Lisu Applique

This unique trim was years in the making. Many of you have been

interested in how we "found" this fabric.  For a couple of years, we had

been buying it at a wholesale store that sold Hill tribe fabrics.

Because we kept selling out of the trim, we quickly realized that we

needed to buy a lot more.  During one of our trips there was very little

inventory in the store and they did not expect to have any more for

quite a while.  That was when I learned something important regarding

the hill tribe people and their textiles. Many of them are farmers who

grow rice and also do harvesting of other fruits and vegetables. 

September is an important month for rice, so they do not have time to

make the trim or textiles.

For 5 years we had used my trusty driver/interpreter/friend Dae to help

us with a variety of issues.  We asked if he knew how we could find more

of the trim because none of the other stores had any.  He informed us

that he knew the village that made it....it only took 5 years for him to

tell us that???

He took us to the village, and boy, did we have fun.  The villagers took

us to the Shaman's house and the news of our arrival spread throughout

the village.  The ladies arrived with the trims they had, and the buying

commenced.  After we paid for everything, our adventures continued.

We were invited to a home and found out that this lady coordinated the

applique making in the village.  Palin showed us her "catalog" and

showed us how they make it.  It is a 9 step process with 2 of the steps

being done by hand.  We had enough purchased for now, but ideas were

dancing around in my head.

During our next trip to the village, we asked her to make the trim in

colors we thought would sell in the states.  The Thai traditional colors

are primarily bright colors of red, blue, green, orange, black, and

yellow in all kinds of combinations.  I gave her swatches of fabrics

that had color combinations that we liked and she made the trim in

those colors  This has continued throughout the 13 years that we

have been doing business with this Lisu village.

Since we began working with the villagers in Thailand, we have always

had a thought; what can we do to help the artisans we work with?  How

can we make things easier for them?   We  learned that they have

processes which have worked for them through many generations.  They

showed us how they cut the thick fabric folded for a bias cut.  They

used big scissors with handles wrapped in carpet to prevent blisters. 

Watching them, we thought that rotary cutters, mats and rulers would

help greatly.  We took some supplies with us on our next trip and showed

them how to cut with the rotary cutters. You should have seen their

eyes! They were amazed.  We realized that we couldn't afford to continue

supplying these items by ourselves. We spoke to Martelli about what we

were doing, and we are happy to say that they are  keeping us supplied

with rotary essentials to take to the villagers.  Thank you so much,

Martelli for your generosity!

That is how we developed our business relationship with the Lisu

Applique trim makers and how we are able to make this beautiful and

versatile fabric available to you for your creative pleasure.