Authentic Mayan Huipiles from Guatemalan Markets
Lamour Artisans is a company that repurposes vintage, hand-woven Guatemalan textiles, into unique sustainable traditional blouses known as hupiles and other accessories.
Willow Lamour, founder and creative director of Lamour Artisans, works closely with Mayan women to curate all vintage textiles and works closely with her small manufacturing team to create uniquely styled, one-of-a-kind bohemian-style huipiles, pillows and cushions.
A huipile is a traditional, loose-fitting tunic or blouse worn by indigenous women in Mexico and Central America, particularly in Guatemala. The word comes from the Nahuatl word huipilli, meaning “adorned blouse” or “my covering”. Made from one to three cloth panels, huipiles are often hand-woven on backstrap looms and feature intricate, symbolic designs that convey cultural identity, spirituality, and community stories.
Lamour Artisans aims to connect consumers with beautiful, authentic, and ethically made products that have a positive social and environmental impact.
Willow elaborates on how the concept came about. “Lamour Artisans came about while my husband and I were travelling through Central and South America on a typical Australian style extended holiday. We fell in love with magical Lake Atitlan in Guatemala and decided to stay for three years. Then, my passion for textiles spurred me to start exploring the women’s weaving co-operatives in neighbouring towns as well as Guatemala’s famous textile markets. Soon after, I started making her own products.
After returning to her hometown in Byron Bay – Australia, Willow has continued working closely with the textile artisans and her manufacturing team in Guatemala.
What began as crafting pillows from Guatemalan huipiles at Lamour Artisans grew into a unique mission after countless enquiries. She subsequently partnered with Mayan vendors from Chichicastenango and Panajachel to sell their handwoven huipiles online, straight from their market stalls. These are authentic vintage Guatemalan huipiles that are currently for sale at the Chichicastenango market.
Essentially, this partnership supports these indigenous vendors as they seek to thrive both at local markets and through the online collection curated by L’amour Artisans.
“At L’amour we are passionate about empowering the local Mayan women with living wages, because we know that when women thrive, so do the economies in which they operate. We know where our products come from because we work on location at Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. We work with women we know and respect. We pay our employees double the local wage and our textile partners set the price we pay, ensuring everyone involved in the manufacturing of L’amour products receives a livable wage,” says Willow.
Mayan women hold vital roles in their communities, ranging from managing households and raising children to participating in the economy through agriculture, weaving, and market sales.
“We believe in caring for our environment and preserving it for all living beings. This is why we are so passionate about repurposing what’s already been created, as opposed to extracting even more of the earth’s natural resources. This way we make every effort to reduce our environmental footprint,” she says.
Lamour Artisans promotes environmental sustainability by giving vintage fabrics a “second life” and reducing the impact of the textile industry. The company is committed to Fair Trade practices, ensuring that the Mayan women artisans are paid fair prices and receive a liveable wage. By using existing vintage fabrics, Lamour Artisans helps reduce textile waste and extends the life cycle of beautiful, handcrafted items.
