Weaving Solidarity
Veronica Levy, Marketing and Comunications Coordinator

For this blog, we wanted to share a recent interview we did with our head Designer, Alejandra Carrillo-Muñoz. She has been working with us for 3 years and it has been through this long term relationship that we have been able to see a great expansion in our collections. But most importantly, the engagement of our partner artisans as grown stronger, as the opportunities to better sustain themselves with meaningful creations continue developing.
Our design collaboration is based in open dialogue and respect for the artisan’s unique vision. It is fundamental for us to keep them involved in the development of the products, while also incorporating new and more emerging techniques to their process, as this helps them get further in the global market.
In this interview, Alejandra shares with us her passions and challenges when collaborating with our partner artisans. For her, allowing for time, inclusivity and curiosity are major factors that help cultivate a successful and healthy relationship with the women artisans we work with.

Marketing Coordinator (MC): When you first began working with Awamaki, what were some of the challenges you encountered?
Alejandra: A very common challenge amongst this type of work is understanding that to respectfully approximate yourself to the communities, it takes time; time to learn from the women, to allow them to learn from you, for trust to be built, for a relationship to be formed.
MC: Please describe how your relationship with the artisans has grown over time. How important is it to develop a strong relationship, and how has that affected the design process?
Alejandra: I knew going in that not knowing Quechua would be a challenge when it came to communicating and exchanging ideas with the artisans. However, very human interactions of maybe even attempting the language, sharing a few laughs together, being present in the communities when it came time to crafting the textiles, or simply spending time together in general just builds strong bonds. In doing so, we really did create a shared space in which to experiment with creative techniques where we combined contemporary concepts using the extensive knowledge and experience they possess as weavers. We’re really proud of that and we think it shows in our designs!
MC: How do you think being able to work long-term with the artisans has affected the design process?
Alejandra: What has been revolutionary for our designs has been to involve the artisans in the creative process. Our most recent 2019 Kay Pacha collection is an example of this. The process began with a concept that originates in the artisan communities and it’s through the artisan communities that we then retrieved the design elements we chose to work with.
