“We believe every person—despite the social, economic or geographic situation they were born into—deserves the freedom to discover, to dream andto thrive.” Maya Traditions Foundation is proud to announce an exciting new partnership with social entrepreneur Sarah Contrucci Smith and her new business Ara Collective. Ara Collective is a socially responsible company that works alongside artisans to develop unique, handcrafted products that blend traditional craftsmanship with modern style. In preparation for the launch of her business, Sarah visited Guatemala and traveled to our communities to meet our artisans and observe their work. Growing up in Indonesia, Sarah was provided with the opportunity to learn
Read More
Two years ago today, the Rana Plaza collapsed, leading to the worst industrial disaster in Bangladesh’s history. 1,133 workers lost their lives and over 2,500 others were wounded. This event exposed the harsh realities of the garment industry that many of us have heard about, but chose to ignore. It also spurred an international movement and conversation about who is making our clothes and the conditions they face at work every day. We at Maya Traditions are excited to be a part of this movement by celebrating and preserving the art of backstrap weaving and by providing an alternative, ethical
Read More
We’ve asked Maya Traditions’ Fair Trade customers & supporters to send us stories and pictures on how they’re using our products and textiles. Here, designer Kendyll shares a bit about her latest visit to Guatemala and what she’s doing with our Fair Trade backstrap woven textiles. Hello! My name is Kendyll Gage-Ripa and I’m a 25 year old self-employed clothing designer based out of Chappaquiddick in Massachusetts. My business is just starting out, and currently I design and create all my garments myself. I use a combination of salvaged and new fabrics with an emphasis on natural materials. The garments are based
Read More
Posted by Maya Traditions on February 25, 2015
We at Maya Traditions are thrilled to share our new Corte Collection of leather-trimmed bags designed by Maya Traditions intern Averie Floyd and produced by our skilled artisans. The collection includes a backpack, two styles of tote bags, a clutch and a new brocade textile design. “Whether you are heading to class, work, or an evening out, you will carry the tradition of Guatemala with you when you use any of the bags from the Corte collection. The folds seen in these designs were inspired by the way women fold their traditional corte skirts in Guatemala and
Read More
We will be showcasing our naturally dyed Ikat scarf line this week at the NY Now Show! You may be wondering, ‘‘what is Ikat?’’ ‘‘natural dye?’’ Allow us to explain. Ikat, also known to Mayan weavers as “Jaspe,” is a traditional weaving technique that allows the artisan to incorporate intricate design patterns into backstrap woven textiles. Maya Traditions’ cooperatives in San Juan La Laguna integrate natural dyes, created from plants and insects, and Ikat patterns to their backstrap woven textiles, producing unique and elaborate designs. Each of these techniques is traditional to Maya culture and to the region, adding complexity and
Read More
Design Intern Averie Floyd here! I recently took a natural dyeing class with Cecilia in San Juan, where they are known for their beautiful naturally dyed colors. It was interesting to experience the whole process first hand. Here are the steps involved in creating naturally dyed products: The first step is to buy or find our natural dyestuffs, or ingredients that can be used to create dye colors. We decided to work with Palo Campeche, or logwood. Cecilia and the rest of the group use a variety of other products including coffee and guava leaves, marigold and even and even
Read More
Posted by Maya Traditions on September 17, 2014
Written by Averie Floyd Design Intern Hello, Averie the design intern here. As I shared in my last blog post, I am working to create a new Maya Traditions textile that applies future color trends. This process has many steps and involves many people along the way. The first step was to narrow down which colors to use. This can be difficult with such a wide variety to choose from in just one season. While doing the research I took note of colors that appeared often in the trend report images. One of these colors was Ultramarine so I decided
Read More
