungi folks with @the_fungivore.

Today we head out for our last foray before 2 days of mushroom dyeing! Did you know you can make a rainbow with mushroom color? Tune in tomorrow and see what we create with #MyColores and @mycopigments ♥️🍄🙌 taken in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas by @travelingtradersbazaar

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3 days ago

First foray day of MyColores with @the_fungivore and what a colorful day filled with dyers corts and cat cuddles. The walk was beautiful with a nourishing lunch and detailed fungi table talk with Ezequiel (@_fungaria_) and Alissa (@mycopigments) to kick off our week of mushroom foraging and natural dyeing in Chiapas. I can’t wait to see the rainbow we will make later this week!!! taken in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas by @travelingtradersbazaar

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4 days ago

So many species!! We had a beautiful day in the forest with zero rain. Thanks to our mycologist Ezekiel for sharing his wealth of knowledge and to everyone else for collecting with enthusiasm. Can't wait to do it again in another place tomorrow! by @travelingtradersbazaar

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4 days ago

MyColores first day kicked off with a walking tour of San Cristobal to get our footing for a week in this beautiful town. One of many highlights was a special visit with Sergio Castro and his private museum of regional dress and artifacts - a beautiful introduction to the diversity of Mayan culture, language and dress here in Chiapas. At 88, every visit with Sergio is a window into a different world and also support his work to treat local burn victims.

Enjoy this beautiful compilation from the group’s favorite photos - the art, architecture, animals, and all!! Tomorrow we are off to the forest for our first day of foraging for dye mushrooms to make our rainbow later this week! Mushlove! taken in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas by @travelingtradersbazaar

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5 days ago

Foraging with the Akha Hill Tribe and making lunch out of bamboo jelly in the rain. One of the many highlights from @the_fungivore MycoThai trip.

Special thanks to Mr. Kong and the community for hosting us. We all had a lot of fun together!

#thailand #foraging #adventuretravel taken in Northern Thailand by @travelingtradersbazaar

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a month ago

Join us October 11-19 in the beautiful mountain town of San Cristobal de Las Casas, in Chiapas Mexico. Zack @the_fungivore and Kim @travelingtradersbazaar have collaborated with local artisans and guides to share with us the beauty of the region. We will be staying in a stunning hotel and have 3 days of foraging in the montane forests of the Mayan Highlands and two days of dye exploration. While admiring the natural beauty and biodiversity of the habitat, we'll be honing in on a regional rainbow of foraged color. We'll be collecting dye favorites from the genus Cortinarius and Phellodon as we build our palette. These trips are truly once in a lifetime and there are only a couple of spots left. Grab a friend and join us today! Please follow the link in my bio to read the details from @the_fungivore . by @travelingtradersbazaar

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2 months ago

Humility. Connection. Community. Generosity. Present—as in not frozen in the past, and presence as being fully present in the moment. Food and shared meals— the important role they play in relationships.

At our final farewell gathering, we asked each participant to describe, in one or two words, what had made the deepest impression on them during the past week. These were their words. We all nodded and smiled in recognition.

The pretext of the journey is the beautiful textiles but those are a doorway to visit another way of understanding and moving through the world.

We closed the evening with the poem that ended Carolyn’s film Woven Lives. It seemed like the perfect ending to both the evening and the journey:

Woven Lives by Carolyn Kallenborn

In Oaxaca, the textiles weave the story of the people and the art,

The art and culture, culture and the land, and the land with history.

Back and forth the shuttle passes marking time.

Like the warp and the weft, life and culture intersect.

Small shifts in color or rhythm, create new patterns and new designs.

Lives are woven, thread by thread, from the past, through the present,
and into the future.

Thank you to all of the participants for the lovely photos, especially to @crystal.renee.drake who had a wonderful way of capturing individuals’ personalities.

Thank you all for your wonderful energy, curiosity, flexibility, laughter and confidence. It was a wonderful week.

If this sparks your interest, or you know anyone who you think would enjoy this experience, pass along the link to the Traveling Traders Bazaar website.

To have a group journey, you need to have a group!

@anadelcamino @carolynkallenborn @travelingtraderbazaar @beililiu
@abby.rse @fuzhan @crystal.renee.drake @gabrielbdesigns @quiltinganthropologist taken in Oaxaca by @travelingtradersbazaar

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2 months ago

Woven Lives Oaxaca - Aug 19-27, 2026

Our last day was spent in Oaxaca, reflecting on how the city’s textile traditions draw from the past while continuing to move into the future. We visited the Textile Museum of Oaxaca, the San Pablo Cultural Center, and the Banamex Museum where we say the black-and-white exhibition Día y Noche, featuring ethereal Oaxacan textiles curated by Remigio Mestas.

Afterward, Remigio welcomed us into his studio and shared stories from his more than 30 years of working with artisans to revive traditional textiles, create sustainable economic opportunities, and increase appreciation and respect for both the artisans and their work.

One of the biggest lessons we learned is that traditional weaving is not frozen in the past. It is—and has always been—a living art form. Traditional textiles continue to evolve in response to new materials, techniques, and markets. The magic lies in embracing these changes while staying connected to one’s roots and expressing one’s worldview through textiles.

As part of one project, Pima cotton from Peru was brought to the Mazateca region of Oaxaca, dyed with indigo, and woven on a backstrap loom by María González. The cloth was then embroidered with pita—a traditional Oaxacan fiber not typically used for embroidery—by Olegaria Méndez. The result is a gossamer-like textile of exceptional quality, instantly recognizable as Oaxacan.

The project gave these, and other weavers, an opportunity to challenge their skills while showcasing the beauty, knowledge, and cosmovision of their culture.

