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Laos Essential Artistry Archive Page
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
  We don’t often stop at Starbucks, but when we were in one of our local Starbuck’s the other day we saw a sign that said that the espresso coffee used in espresso drinks, like lattés, was “Ethically Traded and Responsibly Grown.” We’re all pretty aware of “fair traded” items and some of the coffee sold at Starbucks states that it is “Fair Trade Coffee,” or at least was. So, we asked ourselves, what is the difference between “ethically traded and responsibly grown” and “fair trade?” Somehow I thought something marketed as being “fair trade” would imply that it was ethically traded, and if it was a product that could be grown, responsibly grown. And being curious minded we asked a barista at our local Starbucks and this was her reply: And please understand, we don't blame the barista for not knowing anything about what “ethically traded and responsibly grown” means. And isn't it interesting that we didn't seem to be the first ones to ask the question? So with all this new signage, is that just what it is, words only... just a marketing ploy? Another spin on Fair Trade. If it was meaningful you would think Starbucks would take the time to teach their employees about this new marketing campaign. But the big question is, what do YOU think? Really, we would like to know what people think and thought maybe this blog would lead to some online conversations through the commenting feature. But we think we've had a total of only two comments in over 50 posts! But we know a lot of people read the blog, so hopefully we're a catalyst for something... But what it does do is give us the opportunity to champion our business and the textiles and handicrafts we sell as embracing similar concepts. And if you have any questions, please feel free to ask! We love talking about out textiles, the weavers and galleries we know, the people of Laos, its history, etc. And about the money we donate towards Big Brother Mouse to fund book parties at rural schools and buy books to give to teachers and children we encounter on our travels. At Laos Essential Artistry we agree that fair trade is a partnership based on dialogue, mutual understanding, respect and direct contact between ourselves and our artisan partners and it only seems natural though, that if there are strong connections and friendships, fair trade would be a given. But how do you know if Fair Trade (and ethically traded) principles are really the guiding light in a business endeavor such as ours? We think that the proof is in our website, reading what we've written, seeing what we're selling, and looking at the totality of what we've done, what we're doing and what we're planning to do in the future, and how we've communicated this in our website. It’s all about character and it’s interesting when you look at the etymology of the word ethical: which comes from the Middle English etik, from Latin ethicus, from Greek ēthikos, from ēthos, that the essence of its meaning is character. And we would combine the importance of character with the need to develop empathy, and we like the derivation of the Lao word for empathy which is made up of two words, (hen)( jhai), to (see) into the (heart), which fits in perfectly with the Buddhist term "metta" - which most translate as "loving kindness" but which, in the texts, really means empathy. And through our website, photos, and the textiles and handicrafts we sell, we hope you can see into the heart of Laos Essential Artistry and the Lao artisans and weavers we represent. by: Laos Essential Artistry 1 Comments 
Sunday, March 15, 2009
 We have read with interest how the Center for Lao Studies is promoting the first International Lao New Year Festival 2552 in San Francisco April 10. We live in Sacramento, about 90 miles east of San Francisco and plan to go on Saturday. It looks like they will have vendors, and we will be evaluating whether we should exhibit next year. Celebrating Lao New Year in the states is so different from celebrating Lao New Year in Laos. As anyone who has lived in Laos knows, Lao New Year really extends for a week or more and it can be a pretty wild and wet time. Here in Sacramento we have two wats, and the one we live closest to is rather small and low key and so we are eager to see and experience Lao New Year on a larger scale in San Franciso, and hopefully see that the festivities will draw a lot of falang who should learn more about Lao traditions and culture. We've already committed to exhibiting at the Asian Heritage Street Celebration in San Francisco on May 16 and if anyone wants to come and see our textiles and handicrafts in person, we encourage you to come for this well-planned event. We exhibited four years ago, before establishment of our online store, and are really excited to be able to talk with people about our textiles and goals for the future. We will include more information about the AHSC in a future post. by: Laos Essential Artistry 0 Comments
Saturday, March 7, 2009
 When we were in Muang Vaen in December mainly to order some silk textiles in a design we particularly liked, we of course had the opportunity to purchase silk textiles that the weavers had available for sale in the village. It's quite a fun process really and in a more "sophisticated" way reminds me of the Tai Dam women in Muang Sing in the northwestern part of Laos. Above you can see us in the home of the Lao Women's Union leader in Muang Vaen where a number of women have gathered and brought handwoven silk textiles they've woven, or their daughter or mother have woven, and when the "process" begin the women will quickly try to place their textiles in front of the buyer (here it's Elli) and it can quickly become overwhelming and hard to "objectively" make decisions. Well, in the photo below you can see how the Tai Dam women do the same thing, but on the streets of Muang Sing, and whenever a tourist shows an interest in the cotton textiles they have for sale they quickly pull them out of bags and drape the unsuspecting potential buyer. It can be fun, they think it's fun, but it can be a little disconcerting. And we do have some great textiles we've purchased from these talented lades on our site.  But I digress. I began this post wanting to share an example of some motifs woven into one of the silk textiles we purchased this last December in Muang Vaen. The first photo below shows a section of the textile with a wide variety of motifs woven in. The second photo shows the same photo, but I've created numbered areas isolating various motifs. Because the border lines may make it difficult to see a motif clearly, that's why I included the first photo so one can look at the description of the motifs following the photos and look at the corresponding numbered area and then if you want, you can look at the borderless photo and see the motif in more detail. The description of the motifs is provided by Elli Findly who has traveled with us the last two years to Huaphan Province and who has been researching the meaning of the motifs in the textiles from this region.   1. pregnant saang-hong or sometimes called a siho (elephant-lion,), with naga trunk: pregnancy indicated by double ngueak in belly and baby saang-hong on back. 2. Filler design made of hooks (khor), but when mirror-reversed like this it makes a khoam (lantern) (like an eye) 3. A line of decorated plant seeds 4. A single decorated plant seed 5. A curly tailed bird (nok hang khot) with plant on end of tail; also a bird with feathered tail (nok hang suay) – both birds combined; bird is crested also. 6. ? 7. ngueak/naga head (has eye and crest) 8. also a ngueak head, crested with an open mouth 9. baby saang-hong, with bird tail (curly kind) that ends in plant branch; such figures emphasize the bird aspects of the saang-hong, by placing it in a tree – hence all the branches 10. Double headed “S” shaped ngueak (naak song huea) 11. another curly-tailed bird (nok hang khot) 12. naga heads 13. naga head - uncrested by: Laos Essential Artistry 0 Comments
Monday, March 2, 2009
 The photo above shows the detail in the pattern of one of our stunning Muang Vaen silk textiles we sell on our site. A lot of times people see a textile like this, think it's beautiful, but really don't understand the technical and artistic skills that go into weaving a gorgeous textile like this. It's much more than magical, but it surely seems magical. Look at the photo below of the cascade of these soft-hued silk threads tied into a weaving on the loom in Muang Vaen, stopped in a moment of time, before they become woven into the pattern. These weavers are true artisans.  by: Laos Essential Artistry 1 Comments
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