Curator’s Note

The first time I walked into that barn in Bergen, I understood I wasn’t looking at storage. I was looking at forty years of the world, brought home one trip at a time.

I’m Marc Blumenfeld. I came to this collection through family — and I stayed because once you’ve held these objects, read the trip notes, and seen the photographs of the moment each piece was acquired, you understand you’re not looking at inventory. You’re looking at a record of how people connect across distance, language, and tradition.

My work now is straightforward: find each of these pieces the right home. Document what’s known. Be honest about what isn’t. And make sure the story behind every object — who made it, where, and how it came to be part of this collection — travels with it.

This is what I mean by Wilson Provenance: not a marketing term, but a standard. Real photographs. Real trip records. Real artisan relationships, most going back decades.

Forty years. Thirty countries. One collection. I’m honored to be its steward.

What This Collection Is

Tour World Crafts is a boutique gallery of one-of-a-kind folk art and ethnographic objects — each piece documented, provenance-tracked, and sourced directly from artisans across more than thirty countries over four decades. These are not reproductions, not mass market, not random antiques. They are extraordinary objects with a verified story behind them.

The Provenance Chain

How an object moved from artisan to archive to you.

1978–2011 — Acquired in the Field

Each piece was selected directly from the artisan, village, or workshop where it was made — not purchased through a market or importer. Many acquisitions were photographed at the moment of purchase, the foundation of what we call Wilson Provenance.

1978–2011 — Documented

Trip notes, itineraries, and photographic records were kept alongside each object — building an archive that runs parallel to the physical collection itself.

2011–2024 — Held in Bergen

The collection remained in the barn and farmhouse studio in Bergen, New York, where it was built — housed and largely undisturbed for decades.

2024 — The Move

The collection was relocated to storage units in Byron, transitioning also through Rochester before reaching its current climate-controlled storages.

2025–Now — Cataloged and Photographed

Each piece is individually identified, measured, researched, and photographed — cross-referenced against the original trip archive wherever possible.

Now — Released

The pieces you’re viewing have completed this chain. What you’re buying isn’t just an object. It’s the documentation that travels with it.

Where It Began

Craft World Tours was founded in 1978 by Tom Muir Wilson, a photographer and educator at RIT, and Sherry Clark Wilson, a textile designer. For more than three decades, they led small groups to work alongside master craftspeople across more than thirty countries — not as tourists, but as students of the people and places they visited.

Tom’s photographs and Sherry’s trip records form the documentary backbone of this collection — the reason so many pieces here carry real provenance rather than guesswork. What they built wasn’t just a travel company. It was an archive of human craftsmanship, assembled one relationship at a time.

Today, that archive lives on as the Craft World Tours Collection.

Read the full story of Tom & Sherry Wilson →

The Tours

Between 1978 and 2011, Craft World Tours led small groups to artisans in more than thirty countries, from Romania and the Balkans to the Silk Road, South and Southeast Asia, the Andes, Africa and the Middle East. Read the history of the tours →

Browse the trip-by-trip Itinerary Archive: itineraries, field notes and original brochure records.

An Invitation

Every piece in this collection has a place it came from, a person who made it, and now, a chance at a new home. If something here speaks to you, I’d encourage you to read its story — not just its description.

Browse the collection, explore the archive, or reach out directly if you’re looking for something specific. I’m glad to help.