TLAQUEPAQUE FACTORY SHOPS

Begin your factory tour on the west side and continue generally east. Start one block west of Niños Héroes, at the backyard ironwork shop of Roman Gutierréz Muro, on the far west side, at Moctezuma 2657, half a block north of Independencia. Within the ramshackle but well-equipped compound, personable Roman can fashion a remarkably clever and diverse range of ironwork, from scroll-like tables and chairs to ingenious animals and flowers. See the samples and the photo catalog.

Show him a sketch of what you want and he’ll probably be able to make it readily, for a reasonable price. Call (in Spanish) 33/3659-0526 for an appointment.

One of Tlaquepaque’s most renowned handicrafts producers is Vidrios Soplados (Blown Glass), in the north-central town quarter, at Medellín 179, between Florida and D. Guerra, tel./fax 33/3659-1790, earturperez@hotmail.com. Enter the small street-front store, decorated with clutches of lustrous glass esferas (glass spheres), tableware, vases, figurines, and much more. Continue to the fascinating workshop in the big rear yard, where workers bend, twist, blow, and mold red-hot globs of glass into gleaming works of art. It’s open for nonappointment visitors Mon.–Fri. 8 a.m.–2 p.m. and Sat. 8 a.m.–noon; store is open Mon.–Sat. 8 a.m.–3 p.m.

Return due south past Juárez (where Medellín turns into Miranda) a few doors to Cerámicas Guadalajara, Miranda 60, on the right (west) side of the street, tel. 33/3635-5981, fax 33/3657-6486, www.ceramicasguadalajara.com. Although it manufactures and stocks a seeming galaxy of fetching examples, Cerámicas Guadalajara will also make any design or style to order. For example, homey sayings, small or large murals, address plates, names—whatever your heart desires—in brilliant, hard-glazed color. Open Mon.–Sat. 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

Back on Juárez, continue east a block, then left, north, to pewter (peltre) showroom and factory Ann Kary, Matamoros 28, tel./fax 33/3659-7739, 33/3659-6292, www.annkary.com.mx. Traditional European pewter is made of tin, alloyed with other metals, such as nickel, but Ann Kary’s ware, a vast collection of decorative metal bowls, plates, crucifixes, picture frames, and much more, is of aluminum. Ask to visit the shop in the rear, where workers put the finishing touches on the pieces. Open Mon.–Fri. 9 a.m.–6 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Candles are the theme at the small Los Cirios store/workshop, a block north of the jardín, at Madero 70, tel. 33/3635-2426, fax 33/3635-5456, www.loscirios.com.mx. Continue through the Galería Ken Edwards up front to the Los Cirios part of the store at the left rear. You’ll find a garden of candles, many huge, in innovative shapes—cones, cubes, cylinders, and more—and in a rainbow of bright colors. Watch the fascinating ongoing work of creation in the workshop, adjacent to the displays. Open daily 10:30 a.m.–6:30 p.m. (Don’t miss the adjacent Ken Edwards stoneware store while you’re there. Better still, if you have time, visit the Ken Edwards factory in Tonalá.)

For more possibilities, inquire at the Casa de los Artesanos, 288 Morelos, between Cruz Verde and Medellín, a block north of Independencia, tel./fax 33/3657-3846, open Mon.–Sat. 10 a.m.–6 p.m., closed Sundays.