Multicolores

Based in the tourist town of Panajachel, Multicolores is a non-profit organisation working with Maya K’iche, Kaqchiquel and Tzutuill women across nine communities in highland Guatemala. Established by American textile artists and an academic researcher, Multicolores’ mission is to support Maya women to improve the quality of their lives through creative and economic development - education, skills development, fair pay and market access. The company and their artists specialise in embroidery and rug-hooking; producing unique art-pieces that draw upon traditional Maya woven motifs and huipils.

The Artist Business Model

Central to the Multicolores business model is community, partnership and storytelling. The multicultural team work closely with their artisans and donors to foster long-term relationships. Development Director Cheryl Conway-Daly states:

“We have very deep and very long-lasting relationships with the artists that we work with [...] They are part of Multicolores, it is as much about them as it is about us.”

Rug-hooking is a non-traditional technique, in which the artists are trained by Multicolores. Whilst overseen by Creative Director Maddy Krieder Carlson, the rug-hooking and embroidery artists retain creative agency over their designs; resulting in distinctive products that set them apart from other artisan organisations and practitioners. As is the norm for the artisan sector, artists are paid on a piece-by-piece basis. Working from home, Multicolores artists “have the freedom to produce as much as they want in a given month” and receive immediate payment when finished pieces are delivered in-person to the company office.

Operating on a face-to-face business model, products are predominantly sold through the Multicolores gallery in central Panajachel, as well as through tradeshows such as the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, and a single retail outlet, Cultural Cloth, in Wisconsin, U.S. The company also offers rug-hooking and textile tours, providing tourists with the opportunity to experience craft techniques, meet the artists in their homes, and learn about Multicolores’ work. “Tour Alumni” often become long-term supporters of the organization.

COVID | The Artist Experience

The imposition of lockdown restrictions impacted employment in the tourism, agriculture and construction sectors, resulting in over 50% of Multicolores’ artists immediately becoming the only earners in their families. School closures and limited access to internet data and digital technologies presented significant challenges for home-schooling, domestic activity and paid work - “we know that women working everywhere are still handling the majority of household tasks, but that is doubly true here and in artist communities” says Creative Director Maddy Krieder Carlson. The reliance on local shops and communities for food and other supplies resulted in inflated prices, whilst scarcity of water and its prioritisation for drinking and cooking made hand washing and hygiene difficult.

In addition to these time constraints, financial impacts and health concerns, the artists face practical challenges when undertaking work for Multicolores, as artist Rosemery Pacheco of the Totonicapán community explains:

“Our hooked rugs are made from 100% recycled clothing purchased locally from second hand clothing stores, ‘pacas’. At the moment the majority of these stores are closed or we are unable to travel to our group. We are sharing ‘paca’ so that we can keep working.” 

 Moreover, artists were unable to collect materials or exchange finished pieces for payment at the company’s Panajachel office. In some cases, community leaders prohibited entry from outside “so we couldn’t even ship the packets to their communities because they weren’t allowing a delivery truck from outside to come in.”

COVID | The Business Impact and the Pandemic Response

The cessation of travel, tourism and face-to-face sales necessitated a shift towards online retail and engagement with customers and supporters. In-person tours were replaced with online workshops and events, and products were photographed and marketed online; allowing Multicolores to not only maintain sales revenue but increase it. Maddy Krieder Carlson reflects:

“I think it was a blessing in some ways because we were really forced to look at e-commerce as the way forwards, and that’s what we did.”

In response to community concerns and challenges, and in lieu of their established Health and Wellbeing programme, which was disrupted by national and community lockdowns, Multicolores implemented three strategies to support the health and wellbeing of the artists, their families and communities: communication, resources and prevention. Weekly phone conversations took place to understand community needs and conditions. In partnership with the Association for Health and Development Guatemala (ASSADE), Community Manuals providing trustworthy information about Covid-19 and its transmission were created, and education, prevention and food kits were delivered monthly to the artists and their families.

Alternative mechanisms for communicating with artists, as well as supplying them with materials and payment, were also required. Despite limitations with phone data and internet connection, communications via telephone were extended, and a grant to invest in purchasing technology - a tablet, keyboard, headset, speakers - for each group was secured, facilitating communication and the delivery of online workshops and events.

Processes for couriering fabrics to artists and finished pieces to the Multicolores office were established, in some cases requiring approval from community leaders to allow shipments in and out of the community or for artists to leave the community to collect packages. Critically, Multicolores “structured production accordingly to give a kind of baseline stable amount of income per month to each artist”. Glendy Kuj of the Pantanatic rug-hooking group acknowledges:

“In my community many are without work. But thanks to the work of rug-hooking, in this part of the community we have work and are getting ahead.”

In addition, the complexity of quality control when working remotely was addressed through the training of group members to evaluate work, as Maddy Krieder Carlson explains:

“[...] we’re a uniquely challenging organisation for quality control, because when every piece is unique, it can be hard to evaluate to a fixed standard. So, it really does require more dedication and more conversation to arrive at what is a commonly understood idea of excellence.”

The artists were encouraged to draw upon their experiences of the pandemic and as Maya women to influence the content of their designs. The setting of creative challenges, based on a particular theme or colour palette, was designed to “encourage creative growth”. Whilst some product diversification took place with the introduction of colouring books, notecards and a calendar, the artists’ resourcefulness, ability to share materials, additional investment from Multicolores, along with the flexibility of their home-based production model means existing product lines - rugs, cushion covers and story cloths - were maintained.

 THE FUTURE | Lessons Learned

Whilst disruption to travel and tourism has impacted the Multicolores face-to-face sales model, it is evident that the close collaborative relationship between the organisation and artist, and the resourcefulness and ingenuity of the artists has contributed to a successful transition to e-commerce. As Maddie Krieder Carlson highlights:

“The artists, they have been really amazing collaborators, with all of the logistical hurdles that have been in place, to be able to continue with production.”

Inevitably a shift to working and communicating digitally presented challenges, especially when working with artists and communities with limited access to internet and digital technologies. Even so, it has facilitated new ways of connecting with consumers, donors and supporters - providing a “cultural exchange experience” - as well as enabling diversification of sales for the long-term sustainability of the business.

THE FUTURE | Looking Ahead

The agency of the artists in the creation of products establishes a personal and emotional connection between the consumer, the product and the artist; something that, during the pandemic, consumers have been seeking. Cheryl Conway-Daly predicts this will be of continued importance in the future for the consumer and, more specifically the artisan textiles sector:

“People really respond to the emotional, they respond to the human. They respond to that personal touch [...] In terms of shaping the future of textiles and the future of textile crafts, I think that will continue to be important [...] I think it’s going to be really important, focusing on positive solutions in the face of this global crisis.”

This is further echoed in Conway-Daly’s observation that Multicolores’ rugs are increasingly being purchased and valued as art pieces, rather than utilitarian products; reflecting contemporary environmental and sustainability concerns, and a growing interest in the handmade, in positive storytelling in response to a period of crisis, and in the community solidarity demonstrated by Multicolores’, their artists, and the value they place on “beauty and hope”.