small blanket

An adorable striped cat sits atop a polka-dot blanket in this beautiful decorative box from India. Artisan Fida Hussain creates the box from weeping willow wood, which is then covered in papier mache before being painted in a bold palette of black, gold, orange, yellow, and white. The cute and colorful container is perfect for keeping small items secure.

In the Day of the Dead tradition, Mexican artisan Angel Ceron handcrafts a ceramic statuette of a skeleton couple ready to celebrate. The man wears a wide, red sombrero and carries a sarape blanket over his shoulder. The woman has a long braid of hair and a party dress. A small dog at their feet joins in the fun. The sculpture is painted in a matte, earthy color palette that complements the medium of ceramic.

Painting from the marvelous municipality of Zunil, Guatemalan artist Hugo Pichiya captures a tranquil scene from a hillside road. Farm cottages dot the landscape as farmland blankets the hillside in the distance. Says the artist, "Guatemala is a beautiful place to become inspired; in each small corner there is a marvelous landscape. We are surrounded by nature, volcanoes, mountains, and flora and fauna; we are very fortunate. It is because of this that I want to transmit these elements into my work."

On a mission to combat poverty in her small village and create opportunities for women in her community, Guatemalan artisan Mirian Zet dedicates herself to creating beaded jewelry as a means of income and generating employment for others around her. Growing up on the shores of breathtaking Lake Atitlan, Mirian took inspiration from the wildlife and forest that blankets the Guatemalan highlands. Turning her love of nature into art, Mirian crafts these extravagant waterfall earrings inspired by the striking macaws that soar through the pure mountain air, utilizing red, yellow, black and white glass beads on sterling silver hooks.

Some objects slow you down just by sitting in your hands, and this natural fiber journal from Balinese artisan Komang Sulaksana is one of them. Handcrafted from banana bark, a winding vine of agel grass cord, finished with a small coiled spiral, trails across the cover against a background of real kupu-kupu leaves. A cinnamon stick lashed with cord serves as the binding, while inside, 50 pages of rice straw paper offer a blank, eco-conscious canvas ready for journaling, drawing or simply thinking out loud.