La Casa Mexicana

Bonanzle - La Bamba

2010-04-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

On Bonanzle there are many many cool things! This short video puts together just a handful of some awesome products that are typical in the Bonanzle market! Things are always changing but remember, Bonanzle is the place to find EVERYTHING but the ordinary!

We'd also like to thank the author, Sarah, of this video for including our Gorky Gonzalez napkin ring! What a treat to be included in her video! You can check out all of our Mexican art in our La Casa Mexicana Bonanzle booth.

Other sellers featured in the La Bamba video:

Great Hot Stuff - Red Highheel
Crafty Mule - Nacho Earrings
Good Ole Tom - Sombrero Pendant
From The Forest Floor! (bswank2009) - Ceramic Mexican Lizard
Fun Brands Toys (sassman2833) - Star Trek Captain Kirk
lol1955´s Booth - Taxco Sterling Silver Bracelet
Artesanos - Mexican Talavera Water Glasses
Good, Better, Best - Vintage Mexican Necklace
Art 2 You - Vintage Abolone Mexican Bracelet
Cook Bookery - Mexican Cookbook
Moody Arts (tgfleet) - Flamenco Dancer

Easter Sale! Amazing Savings!

2010-03-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

Easter Sale! Take 20% Off all Bunnies, Chickens, Eggs, and Crosses in Stock!
(20% taken at checkout)

We have an ordable selection of bunnies, chickens, and eggs by Gorky Gonzalez and stunning crosses by Gorky and the Huerta family.

Extra Special Secret Discount

And an EXTRA special treat for only mailing list subscribers: To find out what the extra special secret discount is and to receive future special discounts all you have to do is join our mailing list!

Join Our Mailing List
Special deals for subscribers ONLY!

Hurry, though! These offers won't last forever. Sale ends Easter Sunday, April 4th, 2010.

Gorky Pottery in the New York

2010-01-29T16:40:00.000-08:00

Gorky Gonzalez Pottery

New York Show

January 30 to February 2, 2010

NYIGF hand made section J.Javits Convention Center

8 Ways to Optimize Your Bonanzle Listing

2009-12-10T13:58:00.000-08:00

Here are a few things to make sure you are doing in order to optimize your Bonanzle listing and get more sales!

1. VERY descriptive titles! Fill that title line up till you can't fill it any more describing the item. Don't let unused title realestate go to waste. It's way too valuable.

An example of a title that could use a little work: "Bass Red Shoes Size 4 NWT"

So, how can the title be improved?
First, the title should state who the shoes are for; boys, girls, toddler girls, women, etc. Second, the type of shoe should be stated; clogs, heels, maryjane, etc. And lastly, if there is space add the European or American size equivalent.

An example of a title that is well constructed: "Christian Louboutin YOYO 85 Peep Toe RED shoes 39 US 9"

So, why is this title well-constructed?
In addition to the designer name, the title contains the name of the shoe, YOYO 85. Also, we know what type of shoe it is; it's a peep toe. The title includes both the European and American sizes.

How could it be improved?
Bonanzle give you 60 characters including spaces for your title. Your goal is to use all 60! This title used 55 which is good but they could add something short such as NIB, NWT, New, EUR to indicate that 39 is the European size, etc. In addition, there was recently big news that Google will not index all capitalized titles. Therefore, the word "RED" should be written as "Red". Ditto for YOYO.

2. Attributes. Fill those babies out! You can fill out attributes for multiple items in batch edit. Attributes help give item specifics to your product. This will help buyers find exactly what they are looking for faster.
3. CLEAR pictures on clutter-free backgrounds. White backgrounds work best. Also, taking pictures in natural ligh instead of artificial lighting improves image quality greatly.

A couple of DON'TS:
Don't take pictures on the bare floor. If you must take pictures on the floor, place an ironed, white sheet as your background or use a large white poster.
Don't try too hard. This is especially true of women. Only include in the picture the item that is for sale. Props such as beautiful greenery, flowers, or dollies are not necessary.
A Couple of Tips:
Take more than one picture. Take lots of pictures from different angles and be sure to get a nice bottom shot if you are selling an numbered item or an item with a signature. You can upload up to 4 pictures in Bonanzle and add more to your item description if need to. Be sure to add the picture that you want to show up in the search results first. Also, make sure that the pictures are appropriately cropped and not over-cropped as many Bonanzle photos are (this is due to the horrible photo cropping tool on Bonanzle).
Take pictures on a bent poster. Note that I said "bent" not "folded". What you want to do is set half of the poster on a horizontal surface (i.e. floor) and lean the other half on a vertical surface (i.e. wall). You may tape the poster to the top of the vertical surface if need be. Once in place set your item on the poster (of course, on the part of the poster that is on the horizontal surface). Next, take the picture from the side of the item with the poster in the background. The bent poster will give the illusion of no background and it will make your product pop.
Take pictures in natural light. If you have a sun room, perfect. Alter it to become your new photo studio. If you don't have a sunroom, get outside and start shooting. Be sure to take pictures in the shade or on cloudy or overcast days. The clouds diffuse the light which prevents shadows from showing up in the images. However, waiting on clouds or finding a decent area in the shade can be tricky and time-consuming. Therefore, you should create your own lightbox.
Take pictures without flash. In natural light, the flash will automatically shut off on many cameras. However, if you are inside you may need to turn it off manually. Flashes create an undesireable glare making it hard to view the item.
Take pictures in Macro mode (usually the flower symbol) if you need a close up. For small items such as jewelry, you almost always need to take the picture in macro mode. This mode helps the camera focus at very close distances to the item and will result in a clear, not blurry image. You may also use macro mode to take close-up shots of larger items to show detail or flaws in the item. If you specialize in small items and your camera doesn't have macro mode, you should seriously invest in purchasing one that does. If you can't afford one now though, your option is to take the picture farther away and then crop down to the item in your photo editing software (or in bonanzle if you like their cropping feature). The image will lose pixels like this but at least it won't be blurry.

