Photograph by Andrew Doench
Melissa Wirth grew up in Chihuahua, Mexico, about two or three hours from the U.S. border. Local art pieces became almost part of the scenery: earrings and hairclips with intricate, beaded patterns; totes embroidered with bold, bright flowers; handcrafted, embossed leather bags.
Today, Wirth not only sees how special those items are—she sells them. She runs Dahlia Fair Trade, a virtual shop with hand-embroidered stuffed animals and totes, painted wooden teacups, beaded earrings and hair clips, sterling silver jewelry, and embossed leather purses. She works with four different families in Mexico, importing all her items from regions known for different handicrafts, such as silversmithing or hand-beaded items.
Photograph by Andrew Doench
It all started with a Christmas gift. Wirth lives in Harrison with her husband and two children. She’s been in the U.S. for seven years, and the first time she really saw Mexican art was thanks to her husband’s family.
“During Christmas, it was hard for me to know what to give to my in-laws,” she says. “My husband really appreciated all the Mexican art way more than me. I guess I was very used to it. He just told me, ‘You should bring them gifts from there.’ ”
Photograph by Andrew Doench
So, she picked up hand-beaded purses and bracelets. “They were all amazed,” she says of her in-laws. “After that Christmas, I kept thinking, ‘Wait. I don’t see a lot of that kind of art in Cincinnati.’ ”
She began working on Dahlia Fair Trade the following year, in 2022, to bring a bit of Mexico to southwest Ohio. Dahlia is sold online and at area craft fairs like the monthly O.F.F. Market in Blue Ash this summer.
Photograph by Andrew Doench
Folks can also follow Melissa on Instagram @dahliafairtrade, where she recently posted a video answering a common question she gets from buyers concerned about cultural appropriation: “Am I allowed to wear this?” Wirth responds with an emphatic yes. She puts herself in her makers’ shoes: “We wouldn’t sell you anything that would disrespect us. This is how [my suppliers] make their livelihood,” she adds. “Of course they want to sell the items.”
There’s personal meaning, too, to sharing a piece of her culture. “A lot of my friends have shared a lot of American culture,” she says. “It’s just fun for me to share a little bit of mine.”
Photograph by Andrew Doench
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