A Package from Costa Rica

Costa Rican coffe:  a gift from Silvia of Galeria Octagono

Yesterday I got a nice package in the mail:  a gift from one of our TAFA members, Silvia of Galeria Octagono in Costa Rica.  (See her member profile on TAFA). 

coffee.  macadamia candy.  brochures.  ornaments made by her kids workshop.

FUN   FUN   FUN

Silvia joined a couple of months ago and has been a joy!  She participates actively in several of our forums and we share many common interests with Latin America, nature, and of course, how things are made.  As the SDA representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Silvia has a broad range in her role as an artist, educator and member of the world textile community.

As I was thinking of her and where she lives, I thought I would check it out on Google Earth:

Sil had sent a marker, which made it easier:  "If you look up "Bosque de la Hoja, Heredia, Costa Rica" you'll get Galería Octágono campus. We're at the intersection: the road continues north to the Divide, and we're outside a huge fancy residencial development (Residencial Ave del Paraíso)."

They have a small B&B with a cabin and in my imagination, I am there, hiking around in the local hills and mountains.  Here is one of the photos from her husband's, Rick's, blog:

Paradise, eh?

From there, I killed a couple more hours looking at Google Earth.  I went to Kabul and ran away.  What an awful place!  Down to where I grew up in Brazil.  Now everyone in my old neighborhood has a swimming pool in their back yard!  Puh-leeze....  I don't want to hear any griping from my Brazilian friends about hard times!  Went and took a look at Chicago, came down to Paducah and then the bird got tired and went to bed.

Woke up this morning....  and yes...  I had a wonderful cup of that Costa Rican coffee.  Thought of Silvia again.  She had told me she was sending me a bag of coffee, but I had no idea it was going to be so big!  Looks like I will be thinking about her for weeks ahead!

The Musician, available at Galeria Octagono

Galeria Octagono is a lively place with many community programs and projects.  Silvia is now a radio celebrity, with a weekly program aimed at getting regular people to think about art, nature, and other topics.  It's all about education, meaningfulness, creating community, making life rich with color, texture and collaboration.  I think about how each of us has the potential to impact our local communities.  How we live in such faraway places, but in a click of the button, we can get a bird's eye view of our neighborhoods.  How we can never meet yet still be friends.  

Want to share a cup of coffee with Silvia?  I doubt she can send bags all over the world, but she is there, interacting with our online communities.  Visit her website, her blog, and if you can, go down and spend some time at their B&B.  And, I bet that if you have some craft supplies that need a new home, Galeria Octagono would be a good place to send them.  Buy their art, send donations, and make new friends.  It's a beautiful world and it warms my heart that Silvia is down there, doing her piece to make it so.

Thank you, Silvia!

A Package from Costa Rica

Flying Messages to the Dead by Erin Stoy and John Barrie

Kite Flying in Guatemala Honors the Dead

Communication and contact with ancestors is an important part of life for people in communities throughout the world, who often put aside a time each year to commemorate and honor this connection. In Guatemala, as in much of Latin America, this commemoration takes place on the first and second days of November, with the first (El Día de Los Muertos or ‘Day of the Dead’) being the focal point. Among many activities that take place across the country, one of the most striking can be found in the town of Santiago Sacatepéquez, situated at a distance of 25km from Antigua.

A Gigantic Circular Kite with its Barrileteros

An amazing spectacle appears in the first days of November: Gigantic circular kites up to 15m (50 ft) in diameter, bearing designs of breathtaking intricacy and color, are exhibited by their proud creators. Other kites of up to 5m (16ft) in diameter fly high above the crowds. The giant kites are constructed over a period of three months by groups of barrileteros (kite makers), who compete on November 1st for prizes in different categories. The prizes received are modest, but the honor and respect gained by winning are great.

The practice of building giant kites in Santiago Sacatepéquez is now in its 109th year, and -- while its origins are somewhat hazy – many people there view the tradition as symbolizing the communication between this earthly realm and the elevated sphere of the dead. Another popular view is that the flapping of the kites’ tails in the air scares away evil spirits, giving good spirits the freedom to enjoy the day with their still-living relatives.

