Una semana de tinte natural: Conozcan a Doña Margarita / A week of natural dyes: Meet Doña Margarita

Blog por Alejandra Arrué Lou

A continuación encontrará extractos de mi entrevista con Doña Margarita como parte del taller de tintes naturales con Olga Reiche, patrocinado por Kakaw Designs.

Conozca a Margarita

Cuando conocí a Margarita, al principio me pareció tímida y reservada. Pero después de pasar solo un día con ella, rápidamente aprendí que Margarita era todo lo contrario. Ella es un rayo de sol y vitalidad. Tiene una risa contagiosa, le encanta hacer bromas y tiene una profunda pasión por su arte. Ella cuenta que “desenredar y arreglar el hilo de algodón es una de mis actividades favoritas”. Esto le trae paz y serenidad. A Margarita le importan mucho su familia y su identidad. Ella busca preservar su cultura a través de los textiles que teje. Además, es una líder que quiere expandir su arte y liderar un grupo de mujeres artesanas para seguir experimentando con tintes naturales.

Alejandra: ¿Cuánta experiencia tuvo usted con los tintes naturales antes de este taller? 

Margarita: Yo no he recibido ningún taller antes. Tengo experiencia de mis padres porque mi abuelo ya tenía ese conocimiento. Cuando era pequeña, ellos practicaban el algodón, lo cosechaban, y lo trabajaban. Yo sacaba el algodón y lo clasificaba también. Tengo unos pocos recuerdos que ellos nos decían de las plantas. De hecho, tengo dos tías que viven todavía y conocen el algodón bien. Yo ahorita estoy buscando un huipil que mi mamá hizo con ese algodón. Cuando estaba escuchando a Olga, ya tenía un poco de experiencia y en ese momento estaba recordando del aprendizaje que me dejaron mis padres. Pero no, nunca he recibido un taller como este. 

Alejandra: ¿Por qué le interesó aprender más sobre el teñido natural?

Margarita: Para mi es importante porque quiero rescatar estas prácticas. Así era como lo hacíamos antes. Ahora ya no. Además, me sorprende que una planta saca un color distinto a como se ve. El encino es el color que más me interesa, pero hay otras plantas también que me interesan.

Alejandra: Ya que aprendió bastante esta semana, ¿quiere seguir trabajando con tintes naturales? ¿Cree que va a poder replicar esta práctica en su casa/asociación? 

Margarita: Sí quiero seguir. Personalmente, me gustaría trabajar con grupos de mujeres para experimentar. Ahora se trata de aprender de las plantas que sacan color, especialmente las plantas que hay en mi comunidad de Chamelco. La idea sería tener un grupo de mujeres para practicar, experimentar, y producir. Pero primero tengo que practicar sola para ver si me salen los colores y tintes.

Alejandra: ¿Cuáles son los retos que le puedan dificultar a seguir con el tinte natural?

Margarita: Pues hay muchos retos. Todo dependiendo del hilo. Por ejemplo, no todos los hilos se pueden teñir. O se puede teñir pero no se queda en el hilo fijo. Otro reto será poder encontrar los hilos naturales y los vendedores cerca de donde yo vivo. Por ejemplo, el blanco que muchas veces usamos ya tiene cloro y eso no es natural. Lo voy a investigar. Pero poco a poco.

Alejandra: ¿En su pueblo (Chamelco), hay gente que trabaja con tinte natural? ¿Por qué lo hacen / no lo hacen?

Margarita: Ahorita no hay nadie. No tienen motivación porque es mucho trabajo y los consumidores no entienden el precio alto. Los únicos que entienden son los artesanos. Por eso es importante que los consumidores entiendan sobre el tinte natural, que es elaborado por una artesana, y que requiere muchos días de trabajo. 

Alejandra: ¿Nos puede compartir algo que le impresionó mucho del taller con Olga? ¿Recomendaría este taller a otras tejedoras?

Margarita: De mi parte es muy interesante. Los procesos que nos explicó, en teoría y en práctica, son muy importantes. Si se lo recomendaría a otras tejedoras. Pero como los procesos son complicados y a veces lo hacemos “al ojo”, se puede volver muy confuso. Entonces hay que poner mucha atención. 

Alejandra: ¿Cómo fue quedarse la semana en la casa de Doña Lidia?

Margarita: Fue interesante. Aprendí a usar la estufa. Ya me puse más cómoda. Yo normalmente me levanto a las 3am. Se me olvida que no es mi casa porque no estoy acostumbrada. El viaje fue fácil pero hay que tener paciencia. A veces se tarda más en llegar. 

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Blogpost by Alejandra Arrué Lou

Below you will find my interview with Doña Margarita who participated in Olga Reiche’s natural dye workshop, sponsored by Kakaw Designs. 

Meet Margarita

When I first met Margarita, she seemed shy and reserved. But after spending just one day with her, I quickly learned Margarita was just the opposite. She is a ray of sunshine and vibrancy. She has an infectious laugh, loves to make jokes, and has a deep passion for her art. She notes that, “untangling and arranging threads is one of my favorite activities.” This brings her peace and serenity. Margarita holds her family and her cultural identity dear and seeks to preserve her cultural identity through the textiles she weaves. In addition, she is a natural leader who hopes to expand her craft and lead a group of artisan women to continue experimenting with natural dyes. 

