This Beige Peacock tea bag organizer is handmade in Olinalá, Mexico’s Guerrero state.Olinalá is famous throughout Mexico for the fine wood lacquers it produces. These are some of the country’s oldest crafts, tracing their roots back to Asian inspirations. The skills and techniques involved, however, trace back further to ancient indigenous cultures.Olinalá is one of three towns in Guerrero that makes lacquers and is the namesake of the tradition. Olinalá lacquer begins with the hollowing out of wood pieces. This process involves creating reliefs of the designs, into which the lacquer will be applied. Artisans make the lacquer from plant materials such as chia oil and cotton fiber. Alongside these, they also use quartz, limestone, and a local yellow mineral known as tecoxtle. Once the mixture is complete, artisans apply it using traditional tools such as deer tails, turkey feathers, and plant spines. Different tools are used for different kinds of lacquers. The designs are often of mythical figures and traditional motifs and can take days to create. Moreover, the techniques needed to produce them can take years to master. The resulting pieces are beautiful, like this beige peacock tea bag organizer; useful objects that embody modern Mexico in their cultural synthesis and stylistic refinement.The Alicia D’Core Studio began life in 2015, and seeks to create contemporary pieces using ancient techniques and traditional values. They work with artisanal communities in Olinalá, collaborating with them to produce perfectly balanced pieces. They are passionate about maintaining traditional crafts, and always follow fair trade practices. An Alicia D’Core piece is both a unique piece of Mexican history and a wonderful example of contemporary design.Alicia D’Core pieces are unique due to their artisanal nature as they are entirely made and decorated by hand. For this reason, the beige peacock tea bag organizer you receive at home may be dissimilar in some minor aspect from what you see in the picture. At the end of the day, these subtle differences make each one of these products an object with meaning.
