May 14, 2014

Dallas Exclusive: International Folk Art Market I Collection Returns for Fourth Year

The International Folk Art Market I Collection, a Dallas exclusive, returns June 18-22 during the Total Home & Gift Market. This is the fourth year artisans from around the world will gather to showcase one-of-a-kind items and folk art from their cultures.

“The Collection offers the opportunity for retailers to purchase products that help build and sustain local communities around the world,” said Cindy Morris, COO, Dallas Market Center. “The crafting of these items, often passed down from generation to generation, make a difference and tell a story –providing a unique intercultural exchange between the global artisans and our Dallas buyers.”

The artists will be showcased on the World Trade Center 1st floor from more than 15 countries, including Cambodia, Ecuador, Kenya, South Africa, Spain, Uganda and more before heading to the annual International Folk Art Market I Santa Fe, the largest folk art market in the world.

Artists showcase embroidered textiles, basketry, ceramics, beaded jewelry, painted wood objects, tie-dye scarves, hand-woven silks and clothing native to their countries. Much of the handmade work is crafted through processes passed down from generation to generation. The proceeds directly transform lives by providing year-round income, creating a lasting economic impact on their communities.

To preview the unique Collection and see how artists make a difference for their families and communities, visit dallasmarketcenter.com/markets/folkart. Artists include:

African Art Centre – Beaded dolls, wood carvings and telephone wire pots – South Africa

The African Art Centre is non-profit organization that contributes to the development, promotion and appreciation of the works of artists and craftspeople from KwaZulu Natal in South Africa, including telephone wire baskets, Amangwe Beaded Bergville Dolls depicting various stages of womanhood, and Woodcarvings from indigenous Mpengede wood are decorated with the Ukushisela technique of wood burned edges and inspired by African folklore.

Beads of Esiteti – Beaded jewelry and clothing – Kenya

Created in 2010, Beads of Esiteti supports nearly 300 Maasai women in Esiteti/Embarinkoi, Kenya. Through economic empowerment, the fair-trade organization aims to decrease cases of early marriage, HIV/AIDS and female mutilation common in Maasailand. The brightly-colored beadwork comes in single strands, tribal and warrior patterns, and earth-toned bangles and scarves. Maasai women use the income generated from their beadwork to sustain themselves, their children and community.

Finatur Design – Hats, jewelry, belts and woven bags – Colombia

The indigenous Zenu tribe has produced master weavers since pre-historic times. Finatur Design works with the Zenu people on the Reservation of San Andres de Sotavento, in the Colombian Caribbean, providing logistics and marketing, creating links with international markets and acting as proud ambassadors of the native peoples.

Mekong Blue – Silk accessories and home furnishings – Cambodia

Mekong Blue, supported by the Stung Treng Women’s Development Center (STWDC), assists Cambodian women in breaking vicious cycles of poverty, prostitution and AIDS through education, vocation training and employment. More than 70 women employed at STWDC work in weaving houses producing fine silk products made with 100 percent natural silk fibers and non-toxic German dye. Products include luxury bedding, craft fabric, clothing and home wares in hundreds of bright colors and patterns.

Rasuljon Mirzaahmedov – Ikat textiles, home furnishings, bags, shoes, table runners, clothing and pillows – Uzbekistan

Rasuljon represents five generations of ikat weavers in the most famous place for silk production in Central Asia. His family is at the vanguard of a revival of velvet ikat weaving, a technique that is highly complicated and practiced by very few. The process requires a month to produce just a few yards of fabric.

Sidr Craft – Silk scarves – India

Abduljabbar and Abdullah Khatri practice the bandhani – or tie and dye – processes traditional to their community in western India where the fabric can be seen in both traditional and modern clothing for men and women. The Khatri brothers have received the coveted UNESCO Award of Excellence for their intricate, multi-step dye process.

Tinoco Family – Hand-carved and painted figures – Mexico

Agustín Cruz Tinoco and Agustín Cruz Prudencio are skilled in the art of wood carving carrying on a centuries-old heritage that began before the arrival of the Spanish with a tradition of giving a baby a small carving of their spirit protector or ‘nahual.’ Their hand-carved wooden figures begin as blank pieces of pine, and are transformed into intricately-detailed “jaguar” boxes, religious figures, altar pieces and nativity scenes that have earned the pair many awards in Mexico as well as internationally.

Tuareg Jewelry – Jewelry – Niger

Elhadji Koumama heads a cooperative that specializes in making exquisite jewelry using 99 percent pure fine silver, ebony wood and semi-precious stones. The Koumama family makes jewelry using the lost wax method, hand-hammering and engraving with simple tools using methods and patterns their forefathers used centuries ago.

Uganda Crafts – Basketry – Uganda

Uganda Crafts provides employment and training to more than 300 artisans who contribute to the fair-trade organization. A majority of artisans are among Uganda’s most disadvantaged populations: the disabled, widows and people living with HIV/AIDS. The artisans’ craft primarily includes basket weaving, carried out by local women in their homes between domestic duties. The detailed process includes coiling local leaf fibers around long strips of banana stems. Uganda Crafts offers retailers customizable colors, size and design options.

Zhanyl Sharshembieva – Silver Jewelry – Kyrgyzstan

A representative of well-known folk artist group 7 Sisters, Zhanyl has expanded her creative pursuits by learning the traditional jewelry techniques of Kyrgyzstan, receiving a UNESCO Award of Excellence in 2012. She draws on her community’s traditions as shepherds and herdsmen, and creates decorative motifs for the silver jewelry illustrative of the culture’s pagan symbols for earth, sky and water, as well as the plant and animal life of the region.

About Dallas Market Center

Founded in 1957, Dallas Market Center is the world’s most complete wholesale marketplace. Within its marketplace of more than five million square feet, retailers from around the globe source products ranging from home furnishings, gifts, decorative accessories and lighting to textiles, fashion accessories and men’s, western, women’s and children’s apparel. With more than 50 markets each year attended by more than 200,000 retail buyers from all 50 states and 85 countries, Dallas Market Center offers hundreds of events and seminars geared toward helping retailers expand business and increase profits. The Dallas Market Center website is available at dallasmarketcenter.com.