Today we’d like to introduce you to Tory Jones.
Tory, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
When I was about five years old my grandmother moved to Guatemala. As I grew up, its culture and people played a pivotal part in my life. After I graduated from college and had a “real job” I started supporting the education of close family friends down in Guatemala. I had started teaching bakery occupations to inmates in prison right out of college. After having this unique teaching experience and my own personal experience of getting pregnant in high school and having my oldest daughter (I have 4) my freshman year at university, I knew first hand that learning a trade and having a formal education can change the trajectory of your life. After a time of working in the US and sending money and spending more and more time in Guatemala, I decided I needed to start working down there instead. I had spent years loving the vibrant textiles and admiring the skill and time that went into weaving on a back-strap loom.
So I said hey, I’m creative and hardworking, why not quit my stable government job to work in a 3rd world country?! Ha, so I saved up about 15 thousand dollars over the next year, quit the prison and started working down in Guatemala designing and creating bags and other accessories with people that I loved. Over the past six years, our motto of “support people, fight the machine” has stayed the same. We’ve held true to our commitment of only making products by hand while giving 25% of profits back to our artisans so they can make a livable wage while passing on the cultural art-form of backstrap loom weaving. We now have our own shop in downtown Redlands and work with dozens of artisans in three different villages in Guatemala. Through our work over a hundred children are currently receiving a formal education as well as learning how to naturally dye fabrics and weave. So they might continue to tell the story of their people through art.
Has it been a smooth road?
I don’t think anything worth having in life ever came from traveling down a smooth road. This journey has been an uphill trudge. Through the mire, which you can imagine is involved in running an ethically based, direct trade business in a third world country. I’m thankful for the naivete of my 27 years old self who said “why not?” and started down this unknown path. If I had known all the bumps in the road to come, I may have stayed on that which was beaten and never ventured through the uncharted. Isn’t that all of life though?!
This is my roundabout way of saying, its taken years to figure out how to time production of things which are 100% made by hand. To find the balance of designing what I love and also what the customer needs. To import in the most cost-effective way. To market not only a product but also the story behind it and the message it conveys so that the consumer sees the value in the work we are doing and lives we are impacting together.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Ixchel is a direct trade corporation based in Guatemala with headquarters and showroom in Redlands, Ca. We design and create bags and other accessories, utilizing the traditional art-form of weaving on a back-strap loom. We upcycle some older weavings in our products, while all new designs are made from organic cotton and then naturally dyed. We committed early on to only work with cooperatives and never create a factory setting. I have seen time and again businesses claim ethical but in reality they have a factory in a 3rd world country. They can spin whatever story they want and their customers are never the wiser. I saw how money and power can change people and the values they once held to. I wanted to safeguard myself from that trap.
So, working with co-ops was my way of guaranteeing transparency and honesty in the world of business where those things are few and far between. I think some of the things we are most proud of is the fact that our artisans receive 25% of profits, and we are helping to not only fund the education of kids in Guatemala but we are also providing long term sustainable income while preserving a piece of cultural heritage which is so deeply tied to the Mayan culture. I believe all the before-mentioned sets us widely apart from most businesses in our industry. A few others are the fact that I design every product we make and all weaving’s and bags 100% handmade. While many others use cheap machine-made weaving’s (while claiming otherwise) it actually ends up raping the people and culture they claim to be helping. All of our bags are signed by the maker who poured their time and talent and used their own hands to bring you a beautiful work of art.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
I believe any culturally diverse city which is also affluent is a great place to start a business! Though I think the greatest advantage I had was starting a business in a community I had grown up in. It’s honestly one of the most helpful things. I worked my ass off to create a product and brand that anyone would be glad to stand behind then asked everyone i know to help in different ways. Friends who are fellow business owners would help promote my company and give priceless advise (because let’s face it when you are first starting out you can’t afford to pay for much). Having family that lives in town to help with my daughters while i poured myself into work was also one of those great advantages to starting a business in my hometown.
Contact Info:
- Address: 113 N 5th street
Redlands, CA 92373 - Website: www.ixcheltriangle.com
- Phone: (949) 370-9301
- Email: [email protected]
Image Credit:
Heather Morgan, Daniel Jester
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
