Hecho a Mano: Some Popular Crafts from Mexico

They are everywhere you look in Mexico. From the roadside stalls, to the mega Mercados found in both rural and urban areas. They are colorful, detailed and fashioned from an infinite number of materials from tree bark, clay, leather, wool, to silver and copper. Most importantly, they are still made by hand or “hechos a mano”, and reflect techniques which have survived generations of history, dating back to the pre-colonial days. They are best known as Mexico’s handicrafts or simply, “artesanía”.

To visit Mexico and not indulge in its world of crafts is like skirting around its intangible history. There are literally thousands of artisans from all walks of life who maintain those traditional ways of crafting things. Whether you’re walking the tiny alleys of Puebla in search of that precious piece of Talavera pottery or, loading up on Huichol art from the state of Jalisco, you are certainly on track to experience something that shouldn’t be missed.

Here is a list outlining some of the various crafts found throughout Mexico. It is broken down by state and by no means is exhaustive in scope.

Aguascalientes

Embroidered dresses, children’s wooden toys, sombreros, charro outfits, metates & molcajetes (stone mortar & pestle used for grinding seeds and grains)

Baja California Norte

Cestería (indigenous basketry), abalone shell art, earthenware and ceramic pots, jade jewelry, leatherwork & blown glass items

Baja California Sur

Sea shell art, leather crafts, pottery & palm-frond items (hats, purses & fans)

Campeche

Huipiles (colorful indigenous dresses), blouses, panama hats, hammocks, palm-frond items, ceramics & detailed wood work including jewelry boxes, picture frames & miniature boats

Coahuila

Wool serapes, rustic furniture, glass/wooden figurines & piñatas

Colima

Red cedar furniture, pottery, basketry, ceramics, textiles, tin work, sea shell artwork & woven hammocks

Chiapas

Clay pottery (from gray clay), hand-painted corn husk miniature toys, amber-colored jewelry, Mayan textiles, colorful laca  (lacquer work) on gourds and other objects

Chihuahua

Pine needle basketry, bird feather jewelry, cooking utensils made of pottery, Tarahumara wood-carved figures and musical instruments

Distrito Federal (Mexico City)

Hand-blown glass, leather goods & pottery

Durango

Agate jewelry, wool textiles, pottery, scorpion jewelry, leather horse saddles, boots & belts, Huichol art and charro outfits

Guanajuato

Majolica ceramics, candies, silver & gold jewelry, leather goods, colonial furniture and papel amate (bark paper) paintings

Guerrero

Lacquer ware masks, silver jewelry, hand-painted pottery & woven garments

Hidalgo

Silver & obsidian jewelry, orange-clay pottery, bronze & tin bells

Jalisco

Leather saddles, Huichol artwork, forged iron products, blown glass, pottery & paper-mâché items

Mexico

Stone figurines, woven sweaters, carpets, pottery, hand-crafted wooden products, colorful basketry, candies, metal products, molcajetes & “Tree-of-Life” figurines

Michoacán

Christmas ornaments, wood & leather furniture, guitars, wooden toys, pottery, copper items, straw & reed basketry, candies & lacquer ware products

Morelos

Floral arrangements, wooden & forged steel furniture, ceramics, masks, woven wool items, tree spine art & palos de lluvia (rain sticks)

Nayarit

Huichol artwork, saddles, pottery, masks & religious art

Nuevo Leon

Charro outfits, clay pottery, forged steel crafts, basketry, rustic colonial furniture, leather goods, glass & furniture

Oaxaca

Alebrijes (vibrantly-colored wooden figurines), black-clay pottery, machetes, embroidered items, huipiles, painted wooden masks & woven rugs & serapes

Puebla

Talavera ceramics, “Tree-of-life” art, huipiles, candies, serapes, onyx products, papel cortado (cut paper), wooden masks & musical instruments and leather goods

Querétaro

Basketry, pastel-colored pottery, cloth dolls, woven wool products, serapes, wooden furniture & masks

Quintana Roo

Woven Mayan textiles, hammocks, huipiles, sea shell art & jewelry, hand-carved wooden figurines & fiber basketry

San Luis Potosí

Red cedar furniture, silver & gold jewelry, pottery, wool & cotton textiles, basketry, serapes, handbags, wooden figurines & forged steel items

Sinaloa

Palm-frond basketry, leather saddles, embroidered garments, sombreros, pottery & piñatas

Sonora

Leather huaraches & boots, hammocks, embroidered garments & household items, wooden masks, pottery, wool serapes & blankets, sombreros, palm-frond basketry & hand-carved ironwood figurines

Tabasco

Hand-painted gourds, pottery, leather goods, palm-frond crafts, mahogany furniture, wood-carved items, textiles & wooden masks

Tamaulipas

Sea shell art, wooden & stone masks, ceramics, reed basketry & leather goods

Tlaxcala

Serapes, wooden walking canes, Carnaval masks, silver jewelry, dried corn husk figurines, fireworks & Talavera ceramics

Veracruz

Sea shell art & jewelry, coconut & palm-frond artwork, musical instruments, blown glass, reed furniture & artwork made from vanilla bean pods

Yucatán

Decorative & religious ceramics, huipiles, hammocks, molcajetes, leather goods, sea shell jewelry, henequen products, silver jewelry, guayaberas, wooden crafts & Mayan ceremonial masks

Zacatecas

Huichol artwork, ceramics, oak & mesquite furniture, charro outfits & accessories, zinc, silver, copper & brass crafts, leather goods & crafts made from cactus plant fibers

Tagged as: artesanias, Crafts, markets, shopping