One of the most rewarding parts of my job is being able to meet face to face with people all over the world who help make our products. A few years ago I took a development trip to Thailand to work on some new designs and ideas.
On this trip I was developing a variety of handwoven textiles to be considered for the Weitzner line. Namely Mela, our handwoven silk and cotton and Seraph and Celeste, our Thai Silk, both as a paperbacked textile wall covering, and as a decoration fabric.
Celeste color Froth, Aster and Meridian and Seraph in color Petal.
Thai silk is such a special material because the silkworms are raised on a steady diet of Mulberry leaves and it is completely handwoven, meaning each piece has a unique texture and character.
The inspiration for our fabric Mela came from the idea of reusing silk selvedge yarns to create a novelty yarn in the weft. We walked around the mill collecting spare threads from other yardage being woven and twisted these yarns together to create the multi hued weft.
Silk being handwoven on a simple dobby style loom.
Vibrant hand dyed silk hanging to dry at the mill.
Thoughtfully wrapped flowers at the local flower market in Bangkok.
Traditional dancing from an evening out in Chiang Mai.
Addendum
A snap from Mike's 60th. Happy birthday, Mike!