By Cody Ellerd

If you wait on pins and needles for the new collections from your favorite designers or are scouring every boutique from Vancouver to Portland for the perfect wedding dress, you’re probably no stranger to trunk shows. When Candis Krummel brings her trunk of designs to town, however, you can find something truly unique: cozy Mayan weavings masterfully spun into high fashion. But at one time, leaving the house wearing these traditional threads might have gotten you killed.

The boxes upon boxes of intricately-woven bags, hats, scarves and blankets Krummel has toted up from Guatemala look very little like the typical brightly-patterned gifts you or your friends bring back from trips to Central America.

“What I have done is take their traditional techniques and incorporate them into pieces which can have a value in First World culture,” said Krummel, a Seattle native. Often when you get traditional clothing and accessories back home to the United States, she said, “you think, wow, these things are just shouting at me instead of blending in with my wardrobe.”

Krummel moved to the Santiago Atitlan region of Guatemala after graduating with a political science degree 28 years ago. There she got to know the Mayan community surrounding the volcanic lake she calls home. Fashion design might seem an unlikely turn for a former aide to former U.S. Rep. Toby Moffet, but the shift was largely motivated by the political activist within her.

In the late 1970s, Krummel saw that because of the 30-year civil war that racked Guatemala during the latter half of the 20th century, the ancient tradition of native weaving that profoundly embodies Mayan cultural identity was under threat of extinction.

“Each village has its own style, and it just so happens that Santiago Atitlan was considered an area of guerrillas,” Krummel explained. “And so if a man went out to sell avocados in Guatemala City and wore the local dress, chances were, he might (be killed).”

This weaving practice, done by hand on a traditional backstrap loom, also presented itself as one of the only marketable skills possessed by a people under constant threat of poverty and discrimination. There Krummel saw an opportunity.

In 1983, she founded the Cojolya Association of Maya Women Weavers. By having the Mayan women weave her innovative designs with the thread and backstrap looms she provided, Krummel set out to help preserve an ancient tradition by turning it into a viable source of income for the women.

“A lot of organizations have grown up around this idea,” said Kathleen Vitale, a producer of documentary films on endangered art forms. “What makes Candis different is that she brings a keen eye for sharp design and very upscale marketing.”

Krummel has a refined list of wholesale buyers: high-end purveyors of furnishings and accessories that include Takashimaya New York, Michael Graves Design and Simon Pearce. She also supplies to some local shops, including Caldwells in University Village, Folk Art Gallery in Ballard and Heart on Bainbridge Island.

The trunk show, which will make stops at Mercer Island’s Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and the Bellevue Art Museum, marks Krummel’s first venture into retail sales. She hopes that selling the weavings herself will enable her to better connect her customers with the Mayan women and cultural traditions the customers are directly supporting with their buys. As a non-profit organization, all the proceeds from Cojolya’s sales help support more than 70 Mayan families in Guatemala.

“That’s the whole objective,” Krummel said, “to establish a stable market for the women with their textiles so that they have an economic incentive to keep on weaving.”

Although the women who work for Cojolya are carrying on the same tradition passed down from previous generations, Krummel’s designs, which are inspired by influences ranging from nature to Tiffany stained glass, have introduced them to new materials they’re not used to working with. She imports cotton from the United States, morino wool from Italy, kid mohair from Spain, bamboo from China and beads from the Czech Republic for them to use on their backstrap looms.

It presents some challenges, she said, but working with the master weaver of the association, Krummel and the other women are able to make it work.

“They’re always curious to see how it’s going to turn out when I come up with a new design,” she said. “It’s been a real interesting design challenge to work within the parameters of possibility of the backstrap loom. It’s been fun.”

Krummel said that while the civil war is over and many Maya still wear the traditional costume, or “traje,” the threat to weaving still exists. Now it comes from the major influx of used clothing donated by the United States. Cheaper and hipper than the traje, many Maya, especially young people, are increasingly sporting jeans, T-shirts and sweats instead.

Another modern threat to the traje comes from climate change, Krummel said, pointing out that it’s simply too hot in Guatemala now to wear the heavy fabrics.

Here in the Pacific Northwest, however, with cold weather approaching, the contents of Krummel’s trunk look mighty appealing. Wearing the sharp designs from Santiago Atitlan here means no risk to life or limb — and even the fashion police would give their nod of approval.

Sidebar: Trunk show schedule

The Cojolya trunk show will make several stops in the Seattle area this fall. Items for sale include bags of all sizes in a range of designs and also hats, shawls, scarves, table runners, wall hangings and throw blankets. Prices range from $16 to $325.

? Thursday, Sept. 29: Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 8501 S.E. 40th St., Mercer Island, noon to 7 p.m.

? Saturday, Oct. 1: McKinnon Furniture, 1201 Western Ave., #100, Seattle, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

? Saturday, Oct. 15: Bellevue Art Museum, 510

Bellevue Way N.E., 2 p.m.