E-Bay Live In Chicago

I went to eBay Live since it was in Chicago this year. I met with a number of vendors that had some great services and products for the World Neighbor store. I also met a number of very interesting characters there. Several of the eBayers were more interested in collecting the pins and free stuff than they were in talking to vendors and going to the education sessions. It appeared to be a tradition since all the vendors had there pins ready. There was one cranky guy named Tom (saw it on his conference badge). He apparently hurt his knee and he was tooling around on one of those little scooters. He always had a scowl on his face as he angrily asked questions of the vendors and demanded a free give-away. He cracked me up, what a waste of energy.

One of the best parts of the conference was when the gala on the final night. Demetria and I went to enjoy the dinner and the Chris Isaac concert that was planned. We had a great time and Chris was in fine voice. He was very entertaining and everyone of at the eBay conference loved the show. Of course, they were all begging for his picks and drumsticks so that they could sell them the next day on eBay!

The Shipment from Mexico Made it!

I just received all the goodies that I purchased on my Patzcuaro, Mexico buying trip. They arrived crated and stacked 7 feet tall on a pallet... all 600 pounds of it. I quickly unloaded the fine crafts and art and started my inventory process. My biggest problem is that there are so many great things that I wanted to keep for myself! I may keep a few items, but I'm not in business to hoard all these masterful works. I am in business to get these into the hands of appreciative collectors while at the same time helping bolster the fortunes of the fine artists through a fair trade approach.

Every time I meet a new artist (regardless of the language barrier) I find this work so gratifying and fun. Every time I sell another of these great pieces of art I feel thankful that I have found my calling. Thanks to all of you who have been following World Neighbor's humble beginnings. I promise to make it an interesting ride!

WORLD NEIGHBOR

Masked Old Men Cutting a Rug in Patzcuaro

One of the tradition of the P’urhépecha is to perform a folkloric dance while made up like wrinkled old white men. When the conquistadors came to town, this was one of the ways that the P’urhépecha expressed their frustration. They thought (think) that it was very funny how the white people aged. Their hair turned gray, they got all wrinkly and saggy and they stooped over. This dance is typically performed by young men as it is a very athletic and aggressive routine. They wear a serape and a wooden carved mask carved and painted to resemble ancient old white men. The young men protect their faces with cloth so the mask won’t scratch and tear their face off.

I happened upon a great demonstration of this dance in the main square of Patzcuaro. There was a band playing traditional music while six dancers with wooden sandals danced on a sheet of plywood. This amounted to an early version of tap dancing as the wooden shoes crashed and stomped against the plywood. The vision of the old men stomping about so aggressively was a paradoxical treat. They were drawing a large crowd and we all enjoyed the show.

Dance on over to WORLD NEIGHBOR now!!

P’urhépecha Artisans and Cardio

I stumbled across a little courtyard that housed five or six artisans in a collective. One of the artisans had scores of masks and Catrinas (the day of the dead skeletons). Her prices were excellent and her quality was beyond compare. I started loading up with her works much to her surprise and delight. She wrote up the hundred or so items that I gathered together and started the process of packing them for their long journey home. I made sure to grab her contact information since I wanted to establish a long-term business relationship with her.

I had to make a few trips to get all my goodies back to my hotel room. I worked up a good sweat while I traipsed up and down the hilly and cobbled streets or Patzcuaro. A few of the locals got a good chuckle out of me huffing and puffing and covered with sweat. I still was not completely acclimated to the climate and I was hurting! What a great trip…I get to stock up on inventory and burn down my love handles at the same time - Sweet! Tomorrow was the day to catch my bus back to Mexico City so I had to finish up my purchasing, packing, and shipment preparation.

Work it out on over to WORLD NEIGHBOR!

How much Copper would a Coppersmith Smith, if a Coppersmith Could Smith Copper?

My guide and interpreter was a very resourceful guy with lots of great inside information and contacts. He know a guy that was a coppersmith who could help me ship my goods back to the states. The copper smith at the shop also put on a great show of "smithing" for me to videotape. I can't wait to edit all the footage down and share it with my World Neighbor Friends. All my adventures will be posted to YouTube, so stop on by and check it out!!

We strolled into the back of the Coppersmith's shop to witness the transformation of raw copper into beautiful works of art. The area around Santa Anna del Cobre used to be a copper mining area. As those mines have dried up, the artisans now use scrap copper to create their masterworks. They are also blessed with an abundance of (pine/cedar?) that burns a bit hotter than other woods and allows for the correct copper forging temperature. The guys back in the shop were stoking up the fire to commence with the demonstration. They started with a little chunk of copper about 6X6 inches and 3 inches thick. They heated that up until it was red hot and brought it over to the anvil. Four guys with sledgehammers then took turns pounding it into shape. A fifth guy held the copper in place with a long par of tongs while the beating was underway. These guys would be champion bell ringers at the carnival with their precision swipes at the raw copper. This process would continue until the copper was stretched into a thin sheet.

Carlos took me over to where another set of guys were forming and tempering the copper sheets into pots and sink basins with a series of specially shaped anvils. This was hard and sweaty work, but the works that filled the front showroom were a testament to the great work that these artisans produced. Juan Jose was the owner of this shop and he was also a valuable contact for me since he agreed to ship my multiple purchases back to the States for me at a discounted price. He knew all the ins and outs of getting the best deal in shipping to the border and then from there to my doorstep. I was extremely happy to have met this guy….and once again Carlos came through with another extremely valuable contact.