Guatemalan Kites Communicate with the Dead
and Scare Away Evil Spirits

The great majority of those involved with building and flying kites in Santiago are Kaqchiquel-speaking indigenas (indigenous people), and many traditional Mayan spiritual ceremonies take place around the creation of the kites each year. The process of creating, showing, and flying kites in Santiago has become an integral part of the identity of the indigenous people of the town, something that is rightly regarded with enormous pride. The residents of Santiago are happy to share this tradition with outsiders, both Guatemalan and from further afield, and every year on November 1st the town is filled with visitors eager to witness the spectacle for themselves. Visitors are also welcome to attend the wider range of events leading up to November 1st. The people of Santiago Sacatepéquez invite you to witness their colorful festivities first-hand!

Erin Stoy, John Barrie and Little Azucena in Guatemala

Erin Stoy, a regular contributor of Fiber Focus, owns La Chapina Huipil Crafts. She is an American whoʼs lived in Guatemala for over a year and a half, caring for the daughter she and her husband are in the process of adopting. During her time in Guatemala,she has developed a passion for Mayan textiles. She has been selling arts and crafts she makes from used huipiles (traditional, hand-woven Guatemalan blouses) since October 2007. Her blog is http://huipil-crafts.blogspot.com/ and her Etsy shop, which is stocked full of treasures, is http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5857359. Visit her!

Flying Messages to the Dead by Erin Stoy and John Barrie

La Chapina Huipil Crafts Expands Etsy Store: Guatemalan Supplies!

Recycled Huipil Baby Doll made by Erin Stoy

It's not easy to find your niche on Etsy- the competition is fierce! But, some sellers find their market and are able to grow their stores into healthy operations. I've had the pleasure of watching Erin Stoy of La Chapina Huipil Crafts do exactly that! I asked Erin to share her experience as I think she has hit on the key to making a living through online sales: balance your handmade creations with complementary supplies. Look around your environment and see what you can find that others might want!

Other key lessons to learn from Erin: clear photos, affordable prices, healthy selection (her store is stocked with over 200 items right now), and good descriptions.

When I joined Etsy in May of this year, my plan was simply to continue selling my hand-sewn crafts made from recycled Guatemalan textiles. I'd had success doing that off-Etsy for the previous seven months, especially with my Christmas ornaments and personalized art for kids' rooms. However, with sales in my new shop starting off slowly, I began to brainstorm ways I could expand my product offerings. I noticed that the top sellers on Etsy were almost all suppliers, and that certainly made sense: Etsy is a market full of creative people wanting to buy interesting things with which they can make their own arts and crafts! So instead of trying to compete solely based on my handicrafts, I began my search in the local markets and shops here in Antigua, Guatemala, for textiles to sell as supplies. I'd already been selling bags full of my textile scraps, so this was the next logical step, and I began offering cintas (hand-woven hair ribbons) and squares of textile fabric, along with the occasional whole huipil (traditional hand-woven blouse worn by indigenous women and girls in Guatemala).

Recycled Huipil Scrap Sampler Bag

It took a change in mindset to make the move to sell something unrelated to textiles, as the name of my shop was and is "La Chapina Huipil Crafts". At first the idea of this change made me uncomfortable, as if I were abandoning my original vision, but then I came across a great little shop that sold ceramic beads made in Guatemala and Peru. I loved these little beads and charms, and I knew many of my customers would, too. Tiny Guatemalan people in traditional dress, little animals, fruits and veggies, and skulls (for Day of the Dead!) are just some of the styles of beads I now regularly stock in my shop.

Pendant Beads

Once I started selling beads, I found myself really wanting to try my own hand at making jewelry for the shop. However, jewelry is one of the most saturated categories on Etsy, so I needed to make a niche for myself. I found a local source for beads made of tagua, which grows in the South American rainforest and is an excellent and eco-friendly alternative to ivory. Using dyed beads and slices made from tagua seeds and nuts, I've had a great time making some simple jewelry, and the fact that it is environmentally friendly fits with my previous emphasis on recycled materials.