Alejandra: How much experience did you have with natural dyes before this workshop?
Margarita: I have never received any workshop. I have experience with my parents because my grandfather already had some knowledge. When I was little, they would practice with cotton, harvest it, and work with it. I would take apart the cotton and classify it. I have some memory that they [her family] would tell me about the different plants. In fact, I have two aunts that are still alive today that know cotton quite well. Right now, I am looking for a huipil that my mother made with that cotton. When I was listening to Olga, I had a bit of experience and in that moment I began to remember the learnings that my parents taught me. But no, I had never received a workshop like this before.  

Alejandra: Why were you interested in learning about natural dyes? 

Margarita: For me, it’s important to rescue these practices. This is how we used to do it. Not anymore. In addition, it is surprising that one plant emits a color that is different from what it looks like. The color that interests me the most is oak, but there are other plants that interest me as well. 

Alejandra: Now that you have learned a lot this week, would you like to continue working with natural dyes? Do you think you can replicate these processes in your house/association? 

Margarita: Yes, I would like to continue. Personally, I would like to work with a group of women to experiment more. Now, it is about learning about the plants that one can extract colors from, especially the plants found in my community of Chamelco. My idea is to have a group of women that can practice together, experiment, and produce cotton with these dyes. But first I have to practice myself to see if I can extract the plants’ colors. 

Alejandra: What challenges do you foresee if you continue to use natural dyes? 
Margarita: Well, there are many challenges. Everything depends on the thread. For example, not all threads can be dyed. Or maybe they can be dyed but the color does not last. Another challenge will be to source the natural threads nearby where I live. For example, the white thread that we normally use has bleach and that cannot be used. I need to keep investigating. It will be challenging to find all the vendors, threads, and raw materials. Little by little.    

Alejandra: Are there people in your community that work with natural dyes? Why or why not?
Margarita: Right now, there isn’t anybody. There is no motivation because it requires a lot of work and the consumer does not understand the high prices. The only people who understand the prices are the artisans. That is why it is important that consumers understand how natural dying works–it is worked by an artisan over many days. 

Alejandra: Can you share something that impressed you about the workshop? Would you recommend it to other weavers?
Margarita: I found it very interesting. The processes that were explained to us, the theory and the practice, are very important. I would recommend it to other weavers. But the processes are very complicated and sometimes we do things without measuring so it can be quite confusing. So you have to pay very close attention. 

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Una semana de tinte natural: Conozcan a Doña Lidia / A week of natural dyes: Meet Doña Lidia

Blog por Alejandra Arrué Lou

A continuación encontrará extractos de mi entrevista con Doña Lidia López como parte del taller de tintes naturales con Olga Reiche, patrocinado por Kakaw Designs.

<Below in English!>

Conozca a Doña Lidia

Cuando conocí a Doña Lidia, me dijo que sus hilos tenían sentimientos y que debíamos tratarlos con respeto. Ellos sienten lo que nosotros sentimos. Aprendí que ella está sincronizada con su arte, con las personas, las plantas, y los animales que la rodean. Doña Lidia tiene un corazón cálido; siempre le gusta conocer a nuevas personas y me trató como si fuera parte de su familia. También es una mujer increíblemente inteligente que entiende bastante los colores, habla 5 idiomas, y ha viajado por todo el mundo. Doña Lidia le importa mucho a su familia y cree firmemente en sus tradiciones ancestrales. Ella quiere seguir aprendiendo más de los tintes naturales porque es la forma más sostenible para nuestro planeta.

Alejandra: ¿Cuánta experiencia tiene usted con los tintes naturales antes de este taller? 

Doña Lidia: Estoy muy agradecida con Mari por darnos este curso porque antes había tenido un taller de tintes sintéticos pero no como este. Era más simple. Yo solo iba escuchando y no haciéndolo.  Yo aprendí junto con otras personas que son de Salcajá. También tengo un poco de experiencia con las plantas. Cuando camino por mi casa, miro las plantas y pienso sobre sus colores y tóxicos.

 

Alejandra: ¿Por qué le interesó aprender más sobre el teñido natural?

Doña Lidia: Me gusta pensar en nuestro futuro y la contaminación del planeta. En esta clase, aprendimos que toda el agua de los tintes sintéticos se tira otra vez en los drenajes. Los tintes sintéticos se pueden hacer en cantidad, son bonitos, y rápidos de hacer. Pero, ¿qué pasa con nuestra salud? No podemos seguir contaminando nuestro planeta. 

El color que más me interesa es el banano con el índigo. Me interesa que tenga solo un poco color. Tal vez los colores no salen exactamente como uno quiere pero se trata de la experiencia y de la conexión con la naturaleza. También me interesó aprender sobre las plantas y las frutas, como dependen del clima y si ha llovido.

Alejandra: Ya que aprendió bastante esta semana, ¿quiere seguir trabajando con tintes naturales? ¿Cree que va a poder replicar esta práctica en su casa/asociación? 

Doña Lidia: Estoy bastante motivada.  Si quiero replicarlo y renovar el tejido. Primero, tengo que involucrar a mi familia. Tengo mucho apoyo de mi hijo que también le interesa este concepto. Tengo una hermana que teje. Pero va a ser un poco difícil. Porque ya todos están acostumbrados a los hilos sintéticos. 

