OUR HISTORY
ourselves

We are Innovando la Tradición. We serve pottery villages by fostering their wellbeing, prosperity, and autonomy.

Our goal is to bring the villages’ traditional knowledge to the forefront and to honor and celebrate their subtle wisdom in order to enhance the quality of life of people, communities, and society in general.

We began our journey in Oaxaca over two decades ago. We were guided by questions about the preservation of traditional artisanal trades in contemporary Mexico, the role of designers in relation to indigenous cultural traditions, and how to encourage innovation without losing touch with their roots.

We were seduced, captured, and finally molded by the clay.

We then wondered whether the infinite, rich, and complex world of pottery could serve as a platform to bring harmony to human beings and the planet.

Along the way, we have learned, little by little, how much potters can teach us about life and the world, about peace and balance, about the earth and the spirit.

The land asked us to listen carefully. We planted the seeds for conscious design, a practice based on generosity and caring, laced with narrative practices, solidarity-based economy, countercultures, and land-based education, among other forms of knowledge.

Along with potters and the many friends that have joined us on our journey, we have expanded the narrative of handcrafted objects, ensuring the anonymous, age-old beauty of Oaxacan pottery be appreciated in places it had never reached before.

Through Cooperativa 1050°, the commercial branch of this venture, families have become financially stable, are being recognized by their communities, and have developed renewed hope in fighting for their trade.

We have a long way to go. It will be 100 to 200 years before pottery grows back into a great tree that can shade us all. In the meantime, we will continue to nourish the earth so that the communities’ knowledge strengthens as an instrument of social, economic, educational, and environmental transformation.

We invite you to join us on this journey.

Kythzia Barrera + Diego Mier y Teran