Today we’d like to introduce you to Samuel Bautista Lazo.
Hi Samuel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
We are an ancient lineage of weavers from Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca. Our community has kept the weaving tradition since it emerged here, at one of the craddles of civilization, in Oaxaca’s central valleys. Our great grand fathers were weavers, our greatparents were weavers and this company we registered as a family business since the 1980’s since our workshop was openned and has been operating ever since.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When my parents started business was thriving, they were exporting rugs to feed the growing southwest home decor theme in the US abd when the NAFTA agreement came in 1994 they had to comply with new paperwork and permits that regularized international trade. The real challenge came after 9/11 when packaging and shipping became ever more strict with paperwork and inspection leading to the 2008 financial crisis that almost puts us out of business. The aftermath of the 2008 crisis sent us back to doing more farming and lesss weaving, I went to the Uk to get a PhD in Sustainable manufacturing and for five years I had not much involvement in the rug making business. But when I got back in 2013, we redefined our business model and reinvented ourselves to tap into new markets and design trends.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We are among the few communities around the world that keep an intact lineage in their craft and traditions. Our family is proud to make unique hand woven, natural dyed wool rugs and accesories using ancestral recipies and techniques. Our textile art has been evolving and adaptign trhough time since the arrival of Europeans bringing sheep and the pedal loom into our work and changing the way we weave to make wool blankets and rugs that are now prize winning pieces at weaving contest and being featured in fashion show events, documentaries and sought after by private collectors.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Staying true to our roots and valuing the knowledge accumulated by our lienage and ancestors. The whims of history are unpredictable, markets are volatile and technology changes rapidly, however we stay true to the timeless methods, designs and values that makes us humans, we remember the teachings that guides us when the storm comes and we also adapt quickly to new environments, materials and tools but always staying true to our roots.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dixza.com
- Instagram: dixzarugsnativefarm
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dixzarugs/
- LinkedIn: https://mx.linkedin.com/in/dixza
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DIXZA