4. Clutter-free descriptions. Keep your listing simple; A nice big h1 title, followed by a list of characteristics, and then followed by a short description if you must is all that you need. If you have stuff like auctiva or eBay words floating around your auction and html showing you probably just imported your listings from another site. That's not a problem, but you need to get rid of the clutter. Examples, "visit my store", "thanks for bidding", "sponsored by auctiva".
5. Categorize items. Some booths have a couple of hundred of items and no categories. I leave in a minute because I don't want to go through page after page just to see if I might want something. So if you are selling books, jewelry, and toys, separate these out into three categories. You can add categories in the "Advanced" option under the "Sell" button. After that, you can easily categorize all of your items in the batch edit area.
6. Make sure your items are priced reasonalby. What is the competition selling for? The key to this is that you don't want to sell cheaper. This will start a price slash and then nobody will make a profit. Every seller will be trying to undercut the other seller which drives prices down. Instead, just check out the other sellers' selling price and mark your item accordingly, a little higher a little lower, but still in the same ballpark.
7. Promote your items. If you aren´t promoting your items in the Bonanzle forums, Twitter, Facebook, etc. you are missing out on sales. Not only that but you are missing out on business buddies. Maybe you don't want buddies, but you need them. Let me give you an example. I always get more clicks on tweets when they are about someone else's product or sale rather than my own. Why would this be? People trust you more when you share information that's not about yourself. Tooting your own horn can only last so long.
8. Cross link booths. If you have more than one booth, place at the bottom of each item description something like "Visit my other Bonanzle Booth, NAME GOES HERE, to find great deals on NAME OF WHAT YOU SPECIALIZE IN GOES HERE". You can add this to the bottom of every listing in the batch edit area. Be careful though. Messing up this can be a pain (I've already suffered through it). So, do a practice run on one or two items first. Then apply the edit to all items.

That's all I can think of for now. Let me know if I missed one (or two). And good luck on selling on Bonzanzle.

How Did We Do in 2009?

2009-12-02T02:50:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of 2009 we set some goals for La Casa Mexicana. It's been a busy year and our second one in business. Below is the list of goals that were set for this year and also my commentary on how well or poorly we met those goals.

GOALS FOR 2009!

1) INCREASE SELECTION AND INVENTORY - From artists in which we already carry, we will be getting in more ROMERO GURMAN JEWELRY and GORKY GONZALEZ POTTERY. In addition, we will soon carry MAYAN HAMMOCKS, SERVIN POTTERY, HUICHOL BEAD ART, and MEXICAN PEWTER.

What Actually Happened:
a) We increased our selection of Romero Gurman Jewelry and Gorky Gonzalez Pottery in addition to increasing our selection of Talavera (which was not one of the goals).
b) We now carry a good selection of Mayan Hammocks and Servin Stoneware Pottery.
c) We decided against buying Huichol Bead Art and are still debating purchasing Mexican Pewter. The Huichol Bead Art is absolutely admireable, however, it's extremely pricey due to many many hours of work that is put in to each piece. Basically, it's out of our budget right now.
d) As for the Mexican Pewter, the debate is still out on whether or not we can compete with other online companies that specialize in just Mexican Pewter. At La Casa Mexicana our goal is to offer you a great selection of several different areas of Mexican art and not just specialize in one. Therefore, pewter may be out of our reach for now as well.

2) BLOG MORE FREQUENTLY - We want to better inform you in 2009 with what's going on, changes that we make, cool deals, and interesting information that we come across!

What Actually Happened:
We have published 20 blog posts for the year of 2009 so far compared to only 5 in 2008. We did blog more frequently, but still not at the rate we would like. A blog every two weeks would be ideal for La Casa Mexicana to keep everyone up-to-date on new products and sales.

3) HAVE MORE SALES - We thought you would like this one! You can expect major holiday sales and sales just for the heck of it! We have big plans for an incredible Easter sale coming up!

What Actually Happened:
More sales did happen, but what happened to that incredible Easter sale? It wasn't as incredible as we had imagined. But what is working well are introductory prices! Each new shipment of items that we get in, we put on introductory pricing for a limited time. Introductory pricing of that certain shipment generally lasts until we get a new shipment in.

4) KEEP SHIPPING COSTS LOW - In an effort to keep shipping costs as low as possible, we use recycled newspapers, boxes, bubble wrap, and peanuts! We will continue to source more recyled materials in 2009 which keeps shipping costs low and is environmentally friendly.

What Actually Happened:
This in fact did happen! We have contacted local brick-and-mortar stores and requested that they give us their used shipping materials instead of sending them off to be recycled again. We consider it saving you money and saving the environment by using the materials again before they are sent off to be recycled.

5) WRITE MORE FREE SPANISH GRAMMAR LESSONS - Our FREE SPANISH LESSONS are great for anyone studying or just trying to learn a thing or two about the Spanish language. Lessons to be up soon include: Tú Commands, Usted Commands, Double Negatives, Tener + que and Hay + que, and Present Progressive.

What Actually Happened:
To put things bluntly, MAN! Do I need to get started on these NOW! I haven't done any of them! (Writing this on my to-do list)

6) IMPROVE THE FREE MEXICAN RECIPES - Many of our FREE MEXICAN RECIPES lack descriptive pictures which are wonderful when learning a new dish. We will have pictures up for all of the existing Mexican recipes up this year!

What Actually Happened:
Maybe the word "all" was a little too optimistic. We have added some pictures to the recipes but overall, we have a lot left to do.

Cyber Monday Sale at La Casa Mexicana

2009-11-09T04:11:00.000-08:00

Cyber Monday Sale & Contest

30% OFF All Christmas Related Items - Plus Surprise Hourly Bonus Deals!

at the La Casa Mexicana Bonanzle Booth

Including trays, corn husk angel ornaments, Gorky Gonzalez majolica ornaments, among more! All discounts will be taken at checkout with coupon code 301130

Cyber Monday Contest:

Refer the most people to the La Casa Mexicana Bonanzle booth on Cyber Monday and receive 2 handmade corn husk angel ornaments...One angel ornament for you to keep and one for you to share the giving!