Ecofriendly Tagua Bracelet and Earrings Set

A few months into my expansion, three of my ten shop sections are dedicated to supplies. Some of my best sellers are different sizes and styles of Guatemalan worry dolls, ceramic beads, and lovely small prints -- great as scrapbooking embellishments -- by a local watercolor artist. I also carry some wood items like miniature handpainted masks and fruit.

Watercolor Maya Mother and Baby

Large Guatemalan worry dolls

Although huipiles are no longer the sole focus of my shop, they still have a special place among the other Latin American crafts and supplies. Offering supplies has greatly increased sales (though lowering the average selling price per item) and brought in many new customers who are not necessarily interested in the items I make myself. And perhaps most importantly, the search for new supplies is a lot of fun !

Spanish Rubber Stamp - Excelente with Star

Erin Stoy of La Chapina Huipil Crafts is an American whoʼs lived in Guatemala for over a year, caring for the daughter she and her husband are in the process of adopting. During her time in Guatemala,she has developed a passion for Mayan textiles. She has been selling arts and crafts she makes from used huipiles (traditional, hand-woven Guatemalan blouses) since October 2007. Her blog is http://huipil-crafts.blogspot.com and her Etsy shop is http://lachapina.etsy.com.

La Chapina Huipil Crafts Expands Etsy Store: Guatemalan Supplies!

The Costume Page, A Most Wonderful Resource

Have you heard of The Costume Page? Are you interested in clothing design, apparel throughout the ages? Do you have many, many, many hours at your disposal to explore this extensive list? The Costume Page is a resource that compiles links to websites with costume related information. Julie Zetterberg Sardo, who developed the site, states:

"Welcome to The Costume Page, my personal library of costume and costuming-related links. I'm sharing it for the benefit of those who study and/or make costumes: costumers, students, historical re-enactors, science fiction fans, professionals, amateurs, dancers, theatrical costumers, trick-or-treaters, writers, researchers, and all those interested in fashion, textile art, and costume history.

There are over 1,000 unique links listed on these pages. Some of them cover more than one area of interest. I recommend that you browse through all sections of The Costume Page if you don't immediately find what you're seeking. I've tried to cross-reference where possible, but you're likely to find some additional gems if you dig!"

The subjects are divided into the following topics:

Home | Reference | Museums | History | Topics | Ethnic | Theatrical
Organizations | Events | Schools | Instructions
Halloween | Other Lists
Materials | Accessories | Costumes

Each of them opens the door to a vast compilation of links. Of course, my favorite is the Ethnic tab. This one is divided into:

Africa | Asia & India | Western Europe | Eastern Europe and Siberia
Near & Middle East | North, Central & South America | Pacific Islands

The linked sites are varied and include documentation of historical costumes, how-to pages, and ethnographic information. Photocollect deals with old photographs such as the Japanese warrior below. They target museums and private collectors as clients.


Macedonian Folk Embroidery offers samples of embroidered clothing and patterns such as the one below:


Maya Adventure has a page on woven symbolism in Mayan textiles.

Those three are just a small sampling of what is available in the ethnic section. There is a lot more on Japanese kimono, Indian saris, Middle Eastern garb, African wraps and a huge section on European costumes.

The Costume Page is especially rich with information on Western historical fashion. The Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Medieval links are fascinating! Footwear of the Middle Ages is one example of an excellent overview of how shoes were made, what tools were used, and what the various designs meant in that period.


One of the Paducah artists had a costume party last year with a 1960's theme. Another one used a flapper theme. I used this site as an idea place to figure out what to wear for both parties. Sometimes you just need to look at some good images to get some inspiration. This is the place to come.

There are also many links that have excellent educational resources for kids (or adults who like to play...). David Claudon Paper Dolls has a huge selection of designs from all over the world through the ages. My sister is home schooling her kids and I can just imagine her using these as teaching aids.

The Costume Page is an invaluable resource for theater people, designers, historians, and anybody just curious enough to poke around the site. I can only thank Julie Zetterberg Sardo for putting such an excellent collection at our disposal. Thank you for all your hard work!