Mientras involucro a mi familia, me gustaría tejer algo con los hilos que hicimos con Doña Olga. Algo que tenga el fondo crudo y encima con los colores naturales que tengo.  Y lo voy hacer con diseños de San Antonio. El tejido será un ejemplo para mientras, y después implementó el proceso poco a poco en los huipiles.

Alejandra: ¿Cuáles son los retos que le puedan dificultar a seguir con el tinte natural?

Doña Lidia: El reto es el tiempo. Hay tiempo pero estamos en una cultura que es rápida, con horario, y con mucha competición. Los tintes naturales tardan más en hacerlos. Nosotros estamos acostumbrados a comprar los hilos en el mercado rápidamente. Pero nosotros mismos tenemos que valorar el proceso natural. Tenemos que reconocer el trabajo y la calidad de los materiales, y reflejar eso en nuestros precios. 

A veces he hablado con personas rurales para explicarles que no hay que comprar cosas sintéticas. Hay que tratar de no ser consumista. Mejor produzcamos más que consumimos. Por eso trato de sembrar. Yo siembro frijoles y verduras. Es mejor mantener nuestras propias cosechas. Cuando yo misma siembro mi comida, es un sentido muy diferente y especial. Es orgánica y más sostenible. Es una lucha porque estamos en un círculo de consumismo y de inconsciencia. Algún día ya no habrá maneras sostenibles. Espero que algún día eso cambie. 

Alejandra: ¿En su pueblo (San Antonio), hay gente que trabaja con tinte natural? ¿Por qué lo hacen / no lo hacen?

Doña Lidia: Nadie trabaja con tinte natural. Yo seré la primera. De hecho muchos de los tejidos se están desapareciendo. Como he dicho, es por el tiempo. 

Alejandra: ¿Nos puede compartir algo que le impresionó mucho del taller con Olga? ¿Recomendaría este taller a otras tejedoras?

Doña Lidia: Me gusta mucho aprender de las plantas. Hay muchas plantas que son fáciles de encontrar, crecen, y no se van a extinguir. Me gusta la experimentación y probar sacar nuevos colores con nuevas plantas. Además, Olga es una excelente maestra. Ella sabe mucho. Pienso que todo lo que nos enseñó hay que practicarlo. 

Alejandra: ¿Cómo fue tener a Doña Margarita en su casa esta semana? 

Doña Lidia: Fue excelente. Yo siempre quiero cooperar y compartir sin ser egoísta. Y así seguimos adelante. Seamos positivos, no negativos. Como he convivido con varias personas de todo el mundo en mi casa, me gusto estar con Margarita y la trate como si fuera mi propia hija. Yo quiero empezar a trabajar con ella y aprender más de ella también. Yo seguiré aprendiendo, no importa mi edad. 

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Meet Doña Lidia 

When I first met her, she told me that her “hilos” had feelings and that we needed to treat them with respect. They feel what we feel. I learned that she is not only in tune with her art but with the people, plants, and animals around her. Doña Lidia has a warm heart; she is open to new people and treated me like I was part of her family. She is also an incredibly smart woman who deeply understands colors, speaks 5 languages, and has traveled the world. Doña Lidia strongly believes in her family and ancestral traditions, and yearns to learn more about how to dye naturally as she believes it is the more sustainable way for our planet. 

Alejandra:  How much experience did you have with natural dyes before this workshop? 

Doña Lidia: I am very grateful to Mari for giving me this opportunity because I have attended a synthetic dye workshop before but not like this one. It was much simpler where I only listened. I learned with other people from Salcajá. I also have some experience with plants. I always look at the plants when I walk around my house and think about their colors and toxins.

Alejandra: Why were you interested in learning about natural dyes? 

Doña Lidia: I like to reflect on our planet’s future and the contamination of it. In this class, we learned about how the water from the dyes are thrown back into the sewage system. Sure, synthetic dyes can be made in large quantities, they’re beautiful, and faster to make. But what happens to our health? We cannot continue polluting our planet like this. 

The most interesting color for me is the combination of indigo and bananas. I like that they have a more pale color. Perhaps the natural dyes do not come out as one had planned but it’s really about the experience and the connection we have with nature. It was also interesting to learn more about plants and fruits and how they depend on their natural environment. 

Alejandra:  Now that you have learned a lot this week, would you like to continue working with natural dyes? Do you think you can replicate these processes in your house/association? 

Doña Lidia: I am very motivated. I would like to replicate and renew my techniques. But first, I need to involve my family. I have a lot of support from my son who is also interested in this concept. I have another sister who weaves. But it will be a little challenging because everyone is accustomed to synthetic threads.  While I involve my family, I would like to weave something with the threads we made with Doña Olga. Something that has a raw background with a more natural color on top. I am going to design using the patterns from San Antonio. This piece will be an example in the meantime and later I will implement the process little by little in my huipiles. 

Alejandra: What challenges do you foresee if you continue to use natural dyes?  

Doña Lidia: The biggest challenge is that of time. We have time but we now live in a culture that is fast, with tight schedules, and competition. Natural dyes require more time to make. We are accustomed to buy ready-to-go threads in the market. But we need to elevate our natural processes. We need to recognize the work and quality of the materials and reflect that in our prices. 

Sometimes when I am talking with people from my community I like to explain that we should not buy synthetic materials. We must not be such consumerists. It’s better to produce more than consume more. That’s why I like to plant my own vegetables, including beans. It’s better to maintain our own harvests. It is much more special when I plant my own food. It’s organic and sustainable. It is a challenge because we are in a cycle of consumerism and unconsciousness. One day, we will reach  a point where there will not be any sustainable practices. But I am hopeful that we can change this. 

