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About Tlalli Designs

Our Service Pledge To You:
We are committed to providing our clients with high-quality handmade craftsmanship by master artisans at a reasonable price. We have developed personal relationships with all the artisans with whom we work and have extensive knowledge of their production techniques.

Because we maintain all our inventory at our location in Seattle, we are able to personally inspect every item before we ship it to you. This policy also allows us to ship your purchase quickly, usually within two (2) business days of receiving payment.

Finally, we want all of our clients to be completely satisfied with their purchases and offer a 14-day unconditional refund policy. If something doesn't meet your expectations, just ship it back to us and we'll refund your purchase price plus initial shipping.

About Us

Tlalli Designs is dedicated to the idea that artisan production techniques will disappear if they are not promoted actively in the marketplace. We specialize in high quality accessories and decorative items for the home. Everything we sell is handmade in small artisan workshops or studios where we buy directly from the artisans themselves. Most of these are family-owned businesses and many do not have ready access to the international marketplace. Some of the production techniques employed by these artisans go back generations but are currently at risk because of competition from mass-produced cheap imports.

We import from Mexico exclusively and are extremely selective about the merchandise that we bring to market. We believe that our specialized knowledge allows us to provide our customers with very high quality and excellent value. All of the artisans we work with produce in limited quantities. This means that most of what we offer is difficult to find elsewhere, and certainly impossible to locate in larger commercial retail outlets. We take special pride in the personal relationships that we have nurtured with all of the artisans with whom we work. We feel a special commitment to help them thrive and share with the rest of the world the unique and varied cultural heritage of Mexico.

Everything we sell is new and is currently held by us in inventory and will be shipped to you directly from our location in Seattle. This guarantees our clients availability and timely shipping of the items listed in our shop. As a matter of policy, we only buy directly from the artisans who produce what we sell and never from wholesalers or resellers.

We are also working to expand our design business. We have several projects in the works to produce custom designed items in the home decor category. These will be unique Tlalli designs and will be available exclusively in our shop.

A partial list of the artisans with whom we work includes:

• Ken Edwards Stoneware: Founded by Ken Edwards in the 1950's, his workshop continues to produce some of the most sought-after tableware in Mexico. At Tlalli Designs, we feature the "Collection" series, Ken Edwards's most exclusive design. Each piece of "Collection" series stoneware is individually hand painted by a highly skilled artisan. Ken Edwards's stoneware is notable for its animal motifs that recall the very long ceramics tradition of Tonaá, the artisan center in the state of Jalisco where the Ken Edwards studio is located. All Ken Edwards stoneware is lead-free and dishwasher safe. Interested in a Ken Edwards dinner set? We can put together a custom set just for you!


• Xochiquetzal Stoneware: The artisans of Xochiquetzal produce both stoneware for everyday use as well as elegant decorative pieces. Their decorative stoneware employs the "petatillo" technique, another very traditional design from the region around Tonalá. In addition, we are working with the artisans of Xochiquetzal on several commissioned projects. These are unique items (lamps, decorative vases, etc.) that they produce in very limited quantities exclusively for Tlalli Designs. Xochiquetzal dining sets are also available. Just drop us a line.


• Nicasio Pajarito: Nicasio Pajarito is the undisputed master of burnished "canelo" pottery. Working with his sons, he produces beautiful decorative items employing production techniques that go back hundreds of years. He is one of the featured artisans in the authoritative "Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art" and his work has been celebrated in both Mexico and internationally.


• Pedro Hernández Carlos: Pedro Hernández Carlos is one of the most innovative artisans working today in Mexico. He specializes in the "barro verde" technique, producing amazing pieces of green pottery "piñas," or pineapples, as well as exotic candelabras. He has won numerous prizes for his beautiful, sculpted pottery and we are honored to feature his work in our shop. True "barro verde" pottery is produced exclusively in two small villages in the state of Michoacán, MX.


• José and Olimpia Barba: The beautiful items produced by this husband and wife artisan team come to us from Santa Clara del Cobre, famous throughout Mexico and internationally for its fine quality copper wares. They specialize in hammered copper pieces that are often painted and/or overlaid with gold or silver leaf. The variety of their work is truly astonishing, ranging from small compact mirrors and decorative vases, to large museum quality pieces worth thousands of dollars.


• Isidro Reyes and Family: For decades the Reyes family has been producing hand-loomed table linens and bedspreads in their small workshop near the shores of Lake Chapala in rural Jalisco, MX. Their workshop is comprised of just three manual looms where they weave cotton and colored acrylic thread into the splendid items on view in our shop: placemats, table runners, napkins, and, our most popular item, bedspreads. What is on view in our shop is only a small sampling of the enormous variety of colors and patterns available, so if you have a special request, let us know! Bedspreads can be made to order in about five weeks at no extra charge.