In late 2015 Hla Day lead designer Ulla Kroeber was invited to Kayah State by ITC to explore the possibilities and opportunities of the local craft and tourism industry. Ulla has travelled back and forth to Kayah State since, creating a beautiful relationship with many local crafts people in the state capital Loikaw and in villages outside the capital. Last month we facilitated 3 days of workshops for 15 enthusiastic Kayah participants to increase design awareness and improve business skills at Hla Day. more on that later.
We are pleased to introduce the stories behind the new Kayah Range which launches today in the shop, 81 Pansodan Street, Yangon.
Hamlets in Pan Pet Village are home to the Kayah women famous for wearing brass neck and leg rings. As the women age the brass rings become too loose on their legs. Some of these women are making use out of the no longer used brass rings by making bangles.
Once the rings are no longer in use they are cut to size, heated, beaten with a hammer, and then formed into shape with designs engraved by hand.
In Kathekhu, rice wine cups are made from bamboo covered in laquer making them water tight. Once an item of day to day life these cups have now been pushed aside with the arrival of plastic, glass and enamel.
Shechuan pepper is a true taste of Kayah, often used to flavour local dishes and found in abundance in the region. You can pick up your own sample at Hla Day where the pepper is beautifuly packaged in old test papers from the school of the blind.
Traditional field baskets are created in Loikaw. This is a project Hla Day is working on to create income for disadvantaged families. We have a wide variety of colours and sizes available, they are stunning and make a unique handbag - for a completly different twist put a light bulb inside and you have a unique table lamp - perfect to spruce up your yangon pad.
Organic cotton is grown and spun in some small villiages which is then used to create handwoven backstrap textiles. Here this mother uses it to swaddle her baby.
In Hta Nee La Lay the spun cotton is also coated several times in laquer providing structure and making it water tight, often used in traditional homewears.
Beauty can be found everywhere, especially when you apply curiousity to your everyday surroundings and transform what may appear mundane into something new and beautiful. Here, laquered cotton is turned into a bold new necklace with silver clasp, a winning combination when teamed with bracelets that are made from old tin cooking pots!!
The Kayah Range launches at Hla Day March 17th, stocks are limited. We invite all of our friends to come to our shop to see this range for yourself - we always love your feedback. We look forward to expanding upon our Kayah range and later this month we will be visiting Kayah for the next workshop series.
Here are some of the 'Kayah Crafters' in Yangon for a workshop series led by Hla Day on design and business.
Concider taking a trip to Kayah State to see the beautiful landscape, villiages and people for yourself. Come into the shop where we will happily share stories, adventures and suggestions.
