The Verdigris lumbar accent pillow incorporates three contemporary and traditional textiles from Guatemala and a delicate, handwoven silk surface design fabric with subtle batik patterns. The color palette is rich with olive greens and golds. This one-of-a-kind decorative pillow will be a unique addition to any room.

• 25” x 15”

• Front – cotton and silk

• Back – polyester, in light gold

• Zipper closure

• Down duck feather pillow insert

• Fabric origin: Guatemala, India

THE STORY:

The Verdigris lumbar pillow radiates with uniqueness and deserves a close study as it features four textile techniques rich in tradition and culture. On fabric on the left, is a contemporary striped handwoven fabric from Guatemala in ecru, gold, fuchsia, and green, all with alternating stripes highlighted with black and white “jaspe.” Other stripe patterns have design elements using contrasting color threads. Its vertical stripes compliment the Guatemalan fabric next to it with a more complicated weave. That fabric was woven on a backstrap loom and is from the Western Highlands of Guatemala. Trama Textiles, located in the city Quetzaltenango, works with over 400 weavers in the surrounding area. Their mission is to create work for fair wages for the women of Guatemala, support our families and communities, and preserve and develop our cultural traditions by maintaining our textile arts and their histories. The complexity of this weaving shows the amazing talent and ability of the women to create beautiful textiles. The colors and pattern are very complementary to the other textiles used in this pillow.

Handwoven silk in harvest gold has a delicate surface design with subtle batik patterns worthy of a close look. The group that produced this fabric is a fair trade women’s development organization called Sasha based in Kolkata, India. I have had the opportunity to visit Sasha several times. Their work is beautifully done, and preserving traditional hand embroidery is of great importance to Sasha. Sasha also made the beautifully embroidered flower and vine motif on natural raw silk. This piece definitely is the highlight of this accent pillow.

The turquoise and harvest gold handwoven fabric is from Guatemala and is a perfect example of the intricate technique of “jaspe.” During the seven years I lived in Guatemala, I developed a great appreciation for jaspe, the traditional technique for creating patterns in Guatemalan fabrics. It is known as “ikat” in other parts of the world. his fabric is from the area of Totonicipan, located in the Highlands of Guatemala. Driving through the Highlands, it was common to see men along the roadside laying out hundreds of yards of warp stretched on poles and binding threads in a resist-dye technique to create a unique pattern. The beautiful gold organic design is repeated in perfect form.