How to Enter the Cyber Monday Contest:

Email your name and Bonanzle id (if you have one) letting us know you'd like to compete in the Cyber Monday Contest to LaCasaMexicana@live.com! Make sure you give the name that you are going to tell your referrers to use so that your referrers will to count as points for you.
Send your referrers to the La Casa Mexicana Bonanzle booth and instruct them to type in the chat box or send a message like, "Jen P. told me about the Cyber Monday Sale." Each person you send to the La Casa Mexicana booth will equal one point for you. The person with the most points at the end of Cyber Monday wins absolutely free two Mexican corn husk angel ornaments, shipping included! Winner gets to pick the color of their preference from purple, green, pink, blue, orange, yellow, red, and natural.
Bonus points! If you'd like to get a jump start on the competition and even increase your chances of winning, post this contest in your blog. Once posted send a link to the blog post to LaCasaMexicana@live.com and you'll earn 7 bonus points! To make this easy you can just copy this post or you can make your own up if you like.

The winner will be announced on the La Casa Mexicana Blog the week of Cyber Monday. So don't forget to add the La Casa Mexicana Blog to your favorites to see who wins!

Cyber Monday Lasts From 5:00 AM to 11:59 PM Pacific November 30, 2009.

Hourly Bonuses:

The Cyber Monday Sale will last a total of 19 hours. Therefore, there will be 19 amazing one-time-only bonus deals!

Each bonus deal will be discounted 20 - 50%. Bonus deals will be announced in the chat box in the La Casa Mexicana Bonanzle Booth at the beginning of every hour. If the Bonus Deal is sells out for that hour, you'll have to wait until the next hour for another bonus deal. Since La Casa Mexicana sells only handmade art from Mexico, often there is only one or two available of each item.

Good luck and Happy Holidays from Jessica and Katherine at La Casa Mexicana.

Contest is not limited to the continental United States. However, if you reside outside of the continental United States, we request that you pay shipping on the corn husk angels should you win.

How to Make a Hand Picked List That's Home Page Quality on Bonanzle

2009-10-25T05:40:00.000-07:00

Making Hand Picked Lists on Bonanzle is one of the many features of the site that makes it a unique and fun place to sell and buy! It's pretty simple to make a basic hand picked list, and if your hand pick list is good it may make the Bonanzle home page. Sellers especially like for their hand picked list to make the home page since at the top right of the list credit is given to the seller with a link to their booth! That means more popularity and more booth views which could equal more sales. And what seller doesn't want that!? Hand picked lists are also great for sellers to promote other sellers on Bonanzle.

How to Make a Hand Picked List - The Basics

In order to make a hand picked list you must first become a member of Bonanzle. It's free to join! After that, click "Hand picked" under the "items of interest" tab in the "my bonanzle" section. Then click on the green tab "Create a new list". This will take you to a page where you can name your hand picked list. After you have named your hand picked list you are ready to search for items to put in the list. At the bottom of any item description there is an "actions" tab that will allow you to add the item to your hand picked list. You may find the complete instructions on how to make a hand picked list on Bonanzle. Included on the Bonanzle page of how to make a hand picked list is a section called "How do the home page HPLs get chosen?". The below excerpt was taken directly from the Bonanzle website:

"How do the home page HPLs get chosen?

There are three factors we consider in choosing lists for the home page. Here are the three factors, with the rough weight we give each:

All item pictures in list are crisp and interesting - 60%. Putting blurry, dark, discolored, overcropped, or uninteresting pictures on the home page is something we avoid. Most all lists that end up on the home page are comprised of items with good pictures.
Interesting or relevant theme - 30%. Lists that are applicable to upcoming holidays or national events have a leg up on general lists. Lists that are organized into a clear and interesting theme (e.g., "Prom," "Owls," "Helicopters") are more likely to get chosen than those that don't.
Catchy title - 10%. We're suckers for a list with a catchy title. Like the list someone created called "Change we can believe in" that was made up of collector's nickels and dimes for sale. Hah!"

So, Bonanzle blatantly stated that there are three factors they consider when choosing which hand picked list make the home page; 1) crisp and interesting pictures, 2) interesting or relevant theme, and 3) catch title. I would like to add a few more important criteria for making a hand picked list that is home page quality that Bonanzle doesn't mention. I have made a handful of hand picked list and have had success in making the home page several times.

Additional Factors for Making a Home Page Quality Hand Picked List

1) Choose a good variety of sellers to include in the hand picked list. For example, if you are making a list about angels and come across a seller with the absolute best assortment of angels just choose 2 to 3 angels from that seller and move on. The more seller variety, the more attractive and interesting the hand picked list.

2) Images with white backgrounds make excellent choices for hand picked lists. White back grounds make the product pop! And that's exactly what Bonanzle wants its home page to do, pop visitors right in the eye and make them say "WOW!" Look at the two pictures below. (I took them from my booth so that I wouldn't criticize anyone besides myself.) The first one would be much more likely to make the home page because of the crisp white background that make the item pop! The second item is by the same artist as the first, but my photography skills were lacking that day.

3) Color themes are extremely popular for home page hand picked lists. Color schemes just seem to be more eye appealing and therefore, have more potential to make the home page.

4) A good picture isn't everything. A great item description is also very important to consider when choosing items for your hand picked list. The items in the lists that make the home page are just one click away from being viewed by anyone that lands on the Bonanzle home page. I'm sure that Bonanzle wants to put on it's prettiest face for anyone shopping from the home page. Therefore, a hand picked list that contains items with lousy descriptions isn't home page quality.

5) Hand picked lists with themes that feature real time events are also popular home pagers. For example, when Michael Jackson passed away, a hand picked list featuring him quickly appeared on the home page.