The Costume Page, A Most Wonderful Resource

Mayan Hands: Working in Guatemala and in the US to Support Indigenous Women

The history of Weave A Real Peace, or WARP, is closely tied to Mayan Hands, an organization working with Guatemalan textile artisans. One of WARP’s founders, Deborah Chandler, is the in-country director. And Mary Joan Ferrara-Marsland, Mayan Hands’ US director of marketing and distribution, is a long-time WARP member, as is Brenda Rosenbaum, founder of Mayan Hands (MH). Both Deborah and Mary Joan have served as WARP board members. Those who attended WARP’s 2007 Annual Meeting in Guatemala visited several cooperatives and met weavers who work with MH.

This article was written for WARP's Summer 2008 newsletter and both organizations have requested to have it reprinted here on Fiber Focus. WARP is a must read for those of you who are interested in connecting with other weavers committed to social justice


Part 1 - The Guatemalan Side by Deborah Chandler

I am writing from my desk in our warehouse on the edge of Guatemala City. I work here with Julio Cardona, my administrative assistant. Our designer, Joanne de Rybar, works in her home studio in the city. Mayan Hands also shares the rent of a small house in Panajachel, where the group leaders we work with go monthly to meet with Teresa Gomez, our field worker, to deliver their work and pick up their new yarn and orders. The 200+ weavers/crocheters/ embroiderers/basket makers live in ten communities scattered across the western and northern highlands; it takes a very long day to get from one end to the other (two days is better). Teresa also visits nearly every community every month. Some days I think that describing Mayan Hands realistically would just be a listing of problems to be solved: acquiring quality yarn, way more difficult than you would imagine; transporting people/goods through mega-highway construction that adds hours to any trip, on buses that too often get drivers or passengers robbed or killed; suppliers who say every day they will send what we need but don’t do it; coping with shipping fees that jump by 100%; the government suddenly requiring verification of paperwork done years earlier that takes a day or two of standing in lines; the phones going out for three weeks; the bank changing their policy of freeing funds on US checks from same day to 10 days to 15 days to 21 days and calling that a privilege; discovering that instructions were given to the women incompletely and most of a month’s work is unacceptable. Etc.

We regularly must decide how to respond to challenges in the women’s lives such as: an attack of African bees during a group meeting that wounded humans and killed livestock; husbands and sons who disappeared en route to the US to find work; family members murdered while in Guatemala City; women or their children living with debilitating health problems; robbery of the entire month’s income for a whole group held up by ten (yes 10!) masked gunmen. And don’t forget flooding, earthquakes, mudslides, and other natural disasters, all part of the Guatemalan landscape. In every case, what do we do to help, if anything?

But other days I remember: last year we paid the women over one million quetzales (almost $150,000). We spent approximately Q. 250,000 on yarn. After those two biggest expenses, in the five years I have been with Mayan Hands we have reduced our operating expenses from unknown to 12% to 8%, and as a result last year actually broke even, i.e., covered our expenses for the first time. (That does not include the salaries of the four of us working here in Guatemala, which are donated.) Through constant encouragement and provision of school supplies, we can now say that all the women’s children are going to school, including their daughters. In addition, we have developed our sister education project, Oxlajuj B’atz’, which provides the women with workshops in four areas: artisan techniques, small business skills, democracy and organization, and women’s health.

The women all say that being able to count on having an income every month is even more important than the amount they earn, because it allows them to plan ahead. By providing steady work we are making a significant difference in the lives of the women, but the real changes will be for the next generation, for their daughters and sons who will have options the women never had. And for that, the struggle is worth it.

Part 2 - the US Side by Mary Joan Ferrara-Marsland

The US distribution seems pretty mundane in comparison to the Guatemala side of things, but this part is absolutely necessary, too. Without a market, all the work in Guatemala would be for nothing. We certainly do not have many issues to deal with, compared to the obstacles that confront the Guatemala side daily. After nine years of working out of my house, last year I moved the operation into a warehouse space of about 1800 sq ft. in the rolling countryside of Ijamsville, Maryland. The space can be very cold in winter and very hot in summer—the downside— but is still much better than lack of space and having products all over my house and in sheds out back. We also worked out of my one-car garage, which was even more uncomfortable than the warehouse. Our work team now consists of me, the US director of marketing and distribution, and two part-time employees, my assistants and the main packers, Dana Dallas and Laura Mayer. As was my house, the new space is shared with another Guatemalan crafts organization that helps women, one with which many of you are familiar, UPAVIM Crafts.

