Just arrived are a bundle of 100% handwoven cotton and hemp fabrics. These natural textiles are hand produced and hand-dyed, using natural plant dyes. Some of these have been washed in a rice water solution to starch them.
These will be available in the store to be purchased by 25cm lengths for smaller projects and also [...]

I have received a special parcel of beautiful textiles, embroidered, cross-stitched and woven. All these have been sourced from the Kachin State, an ethnic group, situated in the North of Myanmar. These demonstrate that the tradition of making textiles and the importance of them in Kachin culture and society are still alive and well. These [...]

Happy New Year! Well, 2009 was certainly an eventful year. It was great to have met so many wonderful people with the same passions for textiles, art, architecture and life. 2010 will be a busy one for us, as I am sure it will be for everybody! I have been busily planning our Architecture & [...]

Below is another gorgeous piece of Lao cotton IKAT or MUTMEE, carefully handwoven into a smooth fine cotton textile. These textiles use resistance dyeing methods, similar to tie-dying, where the threads of the fabric are resist dyed before being woven to allow a pattern to appear. These threads are hand dyed, many numerous times , [...]

Sorry to disappoint, there aren’t any flamingos  but there is pink flamingo coloured silk!
I have held tightly on to this piece of intricately piece of 100% hand-woven cotton piece for a while now and it’s time to let go. Although it is difficult to photograph silks and capture the sheen of the finely woven cotton, [...]

Recently listed into our store are these beautiful 100% cotton table runners. Like our scarves and many of our textiles, these table runners are sourced directly from village co-ops and so, by purchasing these, you will be contributing to the sustainability of entire communities. The cotton itself is hand-grown, hand-harvested  in the North of Laos [...]

Many of you would have already noticed the new collection of 100% silk scarves, wraps and throws in store. These are all handmade in Laos and are all purchased from co-ops around Laos which allow villagers to gain financial independence and work directly from their homes. These villagers set their own prices, conditions of trade [...]

“In the old days we used silk for everything, even as diapers for babies. Every household in our village raised silkworms and produced silk. The women produced silk sinh in various mutmee (tie-dye) designs, silk blouses, silk sarongs for men, silk pillowcases, silk cushion covers, and silk cradle cloths.” Grandma Tu, Bak Village, Savannakhet Province.
During [...]

The other night we had our dinner at a restaurant called Makphet, which means hot chilli pepper. It is a restaurant/cooking school just off Chao Anou Road, Vientiane and is supported by UNICEF, AUSAID and numerous other organizations to help Lao street youth by providing them with hospitality and cooking training so that they may [...]

I have photographed so much of what we have been eating because I get a thrill out of all the variety and wonderful flavours that Laos has on offer. If you love asian food, you may have seen the dessert below at many asian grocers. It is coconut, corn and sugar, thickened with ground rice, [...]

We are currently enjoying our breakfast on the ground floor of our hotel. I just had a ‘light european breakfast’, consisting of a croissant (which today, was stale), natural yogurt and honey (which today had no honey) a fresh fruit platter and a lao coffee. The hotel is lovely, the staff are great, but at [...]

For those of you who tweet, you probably already know that I am in Laos. We have been wandering around the streets of Vientiane on this lazy Sunday and for a city that is already pretty laid back and chilled out, it’s a very lazy Sunday. We find ourselves walking in the middle of the [...]

As you have probably heard by now, we are all pretty thrilled with this Lao Cultural centre in Laos that we are working on in conjunction with the UNESCO observatory and The University of Melbourne. Architect-turned illustrator, Peter Edgeley has done this wonderful sketch based on the designs of Sam Sempill Architects who are working [...]

We’re heading to Lao in a few weeks and will be stopping by Thailand for a stickybeak for a few days on the way back. We have been religiously searching for green-friendly places to stay and have found a fantastic selection. We will be travelling all over the place, avoiding the tourist markets, in an [...]

You have probably seen these materials featured in the blog over the past couple of weeks. The custom, hand-made, quilted throw is complete, please check out the photo gallery.
The throw is a custom size to work as a larger-than-usual bed runner. It is made with natural materials, a 100% watermelon coloured silk backed with a [...]

I just thought that I’d share this custom quilt design that I am currently working on in the studio. It was a well thought out process that, I suppose, was much like a client liason with my architecture projects. Having this architecture background helps immensely with the design of interior products and it makes for [...]

We are heading to Laos again next month. We are meeting with some women’s collectives, some private and some government-run iniatives that are established to maintain the Lao weaving and culture. In conjunction with Map Architects Melbourne, the Unesco observatory and Melbourne University, we are proudly involved with probono work which includes setting up weaving [...]

What do you think of this combination? Caramel gold 100% silk with a 100% Lao handloomed cotton front. I like the way the silk picks up the caramel in the cotton pattern. The dark, deep colours are also complemented by the caramel silk. It’s a gorgeous tactile combination that looks and feels luxurious.

…and voila, here [...]

We custom design and hand-make all of our quilts such as this one which you can find in the store. This one has 100% Australian cotton wadding and is made with 100% silks and cottons. Its a modern patchwork design, incorporating a handwoven, patterned, Lao textile. It is beautiful in any interior as it can [...]

Hi everybody! We haven’t blogged for a while as it has been a very busy period in out studio. We are busy making orders for bright custom throws and cushions and it is has been a pleasure meeting new and inspiring people. We listen to customers and what they envision in their home and create [...]