6) Item descriptions that haven't been changed to reflect selling on Bonanzle. There are lots of sellers from other venues that bring their items to Bonanzle in mass. You may find words and phrases such as "auctivia, bid now, thanks for bidding, eBay, visit my store (Bonanzle has booths, not stores), etc." In addition, these descriptions generally have very messy HTML (if it's not words and not making sense to you, it's probably the code that isn't suppose to show up) and are extremely long.

7) Don't just stop at 20 items! The more items you have in your hand picked list, the more items the home page list maker has to choose from. Now don't get too crazy! In addition, if the items start selling your list won't be automatically booted from the home page for lack of items. I believe a good safe number of items to pick for a hand picked list is between 25 to 28.

Ok, so if you have followed all of the above guidelines and still haven't made the home page, don't get upset! New hand picked lists are made every hour by many different Bonanzlers. Therefore, competition is fierce. So your hand picked list may be just as good as the ones that make the homepage, but there just isn't room for everyone. Just keep making good, quality hand picked lists, and sooner or later, your hand picked list will make the Bonanzle home page. Good luck and let me know when one of your lists make it!

You may check out my hand picked list on my profile page in Bonanzle, La Casa Mexicana. I don't make lists all of the time, but I currently have three, one of which made the home page. You may also check out my booth, La Casa Mexicana, for great items to put in your hand picked lists. Everything in my booth is handmade in Mexico and is very colorful!

Mexican Handmade and Handpainted Christmas Tree Ornaments

2009-09-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

Handmade Mexican Corn Husk Angel Christmas Tree Ornaments

Adorable Mexican Corn Husk Angels are a welcome site, especially this time of year as we begin to celebrate the holiday season. The angels' dresses are made with natural cornhusks and their hair is made from the cornsilk. You can choose from a variety of vibrant colored corn husk angels including yellow, blue, purple, red, pink, green, orange, and natural. Shown below are the purple, yellow, and natural corn husk angel ornaments. For more information about our handmade corn husk angel ornaments please visit our website, http://www.lacasamexicana.us/.

Purple Corn Husk Christmas Angel Ornament

Yellow Corn Husk Christmas Angel Ornament

and my personal favorite, the Natural Corn Husk Christmas Angel Ornament

Handmade Mexican Christmas Tree Ornaments by Gorky Gonzalez

Trim your tree using handmade majolica ornaments by Gorky Gonzalez. All of our Gorky ornaments are from the GoGo line, a line produced exclusively by Gorky Gonzalez Junior. Each ornament is handpainted by a skilled artisan in the workshop of Gorky Gonzalez in Guanajuato, Mexico. The GoGo trademark is imprinted by hand on the back of each ornament (as seen in the last picture). For more information about Gorky Gonzalez please visit our website, http://www.lacasamexicana.us/.

Fanciful Bird Christmas Ornament by Gorky Gonzalez comes in 6 different color combinations.

Butterfly Christmas Ornament by Gorky Gonzalez comes in three different color combinations, a classic blue and white, a natural, and shown, the primary colors butterfly ornament.

Reindeer Christmas Ornament by Gorky Gonzalez comes in 3 different color combinations including the yellow reindeer (shown), a green reindeer, and a white reindeer.

Heart Christmas Ornament by Gorky Gonzalez come in 3 different style and color combinations including the red and green shown, a blue and green, and a blue and red.

The traditional Holly and Bell Christmas Ornament by Gorky Gonzalez are handpainted in three different color combinations.

A traditional Mexican symbol, the sun, is available in three different color schemes.

Back of Gorky Gonzalez Butterfly Christmas Ornament showing the GoGo logo.

GORKY GONZALEZ - CALIFORNIA & NEW YORK GIFT SHOWS

2009-07-16T20:31:00.000-07:00

Gorky Gonzalez will be presenting some of his newest pieces at the California gift show at the LA Convention Center, booths 618, 620, and 622 in Kentia Hall from July 17 - 20 and at the New York International Gift show at the J.J. Convention Center in the handmade section, booths 5042 and 5044 from August 5 to 19.

Gorky's Background

Gorky Gonzalez was born in the city of Morelia, Michoacán, on September 27th, 1939. He is the son of sculptor Rodolfo Gonzalez, with whom he worked and studied sculpture and casting of artistic objects in bronze and lost wax.

In 1962 at 23, Gorky worked in San Miguel de Allende, a village located in the State of Guanajuato at the School of Arts and the Allende Institute, where he built an artistic foundry attended by both student and professional sculptors. Later he founded a small workshop of Terra Cotta manufacturing in the village of Marfil where he reproduced Jean Byron's designs.

His main interest, however, has always been rescuing the traditional Majolica. He studied ceramics in Guanajuato, which prompted him to rescue this lost craft which represents one of the cultural and historical values of this region.

While he was striving to achieve this aim, Gorky met Hisato Murayama, a young cultured Japanese who was studying Spanish, Philosophy, and Mexican history. Hisato Murayama, a professional connoisseur of pottery techniques, lent Gorky various books on Japanese art, encouraging him to continue his studies in Japan.

Gorky was granted a scholarship to study in Japan for 2 years, where he not only learned diverse pottery techniques but also met his wife, Toshiko. In this remote country he first studied in Tokyo with Tsuji Seimei, who taught the Shigaraki technique. Later he moved to the town of Bizen, where he studied with Kei Fujiwara, considered Japan's living national treasure, and with his son, Yu Fujiwara, also a renowned potter. There he learned the Bizen - Yaki technique.

Currently, Gorky Gonzalez owns his own ceramic workshop located in Guanajuato, Mexico. He works there with his son, Gorky Gonzalez Jr, where they continue to produce unique majolica ceramics for you to enjoy in your home.

Where to Buy Gorky Pottery

At La Casa Mexicana you can find a great selection of Gorky Gonzalez Pottery. If we don't have the Gorky piece that you are looking for you may special order your Gorky Pottery.