A separate, smaller division of Mayan Hands is located in Albany, NY. The founder of Mayan Hands, Brenda Rosenbaum, works out of her home, doing retail sales and organizing consignments for people who want to help MH. Brenda also gives talks when asked, and is very much our “ambassador.” Much as she loves the contact with customers through sales and presentations, her favorite activity is developing new products, always looking for something new and exciting for our customers.

We receive orders from our print catalog via e-mail, fax, or phone. We hope to go to a wholesale website in the near future. Our regular customers are in the US, Canada, the UK, and occasionally other parts of the world. They are mainly shops, many of which are fair trade, and also church groups, website based companies, non-profit organizations, and individuals who do shows and fairs. Presently very little is sold retail from the warehouse but there may be more sales here when we get a retail website going. We usually process and ship orders within a day or two. Customers have 30 days to pay once they have established an account. The early part of the year is slow—it picks up as the year goes on until we are non-stop super busy in October and November, our two busiest months and when half of our sales for the year take place.

Although I am also in charge of marketing, we really are unable to do much. There is no advertising budget so I try to come up with ingenious low budget ways of letting people know about things—special mailings and e-mails mostly. Most people find our site on the web or hear of us by word of mouth. Even without advertising, we have managed to increase sales every year, perhaps a result of consistently high quality products and the attentive service given to our customers. Even now, while a lot of businesses are suffering, Mayan Hands sales are up for the year.

Shipments leave Guatemala once every six weeks or so, and arrive at Dulles Airport in Virginia. A customs broker does the necessary import paperwork and clears the shipments for us. Then a trucker brings the shipments to our warehouse. There is usually about a one week turnaround time from pickup in the Guatemalan warehouse to delivery to our warehouse. It takes a couple of days to unpack and process the shipments. It is hard work, but it is always fun to see what comes, both products we are expecting and any new products recently developed.

At my end, the first of the two main frustrations is having to backorder products because we do not have what people want. When I first started it was impossible to get much at all. Once Deborah started overseeing production (five years ago), backorders decreased significantly. After reading the Guatemala side of the story you can fully understand why we do not have certain products at times. Unfortunately a lot of customers do not understand the challenges at that end, and they get very frustrated, too. It can take up to a year to get some items when there are problems with material procurement or groups.

The second biggest frustration is people that do not pay on time (or at all!) and need constant reminders. For the most part, though, I say we have the best customers in the world. They are very supportive of what we do and really want to help people better their lives through fair trade. Because they are committed to fair trade they seem to be more conscientious. Overall, it is great work and we are all really happy to be able to do something meaningful and fun that benefits so many women every year. Who could ask for more than being surrounded by beautiful textiles day in and day out? I think the answer to that is really easy….

Note: Some of Mayan Hands products are available online through A Greater Gift, a program of SERRV International. Looks like Mayan Hands could use some volunteers! Contact them if you have time or expertise that would help them deal with the logistics of production and marketing.

Mayan Hands: Working in Guatemala and in the US to Support Indigenous Women

Job Opportunity: Executive Director of MayaWorks

MayaWorks, a proud member of the Fair Trade Federation, is a microenterprise nonprofit organization focused on marketing the handiwork of Maya artists in Guatemala. Founded in 1990, the organization is seeking a passionate, committed, and entrepreneurial new executive director to lead the organization through its next stage of growth. The Executive Director will be responsible for setting the strategic vision of the organization, and for overseeing all aspects of financial management and fund development for the organization’s $600,000 budget. This position is located in Chicago, IL, with periodic travel to Guatemala.

To Apply:
MayaWorks has engaged Koya Consulting to manage this search. Please send cover letter and resume to Dana Levy at executivesearch@koyaconsulting.com, and put MayaWorks in the title
line.

Candidates will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. MayaWorks is an equal opportunity employer.