After lunch on a rooftop terrace, we enjoyed a delightful puppet performance in the puppet and woodcarving studio of Alejandro Jiménez Molina. We ended the day with a group dinner at Carolyn’s home, surrounded by art, creativity, and good conversation. More about that in the next post.

Thank you to Crystal Drake, Beili Liu, along with Ana Paula Fuentes and Carolyn Kallenborn for the photographs used in today’s post. Carolyn also provided the write up of today.

Interested in following the thread of Woven Lives in 2027? Join Carolyn and Ana Paula this February for our next session. taken in Oaxaca by @travelingtradersbazaar

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2 months ago

Woven Lives Oaxaca - Aug 19-27, 2026

We started the morning at the colorful market in Teotitlán with Reyna Mendoza of El Sabor Zapoteco. It felt like stepping back to a time when food was locally produced and sellers and buyers all knew one another, moving together in the comfortable rhythm of a close-knit community.

With baskets full of chiles, vegetables, bread, and cheese, we headed to Reyna’s home to peel, chop, toast, grind, and cook a traditional Zapotec meal: pollo enchilado, nopales con jícama, salsa, and handmade tortillas. For dessert, we made nicuatole and decorated it with cochineal.

We also visited El Nahual, the gallery run by Alejandrina Ríos Sánchez, wife of our weaving teacher, Tito Mendoza, specializing in Oaxacan folk art.
Weaving, cooking, and a home gallery—one family, three threads of the same tradition.

It was an amazing day—and you can experience it for yourself. Join us in February 2027! Reserve your space through the link in our bio. 7
Update from @carolynkallenborn and photos from @anadelcamino @gabrielbdesigns @crystal.renee.drake @quiltinganthropologist. taken in Teotitlán del Valle by @travelingtradersbazaar

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2 months ago

Woven Lives Oaxaca - Aug 19-27, 2026

Today was a day of calm, concentration, learning, and laughter.

Master weaver Tito Mendoza shared his weavings and the stories and inspiration behind each piece. Then we learned about technique—how to create designs using alternating colors and simple tapestry. For the rest of the day, it was our turn to weave.

Working on frame looms, everyone experimented with different techniques and color combinations using the colorful yarns we dyed yesterday with Bii Dauu. From bold circles to dots and lines, gradations, and the pattern called “teeth,” each piece took on its own personality.

It was also a bit of a family day. We enjoyed a fabulous lunch prepared by Tito’s sister, Reyna Mendoza of El Sabor Zapoteco, and met Sebastián, Tito and Ale’s first grandson, who is just three months old. We ended the day by walking to Tito and Ale’s home where we saw his large two-meter-wide loom.

Afterwards we shared a home-cooked dinner, mezcal, and lively conversation. With only two more days left, we are already thinking about how much we will miss everyone. It has been a wonderful group—curious, creative, funny, and kind-hearted. It is a real blessing to have the opportunity to share our passions and connect with people on such a personal level.

We will be visiting Tito and family again as part of Woven Lives Feb. 17 – 25, 2026. Come along with us!

Update from @carolynkallenborn and photos from @anadelcamino. taken in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca. by @travelingtradersbazaar

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2 months ago

Reflections on Mycelium Mysteries Mexico - August 1-9, 2026

Traditional knowledge stays alive because it’s practiced, not preserved. We started the day with the local high school in San Antonio Cuajimoloyas, where students showed us their garden and the medicinal plants they grow and use, then moved into a hands-on workshop making pomades from those same plants.

Lunch came from Marta, the community’s cocinera and mushroom forager, an old friend who makes some of the best food in Oaxaca.

In the evening, Linda Conroy of @midwest_womens_herbal led an “I See” exercise — passing a single mushroom around the circle, each of us adding an observation before passing it on. By the end we reached fifty observations. It was a beautiful exercise in slowing down and noticing, and we had everything we needed to key it out, and identified it as a Helvella.

We closed the day sketching mushrooms together, a quiet reminder that careful observation isn’t just a scientific practice. It’s a way of building relationship with the forest itself.

To hear about future travel, sign up for our newsletter (link in bio). Photos from co-leader @quiyahuit of @funga.hikes and collaboration with @midwest_womens_herbal. taken in Cuajimoloyas, Oaxaca, Mexico by @travelingtradersbazaar

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2 months ago

Woven Lives Oaxaca - Aug 19-27, 2026

How can you tell a naturally dyed rug from a synthetically dyed one? According to Ana of the Bii Dauu Cooperative, one of the best ways is to smell it. A naturally dyed rug can carry the scent of the plants and materials used to create its colors—leaves, flowers, and other natural materials—while a chemically dyed rug does not.

This was just one of the many things we learned while spending the day with Fermina, Ana, and Elena of the Bii Dauu Cooperative in Teotitlán del Valle. For more than 22 years, this group of weavers has worked together to revive and promote the use of natural dyes in their community.

Natural dyes require more time, knowledge, and skill, but the range of rich, beautiful colors they produce is astounding. The cooperative also hopes to encourage more weavers to return to natural dyes—for the health of the weavers, to help protect the local water supply, and to strengthen Teotitlán’s reputation for high-quality textiles.

While our pots of cochineal, marush, zacatlascali, and indigo simmered, we visited the cooperative’s dye farm to see the plants growing and learn about their efforts to harvest rainwater in deep trenches, allowing it to slowly soak into the aquifer.

We returned back to the dye studio and immersed our huge skeins of wool in the yellos, reds and blues to create a whole range of colors

A day full of color, knowledge, stories and laughter! 🌿🧶🎨

If you would like to try your hand with cochineal join us in February 2027. Apply at the link in bio. Update from @carolynkallenborn and photos from @anadelcamino and participants! taken in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca. by @travelingtradersbazaar

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2 months ago