I recently discovered The Folk Art Gallery in San Rafael, California recently, a town about twenty minutes north of San Francisco. The gallery has products from around the world, mostly from villages and markets in Africa, Central and South America.
Their collection of folk art includes African tribal masks, ceremonial and ritual artifacts, baskets, textiles, containers and other objects of daily life. There are also captivating retablos from Peru, and whisical woodcarvings from Mexico. 
The jewelry cases include a lot of old silver and semiprecious jewels. I also saw a fabulous kilim from Istanbul, a hammered prayer box from Northern Africa and other tribal dresses from West and East Africa.
They tout their goal is to create a bridge to other cultures, traditions, and ways of life through their folk art.
In June, Kongthong Nanthavong-doungsy made a guest appearance from Vientiane, Laos.
Kongthong’s textiles are all hand woven from natural fibers and dyed with natural dyes. She talked to people about the place weaving holds in the culture of Laos and about the rich symbolism of the designs.
“In Laos it is an honor to be a skilled weaver. The majority of Lao women are weavers and are therefore capable of judging at a glance the quality of a textile.
The ability to produce intricately woven pieces using the finest quality yarns, a variety of weaves, and the richest dyes reflects well not only on the weaver but also on her family”.
The shop was founded by Sharon Christovich in 1994.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