Alejandra: Are there people in your community that work with natural dyes? Why or why not? 

Doña Lidia: Nobody works with natural dyes. I will be the first one. In fact, many of our own patterns are disappearing. Like I mentioned, it’s because of the time it takes.

Alejandra:Can you share something that impressed you about the workshop? Would you recommend it to other weavers?
Doña Lidia:  I loved learning about plants. There are many plants that are easy to find, grow well, and are not in extinction. I love to experiment and extract new colors with new plants. In addition, Olga is an excellent teacher. She knows a ton. Everything she taught us needs to be practiced. 

Alejandra: How was having Doña Margarita in your home during the week? 

Doña Lidia: It was excellent. I like to cooperate and share without being selfish. That’s how we can move forward. We need to be positive, not negative. I have shared with many different people from around the world so I enjoyed being with Margarita. I treated her like she was my own daughter. I would like to continue working and learning more from her. I will always continue learning, no matter my age. 

Mysa: Abigail’s indigo exploration in Guatemala

When the pandemic hit Guatemala this March, we started selling cloth masks that one of our partner artisans was making. Abigail reached out to me during this time, interested in a few colorful masks for her own use, as wearing a mask had become mandatory rather quickly in the country. We met up on the side of a small street in Santa Ana, Antigua, me walking Berry and she walking to meet us. We ended up taking for over an hour there, on the sidewalk, masked and keeping our distance. This is how our friendship began.

Somehow, this collaboration is different from any other we’ve worked on before, simply because we didn’t have a business agenda. What began as a quarantine creative activity for four friends, dyeing together in Abigail’s indigo vat babies, was meant for us. Not for anyone else, but just for us, friends figuring out how to live in a pandemic world with strict regulations. We took refuge in this small but meaning way.

And now, we’re ready to share a little bit of this joy with you in the form of these indigo-dipped earrings made with handspun local organic cotton. For this, we have our supporters to thank, who have encouraged us even from afar on our social media accounts to do something with the indigo fun. Muchas gracias.

I hope you enjoy getting to know Abigail and her craft in this little Q and A we put together for you.

XOXO, Mari

The Indigo Gang: Mari, Emily, Abigail, and Evelyn (left to right). Oh yeah, and Chorizo.

1. What’s the story behind your brand name, Mysa?

Mysa is a Swedish word that refers to a state of comfort or contentedness with something. One online resource gave a definition I particularly like: “To smile (with only slight movement of the mouth), particularly as a sign of contentedness or comfort.” I imagine in Swedish the definition is a bit more stoic than my interpretation. But I like the idea of a small, knowing smile because you’re remaining playful in the face of challenge, and finding joy within life’s responsibilities. Perhaps you are carrying around a morsel of glee in your pocket while wading through some grim practicalities. It is there, with that morsel in your pocket, that you find contentedness. It’s a bit sneaky and very beautiful. That’s Mysa.  

Abigail at her home studio

2. Were you always interested in natural dyes? How did you get started?

Actually, no, I can’t say I have been interested in natural dyes for very long. Living in Oaxaca, Mexico I learned about cochineal, which is a captivating dye, but I hadn’t ever thought about working with it. My indigo journey started about one year ago in the textile museum in Oaxaca. An exhibition on indigo detailed the plants used to make the dye and showcased indigo textiles from all around the world. The most interesting part for me was a video they showed of men in Niltepec, Oaxaca oxygenating a large tank of water that was turning more and more blue—they were making indigo! The men pushed the water over and over for hours with broom-like tools, and the water would sloosh against the concrete wall of the tank. The repetition of the sound and the movement of the water fascinated me. I wanted to see it in person. I wanted to be in that tank and feel my arms tire as I moved with the water, watching it change color. 

Working with indigo

3. Do you also work with other dyes, or focus specifically on indigo? Why?

The process of getting indigo dye from a plant is fascinating, as is dyeing with indigo. Oxygen, either removing it or adding it, is key to work with this particular natural dye. So, you’re working with air, water, and earth (a plant), and there is something very rooting about that. 

Too, indigo is a storyteller, and working with indigo is a practice. Each time I visit with my vats I give them all my attention, and then I ruminate on what they’ve taught me. If I started working with other natural dyes, I think I would feel pulled in different directions, and what was once interesting would become frustrating due to my own impatience for things to “work.” For me, the most important thing in my indigo practice is that I feel joy in it. So I keep it simple, and that keeps me engaged. Indigo still has many stories left to tell me, and really, I’m all ears. 

4. What has it been like to start up your indigo exploration during the pandemic in Guatemala?

I feel very fortunate that I was able to take advantage of a time of lockdowns, curfews, and limited human interaction to focus on a craft. Indigo gave me purpose when I was without work, in a different country, and unsure of where I was headed. I was able to take the time and space to start my work with indigo and get it wedged into my life enough that now—as uncertainty continues, but life moves on—I carry my craft with me. 

Indigo exploration recipes on the wall

5. What are you working on these days? Can you share a little bit about your projects?

My main and on-going project for myself is dyeing threads. I focus on threads because I love the idea of my threads being woven into people’s ideas. I think I enjoy being the source of some secret, behind-the-scenes magic, and helping someone create something beautiful (like our earring collab!) is utterly gleeful.  