DON'T TRASH YOUR BROKEN POTTERY

2009-07-12T14:47:00.000-07:00

Winter, children, and just plain old accidents can take a real toll on pottery and ceramics. It's awfully sad when one of our treasures is found broken. But don't let that be the end and stop trashing broken clay pots and ceramic plates! We have great ideas to help those unwanted and once trashed broken pieces become wanted and needed items to adorn your home.

Items needed: safety goggles, hammer, cloth bag or 2 plastic bags, and a hard surface you aren't scared to scratch up

How to safely break up your pottery
Place your broken clay pottery or ceramic piece in the cloth bag or plastic bags. We recommend double-bagging if you use plastic since plastic bags can be punctured easily. Find a hard surface (ground, picnic table, etc.) that you won't mind using a hammer on. Make sure you are using your safety goggles or glasses. Place the bag of pottery on the surface and lightly tap the pottery with the hammer so that it chips away. You should try to make your chips about 1 square inch each. But don't be a perfectionist. Unequal sizes and irregular shapes are beautiful. Now that your pottery or ceramic is just a bag full of broken pieces, you are ready to get creative.

Planter Drainage
Plants need drainage. So how do we solve the problem of planters without drainage holes? Well, this one is easy. Just place those broken pottery shards in the bottom of the pot and fill the rest with soil. Depending on the size of the planter, the pottery shards should fill it to about 2 inches in depth.

Decorative Soil Cover
Many succulents and stemmed plants have bad habits of leaving the soil bare. However, a quick fix to this bare soil is to place your broken pottery shards right on top of the soil. Create a layer just thick enough so that you can't see the soil. By placing the layer of broken pottery shards, weeds will have a tougher time growing and watering your plant will be made much easier because you won't have to worry about splashing the soil.

Mosaic Art
Colorful pottery shards and ceramic pieces are perfect for making beautiful mosaics. Consider creating a stunning mosaic on boring mirror frames, tables, large pots, and vases. For easy-to-follow directions on how to make a mosaic please follow these helpful instructions from e-How: Mosaic Art Directions.

Sea Shells to Pottery Shards
Want a new look for that old seashell lamp? Well look no further than your broken pottery shards! Take out the seashells and fill up the lamp with colorful pottery shards.

Talavera Clocks by Tobias, Tomas, & Maximo Huerta

2009-05-31T08:03:00.000-07:00

We have expanded our talavera selection and now offer talavera by the complete Huerta family. We have always carried talavera by Tomas Huerta, but now we offer Maximo Huerta and Tobias Huerta talavera as well. Maximo Huerta and Tomas Huerta are brothers and Tobias Huerta is their cousin. Their shops are all located on the same small stretch of street in the state of Puebla, Mexico.

Maximo Huerta

Tobias Huerta

Tomas Huerta

Our talavera clocks by Tomas Huerta were a big hit, so on our trip down to Mexico we picked up several more clocks by Maximo and Tobias. Here are a few of our favorites.

Talavera Clock by Tobias Huerta

Talavera Clock by Maximo Huerta

Talavera Clock by Tomas Huerta

NEW ROMERO GURMAN DICHROIC GLASS JEWELRY

2009-05-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Mexico with 34 dazzling pieces of Romero Gurman dichroic fused glass jewelry! All pieces are set in sterling silver to enhance the colors of the glass. You can find the entire selection at our booth on Bonanzle, La Casa Mexicana on our website, www.LaCasaMexicana.us. Right now all Romero Gurman Jewelry is being offered at Introductory Prices on our website only! Don't miss out on introductory pricing, it won't last long!

Here are a few of my favorite pieces:

Romero + Gurman Dichroic Glass Adjustable Ring

Romero + Gurman Dichroic Glass Earrings & Pendant

Romero + Gurman Dichroic Glass Necklace with Pendant & Earrings

2009-05-01T05:21:00.000-07:00

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with 15% off ALL MAYAN HAMMOCKS while quantities last!

SALE begins Friday, May 1 & ends Tuesday May 5.

Mother's Day Sale - Going on NOW!

2009-04-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

Celebrate the Woman in your life and surprise her with a unique hand-made gift!

Save 15% off Regular Prices on Ixachitlan Pottery and Mexican Palm Baskets while quantities last!

Handmade Ixachitlan Pottery all 15% off!

Handwoven Mexican Palm Baskets all 15% off!

SALE begins Monday April 20, 2009 and ends Monday May 11, 2009.

If you are looking for unique gifts for Mother's Day, we have just what you are looking for. From hand-made Mexican baskets to hand-made Ixachitlán Pottery, including Tea Sets, Water Sets, Coffee Cups and Spoon Rest all hand-made and hand painted by Mexican artisans. Surprise the one you love with a unique hand-crafted piece of art from Mexico!

HAND PICKED ON BONANZLE!

2009-04-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

We would like to thank all fellow Bonanzlers for choosing our items to go in their hand-picked lists!

A special thanks to "eyecatchingbeauty" for choosing our Tomas Huerta Talavera Vase in her Got Water? hand picked list!

Visit eyecatchingbeauty's booth for high-quality and well-priced beauty products.

A enormous thank you goes to "pugcentric" for choosing FOUR of our items in her Viva Mexico hand picked list!

Green, Yellow, and Red Mexican Handwoven Palm Basket 4" x 12"

4" Talavera Tile by Tomás Huerta

Green Corn Husk Angel 4.5" x 5.5"

14.5" x 6" Hand-Painted Tray by Gorky Gonzalez

Visit pugcentric's booth for cross-stitch patterns, sewing patterns, artisan jewelry, and needlework.

