Artisan Crafted 100% Cotton Ruana with Fringe, "Natural Elegance"

"My name is Virginia Plascencia and I'm from a small town in Mexico. Along with my family, I've been creating tablecloths, blankets, napkins and other handwoven textiles since 1977.

"For a time, my husband worked in a weaving workshop where he learned the work while I took courses at the Instituto de Artesania. It took time for people to become aware of our designs, and we both divided our time between developing our workshop and raising our eight children.

"Things began improving when a Canadian customer kindly lent us the money to buy our first loom. Soon, we were able to buy another and we started getting more work.

"I'm grateful despite the difficulties we've experience. Our art has given us everything we've ever needed. We were able to raise and educate our children. The most important part for me has been to work happily because if you enjoy what you do, everything will turn out fine.

"We use cotton, acrylic and polyester for the fabrics woven in our workshop. All of my children learned this craft, but only two of them continue weaving. My husband and our nieces also help.

"After all this time, the process is easy for me now. First, we warp the loom, then the horizontal threads are added one by one. My son and I create designs with the color combinations we like. We have a popular design I call 'New York Miracle.' My son created this after the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center. For some time after that, we didn't have any sales but as soon as this design was finished, we sold it to an American couple. Since then, it's been one of our most popular models and we've had steady sales ever since.

"I'm very happy with what I've achieved through my work. All my life, I dreamed of moving our workshop to a larger place close to home and, in 2014, we finally managed to do it. I hope at least one of our children will take over the family workshop one day, or teach someone else to keep the tradition going. Aside from that, I'd just like to continue designing and weaving."