Oaxaca isn’t somewhere you rush through, it’s somewhere you spend time and return to, says COPERARI’s creative director Nichola Clark.
The New Zealand-born creative Nichola Clark and co-founder of COPERARI design studio resides in San Agustín Etla, just outside Oaxaca City, Mexico – home to an internationally recognised arts community and Centro de las Artes de San Agustín (CaSa).
At the core of COPERARI’s practice is the translation of contemporary abstract art into textile form – handwoven rugs, natural fibres, and traditional making techniques – guided by a philosophy of restraint, longevity, and respectful collaboration. Subtle irregularities are embraced as markers of the human hand.
Coperari kaftan shot on location in New York.
Living and working within this environment continues to shape COPERARI’s long-term engagement with Oaxaca’s cultural landscape and traditions of craft.
“Summarising Oaxaca is difficult,” says Nichola, “because there is such an abundance of beauty, creativity, gastronomy and history to embrace and experience.”
Coperari’s Insider Oaxaca Guide
San Agustín Etla
Just outside Oaxaca City, San Agustín Etla offers a quieter, more reflective counterpoint to the city. Home to Centro de las Artes de San Agustín (CaSa), as well as a growing network of artists and studios, it’s a place to spend time slowly – visiting studios and connecting more personally with creative practices.
Centro de las Artes de San Agustín (CaSa)
Founded by Francisco Toledo, CaSa reflects a commitment to preserving cultural heritage through contemporary practice. Working closely with artisan communities, Toledo supported traditional crafts while creating meaningful economic opportunities – a clear parallel with COPERARI’s long-term, collaborative approach.
Centro de las Artes de San Agustín (CaSa)
“Living here, Nichola is part of a wider creative community, alongside artists and studios including…”
Paulina Rizzo – a ceramic artist whose intuitive, nature-led practice creates organic forms shaped by patience, imperfection, and a deeply personal process of making.
Eliza Donald – a New Zealand-born artist whose work spans painting, bronze, and print, exploring the relationship between body, land, and elemental forces.
Jorge González Velázquez – a multidisciplinary artist working across sculpture, painting, and jewellery, rooted in symbolism, ritual, and material transformation.
Jewellery by Jorge González Valázquez
3×3 Studio (Bárbara & Javier) – a ceramic studio based in San Agustín Etla, founded in 2020 and rooted in a deep, process-led approach to making ceramics.
Isabel Sanchez – a ceramic artist exploring the relationship between body and material through expressive, narrative forms shaped by intuition and experimentation.
Ceramic by Isabella Sanchez
Yarii Montes – a ceramic artist and jewellery maker creating figurative works shaped by memory, melancholy, and introspective storytelling.
Exploring Oaxaca
Chocolate de Agua Spa
Tucked within San Agustín Etla, Chocolate de Agua Spa is a beautifully designed retreat created by architect partners María and Fernando. A hidden gem offering a dry sauna, natural cold plunge, and a hammam in progress. Surrounded by a lush tropical garden, the experience includes fresh salads and traditional hot chocolate – an understated but thoughtful connection to its name and local ingredients.
Chocolate de Agua Spa
Teotitlán del Valle
A short drive from the city, Teotitlán del Valle is one of Oaxaca’s most important weaving communities, with a textile tradition dating back to Zapotec times. Families continue to weave using natural dyes and pedal looms, creating a rare example of a living, evolving craft tradition. It’s where COPERARI’s rugs are made by Rosa and her family – longstanding collaborators and part of the studio’s extended community.
Local artisan Rosa and with Nichola.
Doña Viviana Alavéz – Candle Workshop
In Teotitlán del Valle, the work of Doña Viviana Alavéz offers insight into a deeply rooted ceremonial craft. Known for her intricate floral wax candles, each piece is sculpted entirely by hand, guided by memory rather than moulds. Created with her family, these works carry both symbolic and devotional meaning.
Doña Viviana Alavéz is known for her intricate floral wax candles and workshops.