Romero Gurman Dichroic Glass Jewelry

2009-04-12T16:47:00.001-07:00

They say "Good things come to those who wait," so I say that must be true. We have been eagerly awaiting our first order of Dichroic Glass Jewelry designed and hand-crafted by Romero - Gurman. We will be posting the new items in the next couple weeks! We will be offering Pendant and Earring sets, Bracelets, Rings and Pendants all set in Sterling Silver. Each piece of art glass has been meticulously hand-crafted and designed in the Studio of Romero Gurman. Marco Romero and Debora Gurman are an husband and wife team who met while performing research on glass. They decided to combine their desires and skills to master the art of Dichroic Glass to form the collection of Romero Gurman Jewelry. Dichroic Glass is an ultra-thin coating of metal oxides layered and fused to a glass base to form a crystal structure on the surface of the glass. With over 45 colors of dichroic coatings, many unique and wonderful pieces of jewelry are brought to life through the knowledge and skill of Debora and Marco. Romero - Gurman have been producing sculpture, panels, and functional art glass for the past five years. Their studio is located in Mexico City.

"art in glass is only possible when artistic intention and technical knowledge are successfully combined" -Marco and Debora

La Casa Mexicana.us is having a Bonanza!

2009-03-27T09:53:00.000-07:00

We are excited to announce our second Bonanza! Our first Bonanza was truly a success as we got to meet and greet new customers and make new friends as well! We will be offering special discounts (15% off everything) for this occasion. We invite you to check out the newly posted items, such as Mayan Hammocks and Gorky Pottery, as well. For those of you who have never heard of a Bonanza, you may be wondering just what is it? A Bonanza is a timed event that will be hosted on Bonanzle.com where our customers will receive special discounts. Our Bonanza will take place Sunday, April 19th, 2009 from 4 - 7 p.m.(PST). You'll receive 15% off the regular prices listed!

We will be offering exciting products such as hand-crafted Mexican Palm Baskets from the Toluca Region in the state of Puebla, Romero Gurman Dichroic Glass Jewelry, Gorky Gonzalez Pottery, and unique hand-made articles from local artisans from Veracruz, Mexico to name a few! Also, we have posted some new and exciting hand-made and hand-painted items from Gorky Gonzalez, such as Majolica Animal Banks, Majolica Planters and Beautiful Majolica Crosses! Come join us for this Special and Limited-Timed Sale! However, you do not have to wait for the Bonanza to start. Come by anytime and check us out at Bonanzle.com/LaCasaMexicana.us !

You can also visit us at our website at www.LaCasaMexicana.us

MAYAN HAMMOCKS NOW IN!

2009-03-14T21:40:00.001-07:00

That's right! We got our first shipment of Mayan Hammocks and let me warn you, they are unbelievably comfortable and extremely well made! That's because the people who make them have perfected the art of hammock making with over 2,000 years of experience! Our hammocks are made by a group of about thirty indigenous families from Yucatan, Mexico. In their traditional lifestyle, parents and grandparents pass down their hammock-weaving trade to younger generations. It's an incredible thought that the same hammocks made today in Mexico, started with the original Mayans a few thousand years ago! The Mayan civilization is one to be admired. The Mayan people are well-known for their fully developed written language, art, architecture, astronomical observations, mathematical calculations, calendar, and for their amazingly comfortable hammocks.

New Shipment of Gorky Gonzalez Banks, Crosses, and Planters!

2009-03-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

We are excited about the new and unique Majolica Pottery that we just received from Gorky Gonzalez! We have been busy taking photos of the new items and are getting ready to publish them to our website, La Casa Mexicana.us. In this new shipment we have adorable Majolica Animal Banks, including Cats, Pigs, Chickens, and Owls! Also, we have new Majolica Pottery Chicken Planters, which are perfect to welcome the Spring and Summer months. One more thing to add is Crosses. Gorky's Majolica Crosses are exquisitely designed with a tiny trailing flower motif, and they're arriving just in time for Spring and the celebration of Easter! What a perfect time of year to display them on your wall! Gorky Gonzalez implements the traditional style of Majolica when creating works of art for you to enjoy!

Majolica is earthenware that has been fired and then coated with a tin enamel. It is left to dry and then the surface becomes opaque. The designs are then carefully painted onto the ceramic and a transparent glaze is applied. Finally, the pieces are fired one more time revealing a lustrous and very colorful and vibrant work of art! We are excited about these new offerings and know that you will be too, so we invite you to come by anytime and check us out at La Casa Mexicana.us.

Also, every new shipment is available to you at Introductory Pricing for a limited time!

La Casa Mexicana.us is having a Bonanza!

2009-03-02T09:08:00.000-08:00

We are getting ready for our first Bonanza! Some might say " What's a Bonanza?" Well, a Bonanza is a special sale and a limited-timed event that will be hosted on Bonanzle.com where customers receive special discounts during the Bonanza. This event will take place Sunday, March 8th, 2009 from 4:00 p.m.(PST) to 7:00 p.m.(PST). We are giving our customers 12% off the regular prices listed!

We will be offering exciting products such as hand-crafted Mexican Palm Baskets from the Toluca Region in the state of Puebla, Romero Gurman Dichroic Glass Jewelry, Gorky Gonzalez Pottery, and unique hand-made articles from local artisans from Veracruz, Mexico to name a few! Come join us for this Special and Limited-Timed Event! However, you do not have to wait for the Bonanza to start. Come by anytime and check us out at Bonanzle.com/LaCasaMexicana.us !

2009-01-17T15:08:00.000-08:00

We are proud to introduce our new line of Ixachitlan handmade pottery. The pottery is made entirely by hand by artisans from the community of Villa Progreso. Villa Progreso is a community of the state Queretaro located 74 km southwest from the city of Queretaro. Its name comes from the two hills between which it is located, the “Otomies” used to call it “Bothe” or Place of the Two Hills. Villa Progreso was inhabited mostly by the Indian “Otomies” that came from Xilotepec (near Mexico City) in 1942.

A family of Villa Progreso’s community began making this beautiful pottery about 40 years ago. The artisans use ancient techniques that have been passed down from their ancestors. Now, the production is run by a daughter and her family and about another 20 people from the same community participate in the creation of each piece. Below is a brief demonstration of the pottery making process.

First: The clay is pounded into the molds and left for drying...

Second: The dried ceramic products are lightly marked with a pencil to paint symmetrical figures...

Third: The artisans mark with pencil the different figures on the ceramic using paper...

