Globally Sourced
Artisan Made Home Goods
We represent the work of artisans from around the world who weave, quilt, embroider, stitch, knot, hook, bead, print and dye handmade home goods and accessories. We love the pieces that you can actually use every day that remind you of the talent, patience and skill of women everywhere. Feel the culture of the artisans. We know the artisans, mostly women, who make our pieces and currently offer items from more than 40 countries.
We love to travel. We are passionate about off-the-beaten path places where people often still live quite traditionally. On these trips we meet women who make amazing traditional handwork that has always been passed down from mother to daughter. These women often aren’t working outside the home, but they need income. We learned that they found it almost impossible to sell their pieces in the US, and that is where we come in. We create a space for artisans to showcase and sell their products.
With a focus on gender equity and environmental justice, our mission is to empower women artisans from around the globe by creating a stable and critically needed income stream, allowing our store to share beautiful and high quality items with our customers that have a unique story.
2009 cultural cloth is founded
Noticing a global need for artisans, specially women, to have a platform to sell their handmade products, Mary Anne and Jody co-founded cultural cloth in 2009. They started out selling to their friends out of their trunk, the original trunk shows!
2011 cultural cloth opens
In 2011, cultural cloth opens its doors in Maiden Rock, Wisconsin. Bringing a one-of-a-kind collection with bright colors, textures, and patterns. The store started with just a front room and quickly expanded into the rest of the building to showcase more spaces that would inspire customers and let pieces shine.
2024 New directions
After 15 years, Mary Anne and Jody pass the torch to Angélica and Daniel to take on a new chapter for cultural cloth and continue its legacy.
Founded by Artisans
We have over 60 years of textile production experience between us, including representation of our handwoven rugs in national design showrooms, and we use this experience to develop and mentor the women as artisans and entrepreneurs who can successfully participate in the global marketplace and earn money to support themselves and their families.
Mary Anne & Jody together co-founded Multicolores, an artisan nonprofit in Guatemala, established with Reyna Pretzantzin and Cheryl Conway Daly. Using locally sourced cast-off clothing as a material, they introduced rug hooking as an income earning opportunity to a group of Maya women in 2009. The project transformed lives and in 2019 Multicolores was recognized by the International Folk Art Market with their Community Impact Award. In 2018 Mary Anne co-wrote with Cheryl Conway Daly the award-winning book that tells the story of this work: Rug Money: How A Group Of Maya Women Changed Their Lives Through Art and Innovation, published by Thrums Books.