As we work to move towards retail and wholesale this spring, we realized pretty quickly that we need to get our artisans up to speed on some basic jewelry making techniques in order for Hill Tribers to reach a broader audience and resultantly (and most importantly) for more of our women to make more money. We owe much of our growth over the past year to the addition of jewelry in our line of products, and know that many of our women could make profit if they had just a few basic skills such as wire wrapping and finishing to make necklaces, earrings and bracelets. A few emails for help led us to the great folks at Creative Side Jewelry Academy of Austin. They were immediately interested in helping our artisans out and have been so generous with their time and knowledge. Teacher Sage, lead three of our artisans through some basic techniques a few weeks ago, and it was amazing to sit back and watch Huang, Christine and Pwe Loe Pah pick up quickly on her instruction. We didn’t even need a translator! I am so struck by the amount of talent these women have and their eagerness to learn a new skill that allows them to earn money and display their creative abilities.
“Hello, my name is Pwe Loe Paw, can you please teach me English?” The small woman wearing a traditional Burmese dress with a baby wrapped around her back grasped my hand eagerly as she smiled and stumbled through saying this simple statement you most likely just read with hardly any effort. This encounter followed my ...
by Jessica Remember my (overly) dramatic post about looking for new supplies? We found some yarn. It might not seem like a big deal, but for years we’ve been researching Thai yarn. It’s softer and it feels like the yarn the refugee women made by hand to weave into cloth for their villages. The supplier ...
by Jessica When Caren and I started this little venture with our neighborhood hill tribers, let’s be honest: we had no idea what we were getting into. It began when we bumped into a group of Burmese refugees at a fall festival. After a few conversations, we realized the women could weave. “I know,” I ...
There is a rhythm to the refugee community we work with. In early spring, the rumors start and the moves begin. This year we lost two of our favorite families in one weekend, one to Dallas, another to Chicago. One family has heard benefits are better in upstate New York–I expect we’ll show up at ...
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