Fourth: One artisan paints the plain color lines and the other one paints the figures...

Fifth: Another artisan paints the small dots on the ceramic pieces...

Sixth: Once the paintings are dry, the ceramic pieces are cooked in an oven at 1200 °C...

Note: The pieces are stoneware and can be used in the microwave and do NOT contain lead.

Ixachitlán Pottery Coming Soon!

Mexico's Maguey Plant

2009-01-17T14:54:00.000-08:00

Mexico's wonder plant called the Maguey plant, also known as Agave and the Century plant, is a hearty succulent which survives southern Mexico's long, dry winter by storing liquid in its heart. Many people in the region depend upon the Maguey plants for their livelihood. Many products are derived and created from the entire Maguey plant.

IXTLE… An organic and natural resource used by Mexico's ancestors for 5,000 years… it involves tradition because the people of Villa Progreso still use the antique techniques they learned from their grandparents and parents to extract the fiber of ixtle of the maguey and make scrubs, handcrafts, and art out of it.

We are proud to offer a piece of México to the world. We want you to have a closer look on how the maguey products are made, how the maguey is processed and all their parts are utilized. Nothing gets wasted, even the thorns of the maguey are used as needles and the flower is cooked and eaten with a delicious tortilla.

The work starts in the field by collecting the “pencas” (leaves) of maguey after it finishes the production of agua miel, honey water in English. Agua miel is the juice extract of the maguey’s heart called quiote or moyolotl, that becomes pulque when it ferments. The heart is also used as sweet desert. Once it is time to collect them (8 or 12 year old magueys), the pencas are carefully toasted on slow fire in order to soften the pulp. The maguey has only one flower during all it’s life and it is also a beautiful sight of more than 3 meters high.

The pencas rest for 8 days to make them easier to handle. Once they are dry, the pencas are put upon a piece of wood called in Nahuatl “tlazimalhuapaletl” and are scraped with a small piece of wood with metal encrusted called “tlaximaltetl” to free the ixtle fiber from the pulp. The ixtle is washed in water with natural soap, then it is left to dry and ready to be used.

The ixtle gets cleaned first…

..the fibers are then brushed…

… next the maguey fibers are spun on the “malacatl”…

… finally the fibers are ready to be used to make creative and unique hand made crafts!!

Ixachitlán Maguey Angels Coming Soon!

STARTING OFF 2009!

2009-01-02T08:52:00.000-08:00

GOALS FOR 2009!

1) INCREASE SELECTION AND INVENTORY - From artists in which we already carry, we will be getting in more ROMERO GURMAN JEWELRY and GORKY GONZALEZ POTTERY. In addition, we will soon carry MAYAN HAMMOCKS, IXACHITLÁN POTTERY, HUICHOL BEAD ART, and MEXICAN PEWTER.

2) BLOG MORE FREQUENTLY - We want to better inform you in 2009 with what's going on, changes that we make, cool deals, and interesting information that we come across!

3) HAVE MORE SALES - We thought you would like this one! You can expect major holiday sales and sales just for the heck of it! We have big plans for an incredible Easter sale coming up!

4) KEEP SHIPPING COSTS LOW - In an effort to keep shipping costs as low as possible, we use recycled newspapers, boxes, bubble wrap, and peanuts! We will continue to source more recyled materials in 2009 which keeps shipping costs low and is environmentally friendly.

5) WRITE MORE FREE SPANISH GRAMMAR LESSONS - Our FREE SPANISH LESSONS are great for anyone studying or just trying to learn a thing or two about the Spanish language. Lessons to be up soon include: Tú Commands, Usted Commands, Double Negatives, Tener + que and Hay + que, and Present Progressive.

6) IMPROVE THE FREE MEXICAN RECIPES - Many of our FREE MEXICAN RECIPES lack descriptive pictures which are wonderful when learning a new dish. We will have pictures up for all of the existing Mexican recipes up this year!

Is there something we missed? Let us know by emailing us at LaCasaMexicana@live.com. Afterall, we are doing this for YOU!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2008-11-16T14:25:00.000-08:00

Christmas is coming!
Seasons Greetings to you and yours!
With the Christmas and gift giving season fast approaching you may be wondering what to get that special person. Well, we have been busy sourcing new and unique as well as beautiful handmade crafts for such an occasion. We are excited to be adding these new products to our website www.lacasamexicana.us and we know you will be too! With so many things being mass produced and mechanically made it is good to know that you can still find quality handmade products. At La Casa Mexicana.us we appreciate the art of handmade crafts and are pleased to offer them to you , our customer. If you are looking for a gift that is unique and handmade, we may in fact have just what you had in mind! We invite you to come and check us out and hope that you have and enjoyable experience with us. We are proud of the products that we carry so we try to be informative as we can with respect to each product and artist. Below is just a sample of the offerings that we carry at La Casa Mexicana.us. Please check out or website www.lacasamexicana.us for more exciting finds.

Talavera Bell by Tòmas Huerta

Talavera Cross by Tòmas Huerta

Blue and White Plate by Gorky Gonzalez

Gorky Gonzalez Pottery

2008-11-05T14:58:00.000-08:00

Hola! We are super excited to offer you Gorky Gonzalez Pottery! For those of you not familiar with Gorky Gonzalez, let me give you a quick biography of his life.

Gorky Gonzalez was born in the city of Morelia, Michoacán, on September 27th, 1939. He is the son of sculptor Rodolfo Gonzalez, with whom he worked and studied sculpture and casting of artistic objects in bronze and lost wax.

In 1962 at age 23, Gorky worked in San Miguel de Allende, a village located in the State of Guanajuato at the School of Arts and the Allende Institute, where he built an artistic foundry attended by both student and professional sculptors. Later he founded a small workshop of terra cotta manufacturing in the village of Marfil where he reproduced Jean Byron's designs.

His main interest, however, has always been rescuing the traditional Majolica of Mexico. He studied ceramics in Guanajuato, which prompted him to rescue this lost craft which represents one of the cultural and historical values of this region.