In addition, I’m leaving myself space to respond to others’ interest in indigo which has put me in a kind of exploration-facilitation role. I’m involved in two projects now. One I see as helping a local brand find out if working with her own indigo vat is a good fit for her. Everyone loves the magic of indigo, but that beautiful blue comes with costs, both financial and energy, so it’s not a right fit for everyone. I’ll also be co-teaching with a fellow indigo enthusiast (both a teacher and a life-long learner herself) a group of dyers who have limited access to indigo resources. This is a fun challenge for me—learning how to start and maintain vats using locally accessible materials. I hope both of these ventures lead to better understanding how local (Guatemalan) artisans might more easily pick up the lost practice of indigo.

2020: The Year of Pivoting

This year’s theme word seems to be “pivot.” It feels like more than ever, the importance of shifting perspectives and priorities is evident. With the arrival of COVID-19 to Guatemala in mid-March and its following restrictions, we’ve been pivoting as much as possible.

Here are six ways we have been shifting, adapting, pivoting:

1. One of a Kind creations online

With our retail stores closed in Antigua, I decided to take products out of stores and try our luck selling one-of-a-kind items on our website. We had been creating products with customizations tailored toward each local store, so the result was that we had many unique variations at hand. In the past, I had dreaded putting in the work to list one-unit variations online, but in this pandemic emergency state, there was no time for complaining. This lead to our One of a Kinds page, where we continue to list unique items online.

2. Direct sales from our artisan partners

The need for work in our partner artisans’ communities became evident very quickly, as people lost jobs all over, and tourism (both national and international) came to a sudden halt. This inspired us to start our Artisan Direct Pop-up online, and we have been pushing this page most during the pandemic as these items represent products that our partner artisans had already invested time and material into making. These are beauties our friends already had, ready to sell, when the pandemic hit. We do our part in checking quality, taking pictures, and writing down honest details of the work, incorporating techniques used as well as materials and measurements, and take care of all the logistics like payments and shipping. We hope our work creates an atmosphere of transparency and trust that can often be difficult to achieve with online shopping from countries afar.

3. New work space in Antigua

These two new online sales efforts created a physical challenge in that I found myself without sufficient space to work given COVID-19 restrictions. So, I moved into Xibalba at the center of town, and have been working from there also with the help of Evelyn, who was instrumental in keeping Kakaw Designs going as our Production Manager while I was working on my master’s in Europe. I’m so grateful for the pieces falling into place in order to help us shift and grow our online offerings when it became suddenly necessary to go 100% digital.

4. Online sales in Guatemala

We realized that there was suddenly a market for online local sales within Guatemala, too. That’s why we launched our Kakaw Designs store on the new platform MejorShop. This Etsy-like concept allows us to reach local customers, and we can offer local discounts, too. We’re pretty excited to see where this project goes as online shopping is pretty new here in Guatemala.

5. Affordable and beautiful cloth masks

Our best-selling item during this pandemic time has by far been the Cloth Masks made by Juan Carlos, which are going for $35 for a variety pack of 10. We’ve sold over 2,000 masks at this point, and the work has incorporated two other families, meaning that these orders have been supporting three families during this pandemic. We went through several changes on these masks as we faced material supply shortages and wanted to incorporate general improvements, like adding a nose wire and creating an opening for optional filters, which we also offer as an add-on. (You can read more about these changes here.)

6. Creative orders in a sheltered time

We’ve been fortunate with custom orders, and we are so grateful for our supporters! Somehow it feels like maybe people everywhere are trying to add color to their lives, to add some joy, and at the same time are doing their best to be conscious about where their money goes, who their purchases support during this challenging time. And maybe the concept of time has shifted too, like all of the sudden it doesn’t feel like a gigantic barrier to wait one month for a custom textile, bag, or a pair of shoes.

 

Next steps:

We’re continuing to pivot in different ways, and right now I’m pretty excited for these beautifully hand-embroidered cloth masks. Not only are they joyful, these masks provide work for our artisan partners in Sumpango, who are able to embroider from home.

 

 

We look forward to where the future takes us, and we hope to be able to shift perspectives to keep up. This year has provided the opportunity to re-evaluate our priorities and re-align ourselves to our principal mission of working with rural artisans and facilitating access to markets through design, quality control, and overall enhanced trust. Thank you for joining us on this journey.

 

Mari

Yummy collaborations! Cardamom + Kakaw

This heartfelt writing by Kelly from Cardamom Collective brings tears to my eyes, just reminiscing about how we have both personal and professionally grown over the years of working together on special collaborative projects. Kelly continues to surprise us with her unique color and pattern choices, and it is so refreshing to depart from the local norms. Francisca can tell which orders are Kelly’s at first look of the design, and it’s a wonderful thing to have this creative, inspirational push to try new designs. And hey, this all began as an Instagram friendship, did you know? It’s definitely a real-life in-person friendship now.

Without further ado… Thank you, Kelly, for sharing your thoughts on the years of making beauties together.

XOXO, Mari

 

Kelly when she came to visit us in Guatemala 💙

It’s hard to encapsulate a friendship that spans years of collaboration and growth, especially one that has unfurled like a dynamic tapestry of travel, voice recordings, written words, coffees on Chicago streets, a shared love of all things ikat (jaspe), chewy corn tortillas in San Juan La Laguna and of course, tastes of chocolate and cardamom wherever we can find them!

