{"id":785,"date":"2017-08-04T18:55:14","date_gmt":"2017-08-04T23:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hilltribeart.com\/wordpress\/?p=785"},"modified":"2017-08-04T20:00:51","modified_gmt":"2017-08-05T01:00:51","slug":"the-lao-weavers-visit-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hilltribeart.com\/wordpress\/?p=785","title":{"rendered":"The Lao Weavers Visit America"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Lao Weavers Visit America <\/strong><\/p>\n

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Phout, Maren, Malaithong and Souksakone enjoy a late evening barbecue on our porch in Eugene, OR.<\/p><\/div>\n

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It was a decade old dream come true. Rather than Maren and I visiting our wonderful Lao weaving friends in their village in Laos, we finally \u201cgot even\u201d by having them visit us on their first ever trip to America; for weavers Souk and Phout, it was their first time outside of SE Asia. They were able to bring childhood friend Malaithong with them for her translation services and to help facilitate the business and adventure opportunity.<\/p>\n

These are three precious friends of ours who we met a decade ago in Xam Tai, Laos when we first started Above the Fray, and their work has been central to the finest quality silks that we offer our customers.<\/p>\n

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Souksokone, Malaithong, photographer Joe Coca, Maren and Phout at the Santa Fe Folk-Art Market.<\/p><\/div>\n

The first week was spent in Santa Fe, where they were welcomed as special guests of the exquisite and selective Santa Fe Folk Art Festival and Market. For two days the jet-lagged weavers attended workshops that introduced them to American business and marketing, and then they sold some phenomenal textiles in the marketplace. Maren and I flew down to assist with the sales and cheer them on. The crowd was dense and receptive, and they did well with sales. Many attendees complemented those Lao weavers, dyers and designers as the highlight of the 150 or more represented artists.<\/p>\n

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Phout and Souksakone’s first visit to a Whole Foods Supermarket. So many things!<\/p><\/div>\n

They then spent a week with us here in Eugene \u2013 and the weather was perfect. What a blast seeing our world through another\u2019s eyes. A few highlights:<\/p>\n