Plant Dye Experiments

It was so great to spend quality time with our partner weavers at Lake Atitlán.  It’s not always that we can afford to have some natural-dye experiment fun…. so this was a nice treat ❤️

I’m still going through the dyeing process pictures, so more on that coming soon.  For now… I’d love to share the results with you!

We dyed three Summer Cardigans, handwoven by weavers near Cobán.

Cardigan 1: Dyed with Pericón and Sacatinta

Cardigan 2: Dyed with Pericón and Sacatinta, taken out of bath before Cardigan #1

Cardigan 3: Dyed with Chilca and Sacatinta

There are only 3 of these in the whole wide world, and they are looking for loving homes!  Email me at mari@kakawdesigns.com if interested.  $150 each, free shipping to US.

XOXO,

Mari

 

Photos by the lovely Kelly from Cardamom Collective.

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I’m going back to school

I have some exciting news to share:  I’ve decided to get my master’s in Sustainable Development.

I’m excited and nervous for this next step.  Berry’s mostly just excited for the snow.

These are the two reactions I’ve been getting about the news:

1. “That’s wonderful!”
2. “What’s that?”

To all the encouraging people in my life, thank you.  I’ve been nervous about taking this step, but it will give me more tools to be able to work with artisan communities effectively.  After all, Kakaw Designs has always been a development-inspired social business.

And to those of you who have no idea what this Sustainable Development thing is, let me tell you.  It’s the study of development for countries, and how to merge economic, environmental, and social aspects.  How to find a common happy ground, for all three aspects of growth.  Needless to say, I’m interested in focusing on developing countries, as well as artisan communities, indigenous areas, and foreign aid / non-profit models (or rather, how to make these models more efficient).

I’m excited to get back into the academic world and delve into some of these questions that have been circling in my head.

Sustainable Development for small villages

What does that mean for Kakaw Designs?

Don’t worry, I’m in the process of training people to take over production and logistics in Guatemala.  Some of the artisans will take on additional responsibilities, others will be continued by me online, and I have a great person lined up as the Production Manager.  <<More on that soon!>>  And we’ll continue fulfilling online orders from the US as we have been doing.  We’ll also continue to take custom-orders, which have been really fun.  So really, there’s nothing to worry about.

I’ll be gone for two years, mostly in Europe.  But I will be back in Guatemala for visits, and am working on a smooth transition to keep the business going as usual.  I really contemplated what the best thing to do was – to take a pause and refresh in two years, or try to keep the business steady during my absence.  And in the end, it just seemed like a waste to lose the momentum we’ve gained, and the idea is always to keep production going so that the artisans have work – that’s our mission, after all: supporting talented artisans and their traditions in Guatemala.

Exciting times are ahead!  Thank you for all your support.

XOXO,

Mari

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New: The Duffle Bag!

I’ve been wanting to make a larger bag for a while, mainly because I didn’t have a good one to take on short adventures.  That’s how many of our products have been developed, did you know?  I got a scooter and needed a good backpack, so tada! The Quetzal Backpack.  I bought a new laptop and needed a good sleeve, so tada! The Laptop Sleeve.  And now, our newest baby: the Duffel Bag.

The Duffel Bag is made with naturally-dyed and handwoven sturdy footloom textile with two shades of indigo in stripes.  The genuine leather adds even more durability, so you can really take it with you on all your adventures.  It comes with two outer and two inner pockets.  Made from start to finish by hand in Guatemala.

Some of my travel essentials this summer including our Duffel Bag, Laptop Sleeve, and Quetzal Shoes.

We’re ready to start making our first batch!  We also have a sale event coming up for newsletter subscribers only… Let me know if you want in at mari@kakawdesigns.com, and I’ll add you to the list 😉

 

XOXO,

Mari

My Duffel Bag ❤️ Traveling the world together.

Happenings in July in San Francisco

Hey, friends in the Bay!  I hope to see you at these events coming up in July – I can’t wait to show you what we’ve been creating with our artisan partners in Guatemala.

 

XOXO,

 

Mari

Summer Picnic Bundle

We’ve got a fun-filled ethical bundle for you, straight from Guatemala!

We’ve teamed up with Toj  to bring you this ethical bundle just in time for summer sunshine.  Get a hand-embroidered Kakaw Designs Picnic Blanket and a pair of Toj sandals of your choice for $140, including shipping to the US!  That’s almost $50 off, which we are able to do by combining orders together and shipping to you directly from Guatemala.

I loved having these sandals with me in Mexico, with their interchangeable laces.  I’ve tried quite a few different ways to wear them, but I know there are so many more – it’s fun to play around with!

