El Paso’s Silk Museum

October 12, 2019

La Palma has a long history of silk production, going back to the 16th century. In fact, at one time, silk was made in all the Canary Islands, but since the 19th century, El Paso, in the centre of La Palma, is the only place which still produces it. They use an old fashioned, labour-intensive technique, the only place in Europe which still does so. You can see most of…

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Tobacco in La Palma

October 20, 2018

I don’t smoke, so everything I know about Palmeran cigars is from hearsay. But they seem to have a very good reputation. Certainly Winston Churchill was known to be a fan, and certainly they get shipped off to the Spanish royal family. Most of the tobacco farms on the island are in Santa Cruz, Breña Baja, and especially Breña Alta. Typically, the crop is grown in tiny fields and given…

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La Palma’s Embroidery Museum

November 17, 2016

The table cloth on the stairs La Palma has a long tradition of gorgeous embroidery. As I mentioned in my previous post, the embroidery museum is upstairs in the Red House, in Mazo. This gorgeous tablecloth in broderie anglaise is halfway up the stairs. Assisi embroidery, a form of cross stitch. About the only thing in the museum I could see myself making. Now I’m fairly good at cross stitch,…

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Photos of the craft fair: 2016

Obradoiro de Martina - embroidered dresses
August 16, 2016

Well there was certainly loads of variety. Too much to get into details, but I recommend going next year if you can. Obradoiro de Martina does dresses with touches of traditional Palmeran embroidery. They’re not cheap, but they are gorgeous. I bvelieve most sales are to order, and you can track the progress of your special dress. Her website is http://obradoirodemartina.com/ I wish I’d got the contact details for these…

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2016 Craft Fair, Puntallana

Poster for this year's craft fair in Puntallana
August 12, 2016

La Palma’s annual craft fair is a big event. This year over 150 craftsmen and women are taking part, showcasing a huge range of crafts both traditional and modern: pottery, embroidery, carpentry, basketwork, wrought iron, cases for transporting ferrets, crochet, musical instruments, costume jewelry, macrame, shoe-making, cigars, etc. And in case you get hungry, there are an awful lot of food stands selling traditional desserts, wine, cheese, bananas, gofio etc….

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Breña Baja: The Old Butcher’s Shop

The 19th century butcher's shop, Breña Baja, La Palma
February 3, 2016

The old butcher’s shop stands on the outskirts of the village of San Jose, in Breña Baja, near the Paradorof La Palma. The building dates from the late 19th century, and it was a butcher’s shop until the 1960s. But now it’s been renovated as a craft exhibition and shop. Although the place is small, they’ve packed a lot in. They’ve got lots of traditional embroidery and basketwork. They’ve also…

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