Knowing and working with Mari has felt like a Field Notes guide that we’ve packed with ethnographic entries, textile (and bird!) sightings, watercolor pages and postal codes. When I try and synthesize the effect these adventures have had on my life and business, I search for words and struggle to arrive, until my eyes settle on my coat hook. That’s right, so much can be expressed in the entry ways of our homes, the doorways to our spaces and where we spend our time. Mine are infinitely more colorful and thread-rich than they were six years ago.

Our coat rack has seven small black hooks, and hanging from each one is at least one (and often more) of the many generations of bags and scarves we have co-conspired in bringing to life. I’ve dragged them to France, Italy and Spain. I’ve stuffed them with wild sage in Montana. They’ve carried my curriculum, spilled coffees, smashed crayons, and the abundance of flotsam and jetsam that comes from being a K-8 Art Teacher for the last four years. When I look over these pieces I see my past and so much potential for the future. I love seeing how the designs have evolved as Mari has helped me to understand the process and many hours (lifetimes of learning actually) that go into each step of each piece. Each time a new item is born I am transported to my last night in Antigua. Walking the cobblestone streets under  the butter yellow arch that bridges the path from the sky and frames Fuego, clutching my prototype like the sacred cloth it was, sharing a platterful of spices and seasoning and making plans over hot terra cotta bowls of Pepián. I recall entering the studios of the master leathersmiths and spending the day with Francisca in San Juan, turning corn tortilla dough in my hand as we waited for our natural dye experiments to come to life in the Lake Atitlan sun.

I love to remember these sensory details and sharing stories is one of my favorite things about designing and understanding textiles. I am sure some of you are asking,  how does it actually work? Typically, I start with an inspiration, a piece of artwork, a color scheme that is speaking to me, a place I have been…it varies. I sort through these ideas via small sketches, typically done in watercolor. Designing textiles has always been rooted in handwork for me, it is where I find the most joy and while I  respect the incredible things that can be done in design programs, it is not how I work. When I have a relatively solid idea, I will send Mari images of these sketches and imaginings and using the natural dye book that she and the weavers sent me, will send color codes. Often we will discuss the colors and possibilities of pattern, which is one of the areas where Mari’s expertise is invaluable. 

 

 

As she has built decades of trust and understanding with the communities where textiles are made in Guatemala and lives there herself, she has a nuanced understanding of the process as well as the ability to communicate both linguistically and through cultural understandings that I do not. I loved my trip to Guatemala and spend time reading and learning about the history, weaving process and customs but I have truly only spent a very small amount of time there. (I hope to return very soon!) When someone lives and works in a place the way Mari does, they are able to act as a bridge between the artisan communities and the designers.

 

What is not visible from instagram or social media is the countless hours of conversations, studio visits, travel over  bumpy roads, (and choppy Lake Atilan waves!) dense traffic, and countless other gestures and moments that it really takes to make Kakaw work. In turn, these collaborations are possible with other small businesses like Cardamom Collective. Mari does all of these things and more and does it with integrity, an open and curious mind and a drive to push herself and the other designers she works with to have thoughtful conversations around the work we are creating and who we are creating it with. Guatemala has so many incredible artists. Many families have been weaving, dyeing, and working in leather for generations, and possess a depth of knowledge and experience that is profound. What I have always appreciated about collaborating with Mari is that she works hard to build a community of shared voices and one that creates a space for creative exchange between brands and the artisans, of mutual respect. 

Our collaborative projects have had many iterations, most recently we have ventured into hand carved jade and threads, which has been such an exciting addition to the Cardamom Collective and Kakaw textile “family”! I feel so grateful for years of pushing each other and growing in our shared and individual creative visions!

-Kelly, Cardamom Collective

 

 

 

Mujeres de Maíz

In this post, we’re excited to introduce you to local collective Mujeres de Maíz from Santiago Atitlán! This small group of makers is creating some unique and gorgeous designs, some of which are going live this Sunday on our Artisan Direct page to help provide a digital platform for them, since they do not have an online sales channel at the moment. We’ve got dresses, jackets, earrings, sandals, and more to share with the digital world soon, thanks to the hard work from this collective!

Read below a short Q&A with Mari Liberali, designer behind the collective. (And hey, nice name right? 😉 )

XOXO,

Mari

1. What does “Mujeres de Maíz” mean and what was the inspiration for that name?

The Name “Mujeres de Maíz” is based on the sacred book of the ancient Maya called Popol Vuh, which tells us that the Mayan people were created by the gods with maize. Maize (corn) is the sacred food for many populations in Central America, including Guatemala. And there are a lot of Mujeres de Maíz in Guatemala, there are many strong women here, who can teach us so many things! But, in our project, we choose to share the special work of a small group of women. 

2. Could you tell us a little bit about your personal background and how you came to be involved with this group?

I am Mari Liberali, artist and fashion designer from Italy, and in 2017 I left the conventional fashion job to work with indigenous people and their handicrafts. I was looking for a job with purpose, I was very tired of the injustice that fashion normally promotes. So I arrived at Cojolya Association, in Guatemala, to work with the backstrap loom, in Santiago Atitlán. It was there that I learned everything about this new world, from collaboration, NGOs, and handmade textiles. I spent a year and a half as a textile and accessories designer and decided to continue my work outside the Association with different artisans, and we ended up founding the collective Mujeres de Maíz in 2018, based on original embroidery from Santiago.

