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Thai Silk Weavers
In China, silk has been cultivated and woven for an estimated 5 000 years, while in Thailand it began around 2 000 years ago. The production in Thailand is likely due to a combination of two factors, smuggled silk worms and Chinese businessmen seeking better areas to grow the worms.
The production of silk diminished in Thailand from the turn of the last century until after WWII, as a result of the distaste Theravada Buddhists had for killing the silk worms (a necessary step in silk-making) and the influx of cheap machine-made silk from China. Certain pockets however, such as a Muslim Ban Krua Cham and villages in North-Eastern Thailand where religious views were more relaxed and integrated with other tenants and beliefs) kept the skills of silk making alive.
There are two people who can be credited for Thailand's thriving silk making business: Her Majesty, Queen Sirkit, and the famous, American Expat, Jim Thompson.
Jim Thompson went to Thailand during WWII as a soldier. After the war, he decided to stay. He discovered and fell in love with Thai silk, however when he decided to build a silk business, he found he could not obtain commercially viable amounts of silk to sell. Searching for sources, he found pockets of silk making, most notably the Ban Krua Cham in Bangkok and a few scattered weaving families throughout the Korat Plateau. Through his love for silk and the Thai people, Jim Thompson used his family wealth to create a world demand for Thai silk and provided opportunities for Thai weaving families to return to silk as a means of earning a living.
Queen Sirkit has worked assiduously for the last 60 years to promote Thai traditional art and handicrafts. As part of her "One Tumbon, One Product" project, she has given small villages the opportunity to make a good living while keeping traditional Thai arts alive. She has taken a special interest in silk, and has used her considerable influence both within Thailand and abroad to make sure that Thai weaving skills do not disappear.
With the support of Queen Sirkit and with the resurrection of the world "brand awareness" of Thai silk, thanks to Jim Thompson, traditional weaving families throughout Thailand were able to bring out their wood and bamboo looms and return to making their livelihoods through silk making.
South East Asian, including Thai silk, has a thicker, softer, more uneven texture than the silk of other regions. The texture is due to the high concentration of Saracen on the silk threads. The silk in this Collection is all hand woven and hand dyed.
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