Artisans

Phonesouk Sumaloun

Phonesouk (Souk in everyday life) is a young entrepreneur from Laos. She became interested in fair trade after she left college in her northern province hometown and moved to the capital Vientiane to work in a clothes factory.

In 2006 Souk started her own company in Vientiane. Her goal is to produce special, handmade silk scarves coloured with natural dye. Her wish: people from around the world wearing her scarves.

Souk offers work, and so the security of income, to ten people. They all joined her when she first started her company.

Mai makes the natural dyes. To make natural dye and mix colours demands a huge amount of experience. Mai has extensive knowledge of trees, plants, fruits and seeds and knows exactly how to us them to create beautiful colours.

Nang is a young weaver who learned her skills from her mother. She created the special collection of scarves that Counting Flowers is offering from Souk. The scarves are exceptional because of the delicate range of colouring.

Souk named the pattern of this unique scarves collection ‘Bum’. Only Nang masters the bum technique, so you will not find these scarves anywhere else.

Take a look at the silk scarves from Phonesouk.

Souk at work

Nang is reeling the silk

The pots used by Mai to create his natural dyes

Weavers Lane and Noy