3. Who are the members of Mujeres de Maíz, where do they live, and what kind of handmade traditions do they practice? How is the group organized?

We are a group of 5 women. I am the designer and co- founder of the project along with Loida Sisay, and soon after we incorporated other artisans.

Loida is a co-founder, embroiderer, and master of embroidery. She teaches visitors traditional embroidery techniques. Chonita is an embroiderer and she coordinates and communicates with the other members. Isabel is also embroiderer and is still developing her products, with a new mixed embroidery technique that we are developing. And Maria has a community shop in original fabrics, we buy textiles from Maria and we also represent Maria by selling her unique products. The artisans all live in the community of Santiago Atitlán, on Lake Atitlán. Santiago is well known for the embroidery of birds and flowers, always represented in traditional huipiles. Our goal is to help preserve and encourage women to create their own designs and develop new forms of creation with original embroidery. Each of the women has her own style of embroidery and has started to develop unique designs for the project.

 

 

4. How has COVID-19 affected Mujeres de Maíz, and what do you think are the next steps for the group?

Our project has practically stopped because our focus is on local sales and we depend directly on tourism. Fortunately, larger groups like Cojolya are supporting us and selling our products online. And now, we found new support in Kakaw Designs, so thank you! In the future, when we are be a little stronger and bigger, we hope to be able to send abroad through our own website and we hope that our network of artisans will also grow. There are many talented women, very good at embroidery art who have come to offer their skills, but we still cannot absorb them all. Soon, after all this over, we hope that more and more people could be interested in our market, valuing the handmade process and also the people who do this work. I think this is the future, and it is already coming. 

 

 

To learn more about this collective, please follow their journey on Instagram.

And stay tuned – this Sunday, June 29th, 2020, the products from this collective will be live on our site on our Artisan Direct page.

How to weave on our Practice Backstrap Loom

Looking to learn a new crafty skill while at home these days? We’ve got the thing for you, then: learn how to weave on a simple backstrap loom.

These looms have been prepped with naturally-dyed cotton warp and weft by our partner weavers at Lake Atitlán. The design is already so pretty, there’s no need for complicated weaves – the most simple weave will make a beautiful wall-hanging with all the tools still attached.

<Find our Practice Backstrap Loom Kit online>

To start, these are the contents of each kit. We currently have three naturally-dyed color variants available.

And these are the parts of the simple backstrap loom:

You’ll see droplets of water in the above picture because I decided to starch the warp and iron before weaving. After the starching, I spent some time to separate the threads. After that, though, it keeps the fibers more neat and avoids fuzziness and clumping. It’s up to you if you would like to starch, it is an optional step.

Here are some simple videos filmed at home, following COVID-19 restrictions so not at all professional, but I figured better to just to it. I hope they are somewhat helpful and can get you started on your first backstrap loom.

To start, this one explains the parts of the loom:

 

See how I’ve attached the loom to a pole on my terrace in the following video. It should be attached higher than where you will sit – whether that’s in a chair or on the ground directly.

 

Once you’ve got your loom in place, you’re ready to start weaving:

 

For this simple loom, there are only two steps (yay!). They are demonstrated separately in the following two videos.

Learn Step 1, which is pulling the heddle and inserting the weft from right to left:

To check from the side if you’ve lifted the heddle or rod correctly, you can take a look like in the below picture. In the first picture, you can see that it’s not “right” – there are some threads that are going from above the rod to below the sword. So it’s INCORRECT:

But in this one below, you can see that the sword is inserted neatly without messy threads, so you know it’s been done CORRECTLY:

And then Step 2, using the shed rod and inserting the weft from left to right:

The rest is just repetition. Step 1, Step 2, Step 1, Step 2… until you’ve reached the point in the loom where it becomes difficult to pull up the heddle. I would suggest stopping there, and leaving all the tools attached to the loom, and hanging the piece on your wall as home decor. You’ll be able to tell your friends and family that you wove it, and hopefully those around you will also gain appreciation for the handwoven world.

Remember that it’s ok to make mistakes! You can always retrace your steps, cut the weft (NOT THE WARP), or my personal preference: just move on. It’s all part of the process, and you should be able to see in your work how you are improving. It’s kind of fun to remember how you once made simple mistakes – and learned from them.

So I must admit, I’ve never tried to explain the steps of backstrap weaving digitally like this. I’m not an expert. You likely have some questions. Please feel free to ask questions below in the comments so others can benefit from them too, or if you’d rather ask privately, shoot me an email at mari@kakawdesigns.com.

Happy weaving at home! Stay safe and healthy, everyone.

 

XOXO,

Mari

Xibalba Joyas: elevating jade through design

Laura Spillari, owner and founder of Xibalba Joyas, is one of the most positive, collaborative, and design-filled people in town. It has been an absolute pleasure to have our products included in her gorgeous storefront at the center of town. Unfortunately, the store is shut down at the moment due to COVID-19 restrictions. That’s why we took this opportunity to showcase our products together digitally. Find our combos featuring one Kakaw Designs item and one Xibalba Joyas item together in our One of a Kinds page  starting tomorrow, Sunday, April 5th.

