Metate

Metate is an ancient stone tool for grinding maize. Functional and beautiful in equal measure. It's no accident that a Mexico City shop selling Mexican crafts bears its name: everything here is both lovely to look at and genuinely useful.

Metate's founder, Constanza Antoni, travels around Oaxaca, Michoacán and Puebla, dropping in on potters, weavers and glassblowers in remote villages — then brings their work back to the capital. She only takes pieces made by hand using traditional techniques and natural materials. Without her, these things would never make it to Mexico City, even though sometimes they have to be hauled along mountain trails in the Michoacán sierra by motorbike — a journey that can take up to six months. And Constanza doesn't just resell: she's designed around 40 pieces herself in collaboration with craftspeople — contemporary in form, traditional in technique.

Metate now has two shops in Mexico City:
Metate Orizaba in the bohemian Roma Norte neighbourhood shares its space with the Lago design project, while the other shop is in the trendy Condesa district, known for its parks, cafés, bars and Art Deco architecture.

Both shops sell tableware and all sorts of decorative pieces: black clay from Oaxaca, natural and glazed ceramics from Michoacán and Puebla, plates, bowls, vases, jugs; woven baskets, the famous ceramic pineapples that have become Metate's signature, beeswax candles, hand-blown glass. Textiles hold a special place: handwoven blankets, cushion covers, tablecloths and rugs dyed with natural pigments.

Prices run a bit higher than the markets, but there's no doubting the authenticity and quality.