Job Opportunity: Executive Director of MayaWorks

Yolanda: A Lifetime of Embroidery in Patzun, Guatemala

by Erin Stoy


Huipiles are the traditional, hand-woven blouses worn by women in Guatemala, and the designs vary by village. Those made in Patzun feature red or burgundy fabric with thin stripes. They are different from many other Guatemalan huipiles because the adornments are embroidered onto the fabric instead of being woven into it. Yolanda Rodriguez Yos, a 22-year-old woman from Patzun, estimates that 90% of women in her hometown wear traje (traditional Mayan dress). The remaining women work in the capital and wear ropa americana (American clothing) much of the time.

Yolanda's mother taught her second eldest daughter to embroider when she was 12 years old. This is a common age for girls to learn, although daughters of wealthier families may not learn until they are 15 or 20 years old. These wealthier girls do not need to embroider to help the family earn money.

The women of Yolanda's family, however, embroidered huipiles to sell at the Sunday market in Patzun. Yolanda believes that about 85% of women in Patzun know how to embroider. For families like hers, it is too expensive to purchase completed huipiles, so they purchase fabric from local weavers and create and embroider the huipiles themselves. The Rodriguez Yos family purchases its fabric from an aunt, who weaves but does not embroider.

As a young teenager, Yolanda would go to school until noon, come home and eat lunch, then work on embroidery from 1:00-6:00pm. After a break for dinner, she would embroider again from 7:00pm-midnight. Her mother would have one huipil made by Yolanda; one by her older sister, Erika; and one by herself to take to the market each Sunday. The exchange rate is currently 7.38 quetzales per dollar. Each huipil would sell for about 175Q, 110Q of which was materials (70Q for woven fabric and 45 for thread). That left a whopping 65Q (less than US$9) for 70 hours of work! And most of that money had to be re-invested in fabric and thread for the next huipil.


Yolanda's sister, Erica, began embroidering at age eight and never liked it. Yolanda laughs that Erica's huipiles would feature about four flowers, whereas the average one has about 20. Yolanda and her mother frequently had to finish Erika's huipiles to get them ready to sell. Yolanda enjoyed using her imagination to design flowers and choose colors, which remain her favorite aspects of embroidery. (Sewing the randa, or piece that joins the two pieces of woven fabric, is the part she likes the least.)

"Randa", embroidery covering the seam between two pieces of fabric.

For Christmas, each girl would receive fabric and thread in order to make a huipil for herself.

Yolanda is particularly efficient in her embroidery, in that it takes her one week to do what it takes many women two to four weeks to do. Instead of layering two colors on top of each other, making the embroidery very thick, she interconnects the different colors, making only one layer of thread. This saves not only time, but also money spent on thread. And she prefers the finished look to that of the thicker embroidery.

The basic steps for creating a huipil from Patzun, if one is starting with cloth already made:

1. Sew two panels of fabric together. This embroidery can be done in patterns of triangles, jugs, straight lines, or knots in the form of flowers.

2. Choose the shape of the collar opening shape: round, square, diamond, or star.

3. Divide the fabric into visual quadrants. With pen,draw flowers, leaves, and buds. (Some women, like Yolanda, prefer to draw and then embroider one quadrant at a time.) Be very careful when drawing the circle around the collar to make sure you're not going lopsided. The design should be the same in all four quadrants, but the colors can be different on the front and back. This is the step in which the embroiderer can use the most creativity and imagination, selecting a combinations of colors and designing the flowers. Keep in mind the question of purpose: Is the huipil for a wedding or fiesta or for everyday use? This will help determine the formality of the design.

4. Design sleeve adornments, if they will be used. Some people prefer large flowers here, some small, some none at all. Yolanda's mother is of the belief that there should be very little adornment on the sleeves, if any. Large flowers are too extravagant, the equivalent of wearing too much jewelry or makeup.

5. Complete embroidery.

6. Sew sides of huipil.

Yolanda has made about 200 huipiles in her life (10 are ones she wears even today) but hasn't done much embroidery in the last three years. Between her social work studies at a local university, her English classes, and her job as a housekeeper, she hasn't had any extra time for sewing. However, she would like to do more in the future, and plans to teach her future daughters because it's a valuable skill for Guatemalan women to have.


