Zumos: Innovative Textiles from Guatemala
by Kate Andrews, 12/13/08
High-quality and low-volume is the MO of textile product line, Zumos. In producing what they call “pocket products”: scarves, ties, tablerunners and document carriers that all feature a pocket, the line also stands behind quality production that offers fair income to the workers that create them. The line is a collaboration between Norwegian designers Heidi Strøm and Johan Rye Holmboe, and a team of Maya Tz’utuhil weavers from San Juan La Laguna in Guatemala. ‘Zumos’ translates to strength, essence, vigor and vitality– qualities inherent in the women who make the products and also in all of the products. Fabulous!
With a playfully bumpy texture that is complemented by their similarly bright, cheery colors, these pocket products are made of viscose and wool. The wool is locally sourced in Guatemala– specifically from Momostenango, the last village in Guatemala still working with wool. Sheared from local sheep, the wool is then handspun by people in the village.
The Zumos line is supported by Design Without Borders and Fundacion Solar and its collection of table runners, ties, scarves and document carriers are now on sale in Norway and online via the DogA centre, the Danish Museum of Art & Design Kunstindustri Museet and soon in Stavanger. Zumos was featured at Oslo’s Design and Architecture Centre in late November.
the pocket tye is a fabulous witty idea! I totally love it… i wonder if old tyes could be converted/upcycled to have this feature??!!