Kakaw Designs

This trip has changed my life in ways I never imagined. The people at Kakaw Designs were lovely and worked to create an experience that was both cultural and educational. We began the week at Doña Eve’s home village 15 mins from Antigua. We started the morning working on Eve’s patio overlooking the village. We chose our colors, wound our yarns, and began making our warp.

The style of weaving we learned is Brocade. After setting up our main shed, we needed to weave about an inch to then flip the loom and set up the shed again. In this process, you create a secondary shed for your brocade designs. It is a very detailed and intricate process. I’m so grateful for the instructors and their expertise. They knew immediately if you messed up or missed a thread. They were gracious and shared their knowledge freely.

The week seemed to fly by: weaving in the mornings, and exploring Antigua with my classmates in the afternoons. Antigua is a town filled with color, amazing food, and generous people. My time on this trip made me realize I need to slow down and spend time with the people, places, and crafts that I love. I am so incredibly grateful for the people who donated to my fundraiser that allowed me to take this trip, for my partner who filled in at the shop so that I knew my customers would be in good hands, and to the ladies at Kakaw: Mari and Evelyn for creating such a wonderful space to learn. During my stay, I was able to utilize the bedroom above the main studio space. It overlooks the garden and allowed me a calming and comfortable place to relax while not exploring or learning.

The trip to Ixil was filled with beauty, wonder and a dose of adventure. Absolutely every aspect of the journey was well planned and organized. It was delightful to make meaningful connections with weavers and experience the local culture through home visits, cooking, meals and conversation. I will be back!

This is a beautiful experience in every way, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. My mother is 80 and it was hard for her to manipulate the threads and the loom, but the teachers were incredibly patient and so kind.

It was great!!

My daughter and I spent a wonderful time with Claribel. Not only did she teach us the traditional embroidery stitches but she gave us all the colourful threads we needed to complete our beautiful designs. I loved chatting about life as we sewed and it gave me a precious insight into the Mayan culture. I only wish we could have spent days in the beautiful garden sewing with her!

The crafstmanship of these jade sets is simply lovely. Thank you so much.

Claribel and her team were phenomenal! I left the class with a feeling of accomplishment and a passion for continuing embroidery! I look forward to the next class on Randa.

Love it!

I knew from research that Guatemala would be a nice country to visit but this trip far exceeded my expectations. The lovely surroundings, the sunny weather, the beautiful mountains covered in wildflowers, the ancient stone buildings and cobbled streets all made for a great place for a vacation. But the best part was the wonderful people we met, both our trip leaders and the local artisans we worked with. Our trip leader, Evelyn, made sure that all transportation, hotels, restaurants, and activities went smoothly. She was the sweetest person ever, caring and considerate, always smiling and helpful and served as an interpreter for those who didn't speak Spanish. Abigail, the master dyer, was very clear in her explanations and instructions on the dying process. I am a novice at both dying and weaving and enjoyed learning about the various plants and methods used. We visited a wonderful garden where the plants are harvested both for medicinal and dying use, and attended workshops with several different groups of local dyers. We went to a weavers collective and had demonstrations of both back stop weaving and the large foot looms. We had many opportunities to learn about and participate in cultural activities. Overall it was a fantastic trip and highly recommend it!

These birds are so adorable! Colorful, sparkling reminders of our stay in Antigua Santiago Attilan and San Juan la Laguna. I like that the beaded hangers are longer than others the I saw in town and the colors are true to species for the hummingbird, quetzal and mot-mot.

What an amazing experience! This trip truly was a dream come true for me. Our focus was natural dyeing and weaving but we learned so much more about the culture of this beautiful country! Meeting the local master artisans and working with them was extra special. The trip was perfectly organized by Mari and her team and guided with a lot of heart and inspiration by Abigail and Evelyn! Thanks loads to everyone involved!

Amazing trip! This was my second trip with Kakaw Designs. Mari knows her craft and gives us access to the master artisans who use the skills every day. We saw several towns and learned about the history of the culture and the efforts in keeping the arts alive. What a great way to experience such a wonderful country.

Very pretty earrings that remind me of dragonfruit. Thank you!

I adore the cut and fit of this jacket. It is much softer than I expected and the fabric is so beautiful. I would give 10 stars if I could. Thank you.

A hand dyed and handwoven item is a wonder in the current day and age so it is great to find that rare piece that you can feel all the history and talent in. Titled the “artist vest” and I do intend to create my own handmade items while wearing this power object.