Our Picnic Blanket is also great for the beach 🌴

I love the handwoven straps, so many colors to choose from!  I’m a sucker for this lovely green.

Interested?  Just Email me (mari@kakawdesigns.com) and we’ll arrange orders through PayPal.  Offer valid until May 21st, and we’ll be shipping the last week of May, just in time for summer.

Mother’s Day Favorites + Sale

Wendy from Moral Fibres models with our Quetzal Tote

Starting to look for the perfect Mother’s Day gift?  Well, we have some ethical, handmade favorites to share with you 😘 Support our partner women artisans, many of whom are mothers themselves 🙌

Corte Wrap: great light year-long scarf, luxuriously wide normally $90

Quetzal Wrap: naturally-dyed and handwoven.  Support women weavers!  Normally $110

Hummingbird Wrap: choose from 3 naturally-dyed colors, with ikat designs. Normally $75.

Quetzal Tote: our favorite tote fits everything you need!  Normally $90.

Remember, take $20 off with code MAMALOVE until May 14, 2017.  (Valid for orders over $100 – and free shipping too!)

The Perfect Bundle for the Coffee and Textile Lover ☕️❤️

It’s getting warmer and more colorful these days.  We’ve got the perfect bundle to help you start your days with cheer 😊

Put together by Natalie from Sustainably Chic… We love her 😘

$45 includes a bag of De La Gente coffee (straight from Guatemalan farmers!), two coasters, and one tea towel, all hand-embroidered with naturally-dyed thread.
Straight to you from Guatemala 🇬🇹, including shipping to the US

Interested? Just let us know at hello@kakawdesigns.com and we’ll send you a PayPal invoice.

This is a Spring season special, so order your bundle now! Just let us know at hello@kakawdesigns.com

A favorite for scarf season

*** Discount code at the very bottom 😘***

We love all our products, but we’re so excited that this chilly season the top favorite has been the newest scarf addition, our Corte Wrap.  It’s beautiful and cozy, but more that that, we are including two different groups of artisans in its production – the weavers who prepare the naturally-dyed cotton thread, and the embroiderers who do all the amazing embroidery work, stitch by stitch ❤️

Francisca with the naturally-dyed thread her cooperative prepares.  She liked the finished prototype!

Embroidery master sisters at work!

Stitch by stitch…

 

And the result is a super soft, cozy scarf ❤️

 

Kelly from Cardamom Collective snatched one of our prototypes!

Adrienne shows off her Corte Wrap AND her Quetzal Backpack 😆

Rachel and Laura both got a hold of these beauties with red stripes… lucky them!

Want your own?  Use discount code SCARFLOVE for $20 off your own Corte Wrap just until January 25, 2017.

Order yours now!

 

Kakaw and Cardamom Bundles

We’re happy to announce a special collaboration between two spice-loving and ikat-obsessed businesses ❤️ Together with Cardamom Collective, we’re bringing you these lovely bundles for $90 – that’s $30 less than if ordered separately 😘 Only available throughout January!  To order, just email me at mari@kakawdesigns.com and I’ll send you a PayPal invoice.

Each bundle has one naturally-dyed and handwoven Hummingbird Wrap from Guatemala and a beautiful handloom ikat moon pouch from India.  Two places so far away and so vastly different in some ways, and yet in other ways so similar, which we can see through the ikat tradition here.  Kelly and I are both suckers for ikat, could you guess?

<<Hey, did you hear about the time we were at Renegade Chicago together?>>

“Indigo”

“Rose”

“Chocolate”

The ikat process is pretty complicated to explain, so we’ve got this video to show you:

Essentially, knots are strategically placed in the threads of the warp so that when those threads are dyed, the knotted parts remain white.  This is a truly mind-boggling kind of spacial awareness or mathematical intelligence that I can tell you I personally do not possess.  And it’s a technique used all over the world – that’s what’s so cool about it!

Cheers!  Kelly and me last year in Chicago.

Thanks for your support, and as always, if you have any questions, shoot me an email at mari@kakawdesigns.com.

XOXO,

Mari

All Kickstarter Rewards are out!

We’re pretty excited to announce that all of the rewards have been sent – even for January and February.  We gave ourselves plenty of time to fulfill the orders because well, we know from experience that some things can take a long time when it comes to The Handmade.

Hand-embroidered Coasters.  Photo: Cardamom Collective

Embroidery artisans at work using naturally-dyed thread

Picnic Blanket details.  Photo: Leander Khil

But yay!  We’re also almost done putting these items online, and will also be moving forward with new product development.  Stay tuned!