threads afar

Textiles, people, and places.

September 8, 2026 · Norma Schafer

Purposeful, meaningful, compassionate travel

Why meeting makers, listening, and buying directly matter.

Rug-hooking artist Petronila Jorge Zet in Guatemala
Petronila Jorge Zet · Guatemala

For Norma, a journey is a chance to meet people where they live and work, hear their stories, and understand the traditions carried in their craft.

Small groups make space for personal encounters. The aim is to learn and appreciate, without overwhelming the communities being visited.

Meet the maker.

Buying directly from artisans helps the people behind the work. Understanding the time, skill, and meaning in a textile changes how we look at it, wear it, and care for it.

A maker holding her rug-hooked textile
A maker and her work · Guatemala
Hand-embroidered textile with symbols and a central figure
Embroidery · Nahual symbols

Read Norma's original article

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