Tinwork is one of the most popular products we sell at Milagros, and it comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Now, in the times of coronavirus, many of our tin workshops have been forced to close, with no government support. Bulk orders like our own have really helped them to stay afloat in these times, and we all really appreciate each and every one of your purchases. Our aim has always been to support small businesses in Mexico, but at no other time in our thirty years of work has that mission felt more pressing. So thank you all so much! Plus, because tin is light and most of our tinwork is flat, it’s perfectly suited to being shipped and online orders

Tinwork has a proud history in Mexico. In the 1930s, it formed a big part of the craze for Mexicanidad, which we’ve mentioned before in previous newsletters. Tinwork inspired by folk art became a collector’s item, and was avidly sought out by intellectuals and artists alike. It became the preserve of artisans wanting to make more affordable versions of silver or other expensive items, and this is the case with our larger tin mirrors, which copy colonial-era Spanish designs, but in the lighter, cheerier material of tin (this is the case with our El Nido mirrors, which feature two birds in a nest at the top of the frame: a good gift for lovebirds making a home together!).

Most Mexican tinwork is now made in the Mexican states of Guanajuato, Jalisco and Oaxaca in small family-run workshops. We currently buy and commission work from  such workshops in the states of Guanajuato and Oaxaca. This tinwork is initially cut out of flat tin sheets with tin snips, using tin templates as a guide, and then shaped and  adorned by hammering with a range of shaped punches. They are then painted by hand.

The bulk of our tinwork is made in the workshop of Arturo Sosa Mendoza, who has been working with tin for over 50 years, in the city of Oaxaca. His career began when he was still a schoolboy: after school he went to art school and learnt to draw. He is adept at coming up with new designs and adapting existing ones; many of his designs have been widely copied by other tin workers in Oaxaca.

Our unpainted tin hearts are from the workshop of Miguel Angel Aguero Pacheco, also in the city of Oaxaca, with whom Milagros has worked for over 25 years. The ornate tin mirrors are from the workshop of Tomas Ricardo Santiago Pacheco, whose family have become famous for working in this complex decorative (and very Oaxacan) style.

The nido (nest), fan, and knot mirrors are all made in the workshop of the Trejo family in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. The father of the family (now deceased) began as a silversmith in the 1940s and gradually started making more work in tin. Two of his sons have continued his work.

And with that, adios and hasta luego!

Buena salud,

Milagros