In 2013, Aid to Artisans successfully connected Mujeres Mayas de Jovel, an artisan cooperative of women weavers in Zinacantan, Mexico, with a Mexican fashion industry leader, Dione. The brand incorporated hand woven and hand-embroidered applications in a line of accessories that was launched this past September. This collaboration generated a total of $41,500 in sales for Mujeres Mayas de Jovel.
Dione’s work with Aid to Artisans meant three months of stable income for over 40 Mayan weavers and embroiderers in Zinacantan, one of the hundred poorest municipalities in Mexico. This order gives them the opportunity to fine-tune the administrative aspects of business, production logistics, quality control, thus, preparing them for larger orders that will sustain business well into the future.
Products on display for “Forever Mexico: Chiapas in Your Sense” special sales event at the Palacio de Hierro
Dione is no stranger to working with artisan groups. The fashion company is determined to continue showcasing Mexican artisan products in high-end markets to celebrate the beauty, value, and cultural identity of the handmade products produced by indigenous populations. Dione also created a Chiapas Collection Catalog of all the different shoes and bags made by the artisans of Mujeres Mayas de Jovel.
With over 50 years of experience in the upscale shoe, bag, and accessory business, Dione sells collections in their personal boutiques and in upscale Mexican department stores like the Palacio de Hierro and Liverpool.
Aid to Artisans Mexico has been very successful in linking artisans to different local and international exporters, designers, and brands. ColorIndio, one of the first collaborators, works with ATA’s artisans in seven municipalities in Chiapas and continues to develop new products and repeat orders. Maria Patrona, a brand of handbags, works with artisans in two municipalities to define color combinations and iconography for applications and sew into leather bags. Carla Fernandez of Taller Flora, a mobile fashion laboratory, works with artisans in five municipalities. Alegria Home, an Etsy online store that creates modern eclectic home décor and accessories in collaboration with artisans from Mexico and Guatemala, is exporting products made by the artisans of ATA Mexico. Eklektik also participated in the successful special sales event, “Forever Mexico: Chiapas in Your Senses,” alongside, Dione, at the Palacio de Hierro.
For more information about the ATA’s program in Mexico, please contact our Director of Program Management and Development, Monika Steinberger: monikas@creativelearning.org or our Marketing Coordinator for Aid to Artisans’ Mexico, Erica Lardo: erical@creativelearning.org