Naturally, I (Mari) asked her to share a little bit so that you can get to know her and her jewelry designs. The following questions were answered by Laura herself:

 

1. You have one of the most beautiful stores around town. Can you tell us when you started Xibalba, and the inspiration behind your brand and store?

Thank you so much!

Xibalba was born in 2012. The idea was to recover the cultural value of jade and present it through design-oriented jewelry. Guatemala is a country where ancestral knowledge exists, materials and handwork come together to maintain our cultural legacy alive.

We started in a petit and cozy space and a couple of years ago, we moved to our current location, a beautiful colonial house in the center of Antigua. We couldn’t be more in love with the location! Now, we not only create jewelry but we have partnered with several artisans and designers who present other products such as textiles, leather goods, decor objects, and many other interesting little things.

The team consists of 5 collaborators and we contribute to around 125 artisans directly or indirectly in different regions of Guatemala.

2. Do you think you have always been an artist, since you were little? When do you think you came to realize this?

I’ve always considered myself a creative person. I grew up in a house where everything was made or prepared by us, whether it was clothing, planting, or plumbing… so I kinda learned how things could “be done.”

I was surrounded by elements such as textiles, ceramics, basket weaving, among other handmade traditions. Walking on cobble stones and going to Mayan sites on vacations… this has been with no doubt a part of my identity and has provided great inspiration for what I do.

3. One of the things I love about your store is the incorporation of innovative designs on traditional materials, like jade and silver. Can you share a little bit about traditional use of those materials, historically-speaking?

Guatemala has a unique variety of jade. It is formed here because of the geographical location and the geological history.

For the Maya, our ancestors, jade was the most valuable material. They thought of it as a gift left here for us, which brought all the strength from underneath the earth and was able to take our thoughts and prayers to heaven. Jade was carved by master artisans who made from large stelas to miniature mosaic masks, among other incredible ornaments.

4. We’ve talked about doing an online collaboration before, but we finally decided to go through with it now because of the COVID-19 restrictions in Guatemala. What are the effects for your business, and what can people do to support you and other small businesses working with artisans right now in Guatemala?

Indeed it  is a situation that has affected us all. However, we are confident that together we will rise!

It has been difficult to find new paths for our partner artisans since our business depends on tourism completely. Our number one priority is to generate an income for our artisan partners, so they can support their families.

The best way to help is just by being conscientious. Learn about what you buy, where you shop, support handmade products with a value chain behind them.

Today, we make a call to a world wide community: let’s all find ways to help each other, from our homes… by providing opportunities however possible.

Guatemala Update: on the virus and traveling

Well, it’s been quite some time since writing here on the blog. Here’s an update on our recent happenings.

COVID-19 has hit Guatemala. And on the day the very first positive virus test result was found, we were meant to start our Textile Travels. What a timing, huh? While we had a few cancellations, there were two participants who were already in the country, along with my mom. We had a good talk together, and we decided to continue with our itinerary to Lake Atitlán. I’m glad we did, as we had a wonderful time there.

But on the day we were scheduled to come back to Antigua, it became more dire to do so, and quickly, because a public transport ban had been announced the night before. While I didn’t think that our private minivan would fall under this category, I was wrong – something about the licensing for transport of that size fits under the same category as the big refurbished school buses we like to call Chicken Buses. At that point, we did decide to cancel the rest of the trip, and hang out in Antigua.

I’d just like to put it out there that although these measures have been strict and drastic (we now have a shelter-in-place curfew at 4pm), I really can’t complain. I think these are good steps for trying to control the virus. And perhaps more than that, these are good measures for controlling the panic that can arise, especially in rural communities. For me personally, the potential chaos arising as well as the antagonizing of foreigners (because COVID-19 is coming from outside the country), have been more worrisome, especially when responsible for a small group of foreigners. Misinformation and at times flat out lies can spread as fast as the virus itself in areas where access to reliable information and the education to be able to weed through such rumors are lacking.

But, we made it. Everything went fine. We cancelled two of our workshops that were planned in surrounding areas of Antigua, and the whole portion going to Cobán. That’s okay. We still had a great trip, an adventure hopefully never to be repeated, but still a pleasant adventure together. What we couldn’t fit in were textile markets – unfortunately, they had been shut down by the day we were meant to rummage through vintage collections of handmade beauties. Well, there’s something left for next time, then. We always have to leave something for next time. Right?

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy wherever they are. All the internationals from our travels have gone home now. I am still here in Guatemala, hanging out at home with Berry. It’s going to be a challenging time for small businesses and local artisans, so I’ll be pushing online sales, starting with a One of a Kind Sale on our website this Sunday, March 29th.

 

XOXO,

Mari

 

Just Leather Shoes

Ever since we started Kakaw Designs with custom-made boots, we’ve gotten requests from people wanting simple designs with just leather, no textile. I’ve been resisting against this for some time, just because I’ve always wanted our focus to be textile over leather.

But… you know what? I was wrong. I love these Quetzal Shoes in Just Leather, and it’s always a pleasure to support Don Julio’s cobbler business. And through these sales, we can also invest more in textile prototypes and pursue new designs. So really, it’s win-win.

I’m sorry I was narrow-minded and it took me so long to incorporate Just Leather shoes. But now, they’re here. I hope you like them too, I’m loving mine.

Available online for $185. Choose “Just Leather” option under “Textiles”.

 

Thank you, Don Julio!