Handmade Black Cotton Shoulder from Thailand, "Tribe's Identity"

"My name is Anchalika Chamnan, I come from northern Thailand, which is considered to be the gateway to Burma, Laos, and China. My hometown is renowned as a trading town and my family and relatives are involved in different types of trading. At present I am studying geography at the university but when I go home, I stay with my aunt, since she works in the textile trade.

"She began by buying textiles from people and selling to others. But about a year after that, she started to design her own textiles, transforming them into different types of work. She needs many people to help her, so I am here to help her out. And in so doing, I'm learning her craft. Even if embroidery is a traditional skill for the women in our area and everybody can do it, I still need to learn more about patterns to create more interesting pieces.

"I am glad that we will have the chance to display our work to the world. To show more work is not only a channel for us to earn more, it means we can have the opportunity to support people from our village by offering them more work."