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…
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…
Every year La Palma holds a craft fair, and the variety is truly astounding. This year the fair was held at the port in Santa Cruz to coincide with the Bajada, and it was as good as ever. There were plenty of the traditional crafts, like silk weaving, embroidery and basket-making, but also plenty of new ones, like this clay sculptor.
The 19th century butcher’s shop, Breña Baja, La Palma 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. The famous cigars of The Breñas Although the place is small,…
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,…
Rosa Vidal is an artist from Puntallana, in the north of La Palma. She makes her own paper from leaves, roots, flowers and fibres which she collects herself from the surrounding countryside. Most of the paper is made into notebooks, diaries and photograph albums, with hand-sewn bindings. She also paints pictures on her own paper, and make lamp-shades (shown above) and mobiles (shown below). Rosa will have an exhibition in…