Fashion Accessories by Warm Heart
Every Purchase Changes a Life
Spotlight on Artisans
Yai has worked for Warm Heart for over a decade making handwoven scarves in silk, cotton and rayon. Since then, she and her sister have also learned how to dye yarn using only natural, organic materials.
A major portion of their income comes from Warm Heart; otherwise, they are also part of the local Padaeng weaving group which operates a mini-business selling handicrafts. Right now she is happy with the way she is working.
Regarding Warm Heart’s scarves, she thinks the most difficult production is the eri silk scarves because the yarn is soft and delicate; it stretches when she weaves and the yarns can easily break.
Although overall she finds the scarves beautiful, she says mostly she concentrates on the technical weaving aspect and doesn't think too much about the patterns and colors which Warm Heart assigns.
Yai is satisfied with the payment she gets from Warm Heart. She loves working for Warm Heart because she doesn't have to worry about design or selling and can put all her energy into the weaving.
Sanom Pintho (Yeck), 60+, is also a Buddhist nun and came to live in Padaeng temple with her older sister. She and her sister Lai are inseparable and work on everything together.
Yeck enjoys being able to work in the same place where she is living and likes leading a simple weaver’s life. She agrees with her sister that the difficulty of the styles they make for Warm Heart depends on the materials. Although she says the scarves are beautiful, she would not wear them herself but prefers making her own designs which suit her personal style more.
She’s happy with the payment she gets from Warm Heart. Most importantly, she enjoys the work because she is given ample time for the weaving and with Warm Heart’s orders, she doesn't have to worry about financing production or selling.
She doesn't mind that the orders from Warm Heart aren’t constant. She says when orders come, she’s happy and if there are no orders, that’s all right too. Both she and her sister really appreciate the work they get from Warm Heart.
Srinual Wingein, 62, was born and has lived in Padaeng village all her life. She had a family but she divorced her husband and her two sons passed away so she lives alone now.
She has spun eri silk yarn and sold to Warm Heart for about seven years. Srinual also sells the yarn to other clients and has a longan farm which is the main source of her income. She likes being able to work from home because it allows her to manage her farm work. She also thinks she is too old now to travel somewhere every day to work.
Srinual is happy with the payment she gets for the eri silk yarn from Warm Heart. She likes working for Warm Heart because of the relaxed work environment and absence of time pressure. She also likes our products and has two of our scarves.
Ratinun Preamchan (Eve), 31, lives in Maepang village where she was born, with her daughter, 10, her son, 5, her mother and her niece. She has worked for Warm Heart for nearly a decade making first the wrap bracelets and then the macramé collection.
Her mother owns a small shop selling Thai food and she helps her mother with the business; otherwise she has no other outside work. She prefers working at home because it allows her to care for her children and fit in her other family duties.
Making the first wrap bracelet was difficult, but after a few tries of each new style, she is able to do good production. She is satisfied with the payment from Warm Heart but hopes to get more for difficult styles.
Her favorite production is the crystal wrap bracelets because she loves the shiny, colorful crystals. She says she can´t afford the bracelets but would probably wear them on festival day or for going to a temple.
Eve would like to get more regular orders from Warm Heart so that she can work all year.
Pimlapus Songsi (Pim), 37, was born in nearby Chiang Rai and moved to Maepang village near Warm Heart after getting married. She lives with her husband, her son, 11, her daughter, 10, and her mother-in-law. Pim has worked for Warm Heart for nearly a decade making first the wrap bracelets and then the macramé collection.
Her husband has a mango and longan fruit farm which provides the main income for the family. Besides helping her husband with the farm, Pim only works for Warm Heart. She likes the flexibility of working at home. She thinks she would get easily bored if she had a full-time job although she would like the fixed income.
Pim enjoys making the bracelets because she can make them well. At first working on the macramé collection was difficult but after practicing, she was also able to handle this complicated technique.
Pim thinks Warm Heart’s products are beautiful but she wouldn't wear them herself because she lives in a village and works as a farmer and the jewelry wouldn´t be suitable.
She loves working for Warm Heart because she gets enough time to finish the work without pressure. She is happy with the payment she gets for her work from Warm Heart.
Pim welcomes new designs and hopes to receive more orders from Warm Heart so that she has work year-around.
Pimonpum Artwijit (P’Pan), 41, was born in a village in eastern Thailand village and moved to Maepang after marrying. She has no children and lives with her husband.
She has worked for Warm Heart for about two years making tote bags, yoga bags and laptop sleeves for the rice sack collection and, more recently, denim shoulder bags. Her family´s income comes from her husband's farm and her small sewing workshop. Besides working for Warm Heart, P’Pan also takes orders for children's uniforms. She prefers being self-employed because of the greater flexibility it allows.
P’Pan says working with the rice sack material is difficult because she can´t make any mistakes when she sews because it leaves holes in the material. That´s why she prefers making the denim bags where she can resew if she makes a mistake the first time.
She´s happy with the payment she gets and likes working for Warm Heart because there is no time pressure and everybody is nice to her.