While he was striving to achieve this aim, Gorky met Hisato Murayama, a young cultured Japanese who was studying Spanish, Philosophy, and Mexican history. Hisato Murayama, a professional connoisseur of pottery techniques, lent Gorky various books on Japanese art, encouraging him to continue his studies in Japan.

Gorky was granted a scholorship to study in Japan for 2 years, where he not only learned diverse pottery techniques but also met his wife, Toshiko. In this remote country he first studied in Tokyo with Tsuji Seimei, who taught the Shigaraki technique. Later he moved to the town of Bizen, where he studied with Kei Fujiwara, considered Japan's living national treasure, and with his son, Yu Fujiwara, also a renowned potter. There he learned the Bizen - Yaki technique.

Currently, Gorky Gonzalez owns his own ceramic workshop located in Guanajuato, Mexico. He works there with his son, Gorky Gonzalez Jr, where they continue to produce unique majolica ceramics for you to enjoy in your home.

We just received a shipment of Salt & Pepper Shakers, Square Plates, Espresso Cup & Saucers, Coffee Cup & Saucers, Napkin Rings, Frog Creamer & Sugar Sets, & Tequila Shot Sets!

We will soon have Christmas Ornaments by Gorky Gonzalez! So check back soon!

Visit us at www.LaCasaMexicana.us to see our selection of Gorky Gonzalez Pottery!

Chao!

All products will be uploaded within the coming days! We appreciate your patience!

Additions to the Product Line

2008-09-02T15:00:00.001-07:00

Hola!

Well, there is a lot of good news and a little bad news. The bad news is that I have been having a great deal of trouble getting an international account set up with my preferred shipping company. They are suppose to let me know how everything turns out this week! So, with that being said, the first shipment of Mexican Talavera Pottery should well be on its way by NEXT week! I know it seems like I am promising and promising, but I am banking on this time! ;) And I truly appreciate your patience and anticipation!

Well I did say that I have A LOT of good news, right? I have been product sources like mad and have found some more quality hand-made Mexican items to add to the product line! I knew you would be excited! I came across some adorable handmade corn husk angels. They are absolutely perfect for the Christmas tree or to use in your decor all year long! My favorite are the natural corn husk angels! However, the angels are made in an array of different colors that would look fantastically Mexican mixed all up!

Anybody need a tortilla basket? Hecho a mano en Mexico! (Handmade in Mexico!) I have also found a great product line of handmade Mexican palm baskets. Like the angels, the baskets come in a grand assortment of colors and in the classic natural dried-palm color. These baskets are functional as well as appealing! I love to just leave my tortilla basket on the kitchen table. There are several different style baskets to choose from. So have fun and mix them up!

Ok, I don't want to overwhelm you...but I have saved the best for last! Romero Gurman dichroic silver jewelry! Dichroic glass is an ultra-thin layer of metal oxides and quartz which give the glass dichroic optical properties. Romero and Gurman are a husband-wife team that create spectacular dichroic glass jewelry all made by hand in the heart of Mexico, Mexico City. This dynamic duo actually met while doing research on glass! Together Romero and Gurman have years of experience working with glass and creating dazzling jewelry. Their jewelry is bright, colorful, and sure to add a spark to your jewelry collection. I guarantee that you don't have anything like it!

Well, that wraps all of my news up! Check out my website, www.LaCasaMexicana.us for all of these great handmade Mexican items. We will be getting products soon! Thank you for your patience!

Chao!

Inventory Almost Here!

2008-07-18T09:37:00.000-07:00

Hola!
Well, today is the day!...the day that Tomas Huerta will ship out the first order of Talavera Pottery to us! All of the empty web pages are just waiting the arrival of the products and we will be set for business. I just can't wait to open the boxes and marvel at the beautiful Talavera pieces inside!

However, in the meantime, I am still practicing an html tutorial that my daughter made for me. She is new at html and web design, as well and, I believe that she has done a phenomenal job with the website, La Casa Mexicana.us . With that being said, everything that we have learned has been from free articles and tutorials on the net. Therefore, we would like to thank the many people who wrote those articles for they have truely been helpful! And for Skip McGrath, I have finally found my niche!

~Chao!

Adding Mexican Recipes to the Site

2008-07-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hola,
I have been racking my brain trying to think of something to add to the website that you will enjoy and find useful. And guess what!? It finally occurred to me... Mexican Recipes! Mexican recipes will be a wonderful addition to the website that will help it be more useful and enjoyable for you! My daughter learned quite a bit about a few basic Mexican staples during her stay in Mexico and I intend on (with her help) posting the recipes on the website within the next two weeks. And as soon as I prepare them again, I will take informative pictures to help explain the processes. I will aslo take lovely pictures of the delicious cuisine in beautiful Talavera dinnerware! Oh, I can't wait to get cooking! Que rico!

Now if you have any Mexican recipes that you would like to share, I will be very pleased to publish them on the website. You can e-mail them to me at LaCasaMexicana@live.com or post them as a comment here. I look forward to sharing recipes with you! This is going to be fun!

Oh, and don't forget to check out the website at www.LaCasaMexicana.us!

First Blog Post

2008-07-08T10:17:00.000-07:00

Hola!
I have just created my online e-commerce website, www.LaCasaMexicana.us, where I will offer quality hand-made Mexican Talavera Pottery from Puebla, Mexico. However, the site is not open yet due to ZERO inventory! But don't worry, I have placed my custom order with el Senor Thomas Huerta and he is busy creating all of the one of a kind beautiful Talavera pieces right now! I just received an email from him saying that the Talavera will be ready to ship the 18th of July. So the grand opening for my e-commerce site is set for around the beginning of August! I am extremely excited and enthusiastic about my new business venture. I love quality hand-made crafts and am delighted to be able to offer them to you! I will be keeping you posted on what is going on and when you can expect to see the first piece of Mexican Talavera Pottery go up on the site!