OUR INTERWOVEN LIVES WITH THE ZAPOTEC WEAVERS: An Odyssey of the Heart

Now taking orders on Amazon (pub. June 1, 2014)

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Interwoven-Lives-Zapotec-Weavers/dp/0991095618

OUR INTERWOVEN LIVES 
WITH THE ZAPOTEC WEAVERS:

An Odyssey of the Heart
by Susanna Starr
 Photographs by John Lamkin

Photograph by ©John Lamkin

I hope this story serves as a reminder that business is not a negative word. Trading is as old as human history, whether for goods or services. It doesn't have to be exploitative nor impersonal to be successful. Rather, if it is infused with joy and happiness, it can provide a vital, important and enriching aspect of our lives.  

                               –  Susanna Starr, Taos, NM

     Paperback: 136 pages

     Publisher: Paloma Blanca Press (June 1, 2014)

      Language: English

      ISBN-10: 0991095618

      ISBN-13: 978-0991095612

      Product Dimensions: 8 x 8 x 0.4 inches

   Shipping Weight: 8 ounces 

Hardback (gloss laminate)                Paperback (gloss perfect bound)

ISBN 13: 978-0-9910956-0-5          ISBN 13: 978-0-9910956-1-2

ISBN 10: 0-9910956-0-X                        ISBN 10: 0-9910956-1-8

LCCN: 2013920484                        LCCN 2013920484

Pages: 136                                   Price: $19.95

Price: $29.95                                      

Zapotec Women at Market - photo ©John Lamkin

Blurbs of Praise on the Back Cover

PRAISE FOR OUR INTERWOVEN LIVES WITH THE ZAPOTEC WEAVERS

A BEAUTIFUL BOOK, BOTH THE WRITING AND PHOTOGRAPHS. I own a Zapotec rug and appreciate the work of these artists. This book gives them credit where credit is long overdue.--Tom Aageson, Executive Director, Global Center for Cultural Entrepreneurship

A MUST READ FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO DO WELL BY DOING GOOD IN THE WORLD. This improbable story about an American "hippie" and traditional weavers in the Oaxaca Valley of Mexico will fire your Imagination and touch your heart. Susanna Starr's life story proves that love, respect, learning and success in business can go hand in hand.--Judith Fein, Author of Life Is a Trip: The Transformative Magic of Travel and The Spoon from Minkowitz: A Bittersweet Roots Journey to Ancestral Lands

Photograph by ©John Lamkin

"ONE OF LIFE'S MEMORABLE INTERSECTIONS"

 With Love it began…With Love it flourished…And with Love it continues.

     OUR INTERWOVEN LIVES WITH THE ZAPOTEC WEAVERS - An Odyssey of the Heart celebrates American entrepreneur and gallery owner Susanna Starr’s forty years of working with the Zapotec weavers of the Oaxaca Valley in Mexico. Starr takes us back to the moment when she first navigated dirt roads into the remote village of Teotitlan in the 70s, and fell in love with the vibrant Zapotec hand-loomed weavings and the warmth of the weavers themselves. She leads us on a three-generational trek of mind and spirit, as the Zapotec families and her own grow in parallels of symbiotic prosperity and mutual respect that reminds us that “business” does not have to be a negative word.

     Susanna Starr is the owner of Starr Interiors in Taos, New Mexico, which began as La Unica Cosa in 1974, and features hand-dyed 100% wool rugs, wall hangings, and pillows traditionally dyed and loomed by the Zapotec weavers.

     OUR INTERWOVEN LIVES WITH THE ZAPOTEC WEAVERS - An Odyssey of Heart reflects Starr’s philosophy that business need not be kept separate, but can be an integral and meaningful part of everyday lives.

     “I hope this story serves as a reminder that business is not a negative word,” says Starr. “Trading is as old as human history, whether for goods or services. It need not be exploitative or impersonal to be successful. Rather, if it is infused with joy and happiness, it can provide a vital, important and enriching aspect of our lives.

     The weavings have been purchased by numerous celebrities including Paul Simon, Sting and Diana Ross, and featured in style magazines such as “Architectural Digest

BOOK EXCERPT:  Introduction

     For a long time I’ve been encouraged to write about the years I’ve spent working with the weavers of a small Zapotec Indian village high up in the mountains outside of the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. Not only have I had this encouragement from family, friends and people I’ve dealt with through my weaving gallery in Taos, New Mexico over the past forty years but, most importantly, I’ve been encouraged by the weavers themselves.

     Now the time has come to tell that story. Far from being a story of running a business of introducing and selling these weavings in the United States, this is a story of the personal interactions that have taken place between me and the Zapotec people over the past four decades. The gallery that I’ve run during this time has simply been a vehicle to promote and distribute this particular art form. In the evolution of the gallery and of the weavings in general, as in any other part of life, many changes have taken place. But, as in any other endeavor, some constants remain.

    For me the most important of these constants is the deeply personal connection I’ve had with particular weaving families as well as with the village as a whole. This connection has encompassed half of my life and the passion remains. Obviously, this is a personal narrative, but it also tells the story of people working together to preserve a culture and to promote a craft that has great impact not only on the individual weavers but on the whole village. The success I’ve enjoyed is mirrored in the success of that village and the individual weavers with whom I’ve been connected.