Carol Stevenson, Photographer and Elephant Conservationist

Carol Stevenson is a photographer whose work centers around a five year project documenting the vanishing Asian elephant and their unique mahout community in Northern Thailand. Carol has formed the Adopt an Elephant program to provide financial support for elephants returned to their natural habitat.
www.carolstevenson.com
www.elephanteditions.com

Carol Cassidy Lao Textiles

An American, Carol Cassidy founded Lao Textiles in 1990 in Vientiane, Laos. There Carol blends her own artistry with ancient local techniques and traditions to create contemporary woven art. The team of fifty Lao weavers and dyers use hybrid looms, designed by Carol, to create intricate brocade, ikat and tapestry textiles.
www.laotextiles.com

Carol Cassidy Lao Textiles – Cambodia

Started in 1998 in the remote northern Cambodian province of Preah Vihear, this Cambodia weaving enterprise employs over eighty Cambodian war survivors who function as spinners, dyers, weavers and finishers. The Preah Vihear project contributes to sustainable income for the artisans. With the income from the project, the community has built homes with electricity, clean water and put their children through school.
www.laotextiles.com/press/cambodia.htm 

Clint Orms

Clint Orms of Ingram, Texas is a master silver smith and engraver. He is known for his belt buckles, trophy buckles and money clips crafted from both silver and gold. Clint was the first artisan to create an elephant polo belt buckle. One of Clint’s sliver elephant polo belt buckles was sold at the King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament auction in the Golden Triangle of Thailand in 2009 for $3,000, the proceeds of which went to elephant conservation.
www.clintorms.com 

Jaab Cards

The Jaab Design Company is a cottage industry in Bangkok founded by Judith Saengprathum. The objective is to utilize home grown resources and provide employment to unskilled Thai women. The cards are handmade and hand painted on mulberry paper that is an age-old tradition passed down from generation to generation in Thailand. A portion of the proceeds is directed to breast cancer research for underprivileged women in Thailand. 

www.jaabcards.com

Four Seasons Stuffed Elephants

The Four Seasons stuffed elephants are made in Chiang Mai, Thailand to support the elephants in the Four Seasons Tented Camp. Each toy bears the name of the elephant supported by a portion of the sales proceeds. These elephants were rescued from the streets of Bangkok and placed in a natural habitat in the Golden Triangle of Thailand.

Kantha Scarves

Kantha is a type of embroidery popular in West Bengal, India. Village women with no other means of supporting themselves sew together layers of old saris with intricate stitches. The embroidery thread is pulled out of the saris themselves. Their meticulous artistry transforms worn out rags into extraordinary beautiful creations that can have a second life that is the ultimate in recycling. This combination of thrift and aesthetics is not mass-produced and is seldom seen for sale.

Manop Rachote

Manop Rachote is one of Thailand’s leading emerging young designers of home wares, combining luxury craftsmanship with ingenious Thai accents. Having lived and studied in New York, Manop’s range of products balances Western aesthetics with local style and influences. Well known in Thailand for utilizing local Thai specialized crafts such as mother of pearl inlay or basket weaving and making them modern and globally appealing, Manop is transforming local traditional craft objects into coveted international contemporary accessories. With his sights set firmly on creating a modern, relevant Asian lifestyle brand, while simultaneously preserving some of Thailand’s endangered cultural legacies, Manop has created a loyal local and international following. Manop Rachote products are available at the Four Seasons Tented Camp, Four Seasons Chiang Mai, Four Seasons Koh Samui, the Chiva Som, the Amanpuri and the Mandarin Oriental hotels in Thailand, as well as other leading international retailers.
www.manop-rachote.com

Thai Home Industries

Thai Home Industries is housed in an iconic, former monks quarters in Bangkok. In keeping with their name, the owners focus on supporting remote Thai villagers in making traditional clothing such as Thai-style cotton shirts and fisherman pants.

Tigress Trading Co., Ltd.

Tigress Trading Company was founded by Khun Por (Thiengtham) Lochaya. Apart from her commercial textile business, Khun Por has been making charity t-shirts and products for Royal Projects, such as the ‘Khun Poom Foundation’ which is the Royal Autistic Foundation in Thailand. Khun Por employs local staff thereby providing financial support to villagers in Northern Thailand. 

Wang Lao Weavers

The Wang Lao weavers are located in the small village of that name in the Golden Triangle of Thailand. They use indigenous grown cotton to hand weave fabrics that are used to make scarves and shoulder bags (yáms). The shoulder bags are a fixture in the wardrobe of Buddhist monks and Thai villagers to carry the essentials of daily life.