Tlacolula & Evangelina Aquino Luis
Tlacolula de Matamoros is home to one of the region’s most important Sunday markets, with origins dating back to pre-Hispanic times.
Marigolds at a local market.
Nearby, the Zapotec cocina of Evangelina Aquino Luis offers a deeply rooted culinary experience, using native ingredients tied to some of the earliest cultivated crops in Mesoamerica.
Evangelina Aquino Luis in her cocina.
Mitla & Casa Lyobaa
San Pablo Villa de Mitla is known for its intricate geometric ruins – once a Zapotec ceremonial centre associated with the afterlife – as well as vibrant artisan markets. The graphic stone patterns found throughout Mitla hold a quiet resonance with the symbolic language in Jodi Clark’s paintings. For a slower stay, Casa Lyobaa offers a beautifully designed sanctuary within organic gardens, complete with a pool and temazcal.
Stay and relax at Casa Lyobaa.
Santa María Atzompa
In Santa María Atzompa, ceramic traditions take on a distinct identity, long recognised for green-glazed pottery alongside evolving contemporary forms. Studios such as Ruiz Lopez and Ana Martinez produce work that sits between function and sculpture – from plates and vessels to expressive face forms. The local markets provide a strong overview of the breadth of work, often leading to studio visits where process and stories come into clearer focus.
Ruiz Lopez ceramic studio.
Centro – Studios & Creative Spaces
In Oaxaca Centro, a network of studios, galleries, and independent creative spaces are woven throughout the city. Casadetospartes is a ceramics studio Nichola co-works with, where Hernan Vargas and Natalia Scromov create sculptural works that also function as sound instruments. They offer workshops, visiting artist sessions, and occasional courtyard performances.
Eating Out
Ancestral Cocina Tradicional
Ancestral Cocina Tradicional (Oxomilco)
Set within a beautifully designed garden, Ancestral Cocina Tradicional offers refined Oaxacan cuisine. Highlights include shrimp with mole and garnachas, with vibrant street art lining the surrounding streets.
Chepiche (Oxomilco)
A relaxed courtyard setting, Chepiche is a favourite for brunch – green, open, and often accompanied by live music. The huevos divorciados are a standout.
Mercado 20 de Noviembre
One of Oaxaca’s most iconic markets – where smoke from open grills, dried chiles, and the rhythm of daily life come together. Known for its pasillo de carnes asadas, it’s busy, atmospheric, and deeply local.
Levadura de Olla
A Michelin-recognised restaurant offering a seasonal, ingredient-led menu. The space is simple yet thoughtfully designed, with standout vegetable dishes and a beautiful use of local ceramics.
Los Danzantes & Selva
A leading restaurant with a Michelin star, blending traditional cuisine with a contemporary approach. Upstairs, Selva offers an elegant bar experience, with cocktails and a mural by local artist Raul Herrera Rodriguez.
Criollo
Located just outside the centre, Criollo offers a slower, more immersive dining experience in a predominantly outdoor setting. The weekend brunch is highly recommended, with tortillas prepared in an open kitchen.
Ama Terraza & Muss Café
A leafy rooftop tucked behind Muss Café, known for some of the best coffee in the city. The terrace is ideal for a quiet moment, with occasional live vinyl sets by Cristian Morales.
San Martín Tilcajete & Almú
In San Martín Tilcajete, artisans create intricately painted alebrijes – spiritual animal forms rich in symbolism. A stop at Almú offers a traditional outdoor dining experience.
An artisan making a spiritual animal form.
“Oaxaca reveals itself over time – through its people, its food, and its traditions of making. It’s a place best experienced slowly, where the connections you form often become the most memorable part of the journey,” says Nichola.
About
COPERARI is a design studio founded by New Zealand-born creative director Nichola Clark. The project is a creative collaboration with her sister, artist Jodi Clark whose work forms the visual language of the brand.
Working across interiors and lifestyle, the studio creates hand-crafted textiles developed through sustained partnerships with artisan communities in Mexico and India.
