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Coutume is a social enterprise that collaborates closely with artisans from Mexico and Guatemala to craft handmade home goods. We build bridges between traditional makers and the global market, creating economic opportunities for the communities we work with, with a focus on empowering women.
Our collections are designed in our studio in Oaxaca, Mexico, or curated directly in the workshops, and are ethically made from sampling to completion by talented artisans.
Our connections have been established mainly through years of travel and hands-on work in the field. Our collaborations continue to expand over time and through our growing networks. We regularly visit workshops in Guatemala and Mexico, where makers proudly share the beauty of their process and where we select premium, responsible materials.
Our brand partners with around 17 artisan groups, representing more than 100 artisans. Our priority is to support women: 80% of the weavers, tailors, and cooperative leaders we work with are female. We collaborate with associations, small producers, and families who work from their own homes in healthy conditions and receive fair wages.
Our unique pieces are produced without machines, at a human pace. Behind each product are several artisans working for weeks, using traditional techniques to complete the process. Every piece we craft is 100% handmade. The production is fascinating, as each weave carries the trace, culture, and heritage of its community, resulting in high-quality and original pieces.
Our studio uses eco-friendly materials, including natural fibers, raw materials, and plant-based dyes whenever possible.
Nahualá is a small village located in the highlands of Guatemala. The K'iche women artisans preserve their heritage by weaving their traditional garb and speaking their Maya language. The graphic motifs utilized in their textiles represent the sky and stars and focus on illustrating the strength of women. We have partnered with a local design studio to ensure Fair-Trade practices within their cooperative.
The back-strap loom weaving technique is a Mayan art still alive in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. We collaborate with an NGO representing artisans and their families and ensuring Fair-Trade-certified practices. Our partners are committed to preserving the local textile traditions and creating employment for 35 talented women weavers.
We partner with a Mayan K'iche artisan group in Quiejel, situated in the highlands of Guatemala, where women still produce their traditional blouse called huipil, featuring local plants, landscapes, or animal motifs. Since the 1980s, these weavers have carried out the tradition of their ancestors, now through a cooperative, where they may continue their textiles made with fair trade standards.
Coutume works with 3 family workshops in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca, Mexico, where the flat weaving technique originated in pre-Hispanic times and prevailed for hundreds of years. The artisans use virgin sheep wool and plant-based dyes in their work based on cochineal, indigo, nutshells and fruits, flowers and barks, or other minerals...
Our cotton throws are handmade by a family of Zinacantan, a small village in the mountains of Chiapas. The motifs blend modern graphics and Mayan geometric brocades. Our partner Marco works from his home, surrounded by his wife and children, where he shares stories of the region. A local cooperative frames ethical work practices and fair wages.
We partner with a Mexican cooperative that includes a group of women embroiderers from Chenahló, Chiapas, Mexico. The artisans weave a cotton base with a back-strap loom technique, followed by embroidering the textile with a mix of cotton & wool. The cooperative ensures the weavers are paid fairly, as all materials are made by hand and are of the highest quality.
