This week, I am delighted to share an interview with Julie de Halleux of Lisbon By Design Fair, who was kind enough to share highlights from this year’s show, which took place in May.

Lisbon By Design Fair is an annual craft and design fair that celebrates the uniqueness and craftsmanship of Portuguese design. Each year, they feature pieces that are created specifically for the event that they have never seen before.

This week, I am delighted to spotlight Zuahaza’s NEW collection launch called Buchua. For those that aren’t familiar, Zuahaza is an innovative brand working with artisans throughout Colombia.

This fresh line of home décor is perfect for spring and summer. The colors, textures, and patterns found within this collection were inspired by the diverse landscapes of Colombia. All textiles are hand woven, hand dyed, and made using organic cotton and hand-spun wool, sourced entirely in Colombia. Within the collection, they also have a gorgeous line of wall art and hand-painted earthenware.

This week, I am delighted to share an interview with Robbie Stewart of Mbare, a long-time colleague of AOW. We enjoyed working together on an artisan project for West Elm a few years back and I have loved following his work ever since.  Robbie has been running his import business since 1997, which supplies a unique collection of handcrafted products from Africa. He also offers warehousing services that are a growing demand for artisan enterprises. He's filling an important niche in this sector and has vast experience so let's dive in! I hope you enjoy!

This week, I am delighted to feature Leslie Mittelberg of Swahili Imports, who has over 28 years of experience in the artisan field. She was kind enough to share insights, lessons learned, and tips for importing as well as working directly with artisan producers.  Though she successfully sold the business earlier this year, during her tenure her team of 22 was working with up to 45 artisan partners in 15 countries throughout Africa. Products ranged across a variety of categories, including garden art, interior décor, textiles, jewelry, kitchen tools, and personal accessories.

I am delighted to start ‘24 by talking trends with Haley Seidel, a home furnishings designer and specialist in trend forecasting and product strategy. I have known Haley for many years now, and I first met them when she had just started working with The Citizenry, one of the top artisan home decor brands in the market today. A few years ago, Haley moved to upstate NY to freelance as a product consultant and designer. Haley has deep insight into the artisan field and a wealth of information regarding design trends, not to mention being a talented freelance product designer, particularly for artisan home decor. During this interview, we dive into her thoughts about trends, what she expects to see more of in ‘24, what’s here to stay, and what she wants to see gone (how to phrase). Also, we dive into travel destinations, business insights, her design process, sources of inspiration, and much more.

This week, I am delighted to feature an interview with Maggie Galton and Maria E Hagerman of Onoracasa, co-founders of one of the most beautiful artisanal brands I've come across in the market today based in Mexico City. I love how she gracefully blends exquisite craftsmanship, which speaks to culturally diverse craft techniques throughout Mexico, and elevates the artist's work by selling in their brick-and-mortar shop and online DTC site to a level that the craft and artists deserve through a keen eye and curation. Onoracasa has so much soul and beauty and strong relationships with its partners, and hope this can be a model for those in other countries to follow, as I feel their retail company has elevated the sector for those small, often unrecognized artists with exquisite museum quality products. Wholesale was a model they tried, which didn't work, and Maggie dives into that a little, where the trade and retail have been a focus for them.