As the day wore on Carlos, my guide/interpreter, and I were becoming fast friends. We laughed about a few stories. We showed each other pictures of our kids. We shared some lunch together. Then Carlos told me a Mexican Joke:


There was a Mexican man catching crabs on the border of Mexico and America. He had two large steel pots, one with a lid and a rock on it and one without a lid. An American man from across the river was watching as the Mexican man caught crabs and put them in one pot or the other. Finally, the American's curiosity was piqued. He called out to the Mexican man, "Why are you putting some crabs in one pot with a lid and some in the other pot without the lid?." The Mexican man explained that the pot with the lid was for American crabs and the pot with no lid was for Mexican crabs. He explained further that the American crabs would climb on top of one another until one crab could grab the rim of the pot and all of them could escape by forming a "crab ladder". The Mexican crabs, on the other hand, would pull down any crab silly enough to try and climb up – so no lid was necessary.

















He said this joke was a good anecdote to describe Mexican society in general….painted by many years of war and strife. The Mexican was more individualistic and would pull someone else down so as not to have them be more successful that they were.







World Neighbor's Fun Stop

World Neighbor, Carlos and the Crafts

Carlos was a very knowledgeable guide. He told me about the local flora and fauna as well as the local politics. He was happy to have a chance to practice his English. He spoke English very well but it was about a month since he last had some practice. The Monarch butterfly mating season is a popular tourist attraction in the area and the season was now over. This meant there were less English speaking tourists to practice with.








Carlos my Guide, Interpreter and Good Guy...

Carlos told me that while international tourism was generally picking up, this area was still largely a place for national visitors. In Morelia, I did find myself being the only pale skinned gringo walking around most of the time. This made me somewhat of a novelty but everyone was very nice. Unlike Cancun, which is almost nothing but tourists in the resort areas, Morelia is populated with mostly native Mexicans. It is a very relaxed place with no vendors yelling out "Hey Honeymooners!" trying to sell you their imported Chinese crap. On the contrary, Morelia and the surrounding areas are all about century old crafts, artisans and their traditions. As with most big city areas these cultural treasures are becoming scarcer. But the outlying P'urhépecha Indian areas are still managing to keep the traditions alive.









World Neighbor's Wonderful, Award Winning World*












* OK....so I gave myself an award and a pat on the back...

World Neighbor Hangs with the Artisans

I am waiting for my guide Carlos. He is going to take me out to the small villages outside of Morelia and Patzcuaro. I took a nice morning stroll after a hearty Mexican breakfast that was heavy on the cheese and light on the heart health. I took some time to admire the religious art that is pervasive throughout the hotel.

World Neighbor's Funtastic Emporium

Carlos showed up right on time and we sped off to the artisan towns. Our first stop was a small town that specialized in woodcarving and furniture. We met with several shop owners as I searched for the perfect pieces to import back for my World Neighbor friends. I bought quite a bit at two stores. The shop owners were very nice and packed up my goods thoroughly with bubble wrap, newspaper, toilet paper and whatever else was available. Carlos took our pictures and we were on to the next town. Our next stop was to Santa Anna del Cobre, the home of the master copper smiths.

World Neighbor in Magnificent Morelia

After my long journey, I arrived in Morelia and settled in to my hotel the Posada de la Soledad. I ate a very tasty dinner at my hotel and relaxed in the perfect atmosphere created by the lush courtyard. After dinner I walked down to the center of town towards the grand Morelia cathedral. The downtown area was just coming to life. There were couples of all ages taking strolls hand in hand. Many young couples were busy showing their love publicly as they locked lips while sitting on the benches in the main square.

A mariachi band was just starting to assemble. There was also a pack of clowns getting ready to entertain (terrorize) the many kids running amok. I just sat by one of the fountains smoking a fine Cohiba, people watching and drinking it all in. Life is good!

World Neighbor Giggle Happy Fun Land

World Neighbor and the Autobus

I made it to the bus station, grabbed myself some agua and hit the Baño. The bus to Morelia is very comfortable and they even gave me a little carry on dinner box with water. I took my guidebooks recommendation and took the ETN bus line "directo". I'm glad that I did. Aside from a few quizzical looks as I butchered my minimal Espanol with my best American accent, everyone was very helpful and nice.

World Neighbor's Edu-tainment Extravaganza

World Neighbor Speaks Spanish…¡Mierda!

Although I know very little Spanish, I am muddling my way through the day in Mexico fairly well. I have to train my ear to "hear" Spanish. You can really pick up quite a bit through context and similarity of words with a common Latin base. You just have to listen and pay attention. Something that could benefit us all…

The driving lanes through Mexico city seem very slim. Just enough room for one car and a sliverof air between you and the car next to you. I am eternally grateful that I opted NOT to drive. I would have been run off the road. I could see me completely lost with my white knuckled death grip on the wheel…¡Mierda!

World Neighbor Visits Our Neighbor to the South

I will be leaving on a buying trip to Mexico April 9th. I am looking forward to this trip outside of Mexico City. I will be going Northwest of Mexico City out into the countryside. I plan on bringing back some treasures including pottery, tile, copper works, straw crafts, woven garments, and ceramics. The one thing that I have learned is that even the most wonderful, unique paintings and prints are difficult to sell unless you have a gallery for folks to get up close and personal with the piece. Since I run a web-based business I haven’t had much luck with the paintings and prints. Therefore, I will focus on the substantial cultural crafts and ethnographic arts that have been very successful. As always I will work with the indigenous community and practice fair trade to ensure that we share the prosperity around the globe.