The clothing brand Ariat recognizes the tradition of weaving in New Mexico, and the company has teamed up with a local family and artists to sell items with historic designs created by an eighth-generation Rio Grande weaver.
According to KRQE News, Emily Trujillo’s family owns a store in Chimayo that sells rugs and items with historic designs. Ariat purchased their designs from the family’s store and started a clothing line. Trujillo said it is a “deep-rooted part of New Mexican history.”
“It’s really not very well-known, but it is very important,” Trujillo told KRQE News.
Trujillo said that Ariat asked her family what they could do to keep the tradition alive, knowing it is a “dying art form.” Her mother suggested that they train new weavers. In response, Ariat gave them a $50,000 grant to train weavers as part of an apprenticeship for nine students. Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Center donated its space for the apprenticeship.
The program ended on March 3, and students are now able to work at one of three galleries in Chimayo, while also helping to fill orders. One of the students, Amanda Ironside, said that she thinks it is important to keep New Mexican traditions alive.
“We have so many different cultures that are coming together all the time,” she told KRQE News.
The goal for Trujillo’s family and Ariat are to revive this industry, and they plan to make the apprenticeship permanent with new students enrolled on a yearly basis.
