San Juan is known for their women’s weaving cooperatives where they make their own pure organic cotton thread and the use of natural dyes, backstrap weaving, and their painting artisans. We will learn how they grow their own cotton, harvest it by hand, spin it using ancient techniques, and then use natural dyes and colorants derived from locally found plants, tree, bark, berries, leaves, roots, wood, and insects in the Lake Atitlan area.
Some of the artisans that we meet with are Feliciano, an 89-year old Tz’utujil sculpture. He is a past mayor of San Pedro, an incredible sculpture, and has lived through the civil war.
Antonio Vásquez Yojcóm a talented painter who was born and raised in San Juan La Laguna. After having studied with the famous artist Pedro Rafael Gonzalez Chavajay, Antonio began working on his own and eventually opened his own studio where he has taught his wife and children how to paint.
We will also visit the home studio of the Nicholas Pop is a self-taught leather craftsman who was born and raised in San Juan La Laguna. We will visit his home studio. For the past 15 years, Nicolas has been custom designing, from the highest quality leather, a wide variety of handbags, tote bags, shoes, belts, backpacks, wallets, knife holders, and many other items. His work/studio has a reputation for quality, value, and attention to detail.
Ethical Fashion Guatemala