Erin Stoy of La Chapina Huipil Crafts is an American whoʼs lived in Guatemala for over a year, caring for the daughter she and her husband are in the process of adopting. During her time in Guatemala,she has developed a passion for Mayan textiles; she has been selling arts and crafts she makes from used huipiles (traditional, hand-woven Guatemalan blouses) since October 2007. Her blog is http://huipil-crafts.blogspot.com and her Etsy shop is http://lachapina.etsy.com.

This photo of Erin with her daughter, Azucena, was taken in November, 2007.

Yolanda: A Lifetime of Embroidery in Patzun, Guatemala

HeART of Healing Gallery, A Place of Peace in Paducah

This past weekend I had the privilege of working at HeART of Healing Gallery, located in Paducah's art district, Lowertown. The gallery is the creative healing extension of Integrative Medicine of Kentucky, Dr. Christi Bond's clinic of alternative health.

Mission Statement

Our primary goal is for each patient to enjoy optimal health through a combination of safe, innovative, and natural treatments. Integrative Medicine of Kentucky combines natural therapies with appropriate conventional medical treatments in a safe manner. We treat the person as a whole being, addressing imbalances on physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels. Our treatment plans require time, patience and the commitment to change formerly harmful, destructive habits.

Dr. Bonds and I both belong to Paducah Fiber Artists, an informal group that meets monthly to share progress on our projects and critique each other's work. We both love ethnic textiles and carry some similar inventory (molas, kimono, and hilltribe textiles), but that doesn't stop us from trading or collaborating.

The gallery showcases those textiles plus work by local artists.

Although the space is not huge, it is well divided into themes that change as new inventory arrives and focus needs arise. Dr. Bonds is well-stocked with vintage kimono. Quilters buy these to cut them up and incorporate them into their own work, but they are so beautiful that many people just buy them to wear or display as a textile.


A current exhibit of photos supports an orphanage in Vietnam. The photographer is dating one of Paducah's native sons and both have spent time volunteering at the orphanage.

Another exhibit showcases local artist Nikki Mae's pen and ink drawings, framed in black below the large scripted piece:

Gorgeous Tibetan singing bowls fill a cabinet, the beginning of a collection of instruments which will be used in sound therapy.


Quan Yin and other female imagery are found throughout the gallery and clinic, both in paintings and carvings.


But, my new favorite are the mola blouses! I had never seen them before, except in photos and am amazed at how beautiful they are.


I have my eye on this one, so DON'T buy it! It's Jesus on a cross, but he is smiling, boogey-eyed, and looks really friendly and sweet.

Dr. Bonds has a huge mola collection and just took down an exhibit that focused on Christian imagery in mola art. I had not been exposed to those before either. I had always seen the birds, abstracts, and animals and have many of those for sale in my Etsy store. I bought one from Dr. Bonds that shows the story of Jesus and the woman at the well, a sermon my Dad had preached on many times over the years and used again in his retirement sermon, just recently.

I had some henna clients at the gallery. One of the wonderful things about being at HeART of Healing is that all the people I have met there are SO nice! This is Eleanor from Nashville, who visits Paducah and Lowertown frequently. She was a futon maker until just recently.


The clinic and gallery are housed in the same building, on the corner of 7th and Monroe. The clinic is as interesting as the gallery with each room decorated in gorgeous hand-crafted furniture, textiles, and objects from around the world. There are three themed acupuncture rooms: Native American, Quan Yin and Egypt. Soothing music is everywhere.

I am not just a friend, a co-textile lover, a trader, or an occasional worker. I am also a patient. I've gained 20 pounds since I tore my meniscus in my knee almost two years ago, have felt lethargic and must stop smoking. So, Dr. Bonds is helping me get my old self in order through herbs, acupuncture, chocolate (!!!), and support. She considers her East/West approach as her tool bag, and will pull out whichever tools she needs from either tradition to address the problem. I am so happy to have her expertise here and hope that both the gallery and clinic grow into a thriving practice for Dr. Bonds who recently relocated here from Nevada.

HeART of Healing Gallery is in the process of having an online presence where items will be available for purchase. Check the Integrative Medicine of Kentucky site for updates. And, if you visit Paducah, make sure to stop by for a visit! Currently, the gallery is only open on Saturdays, but those hours will expand in the near future.

HeART of Healing Gallery, A Place of Peace in Paducah