KAREN HILL TRIBE SILVER

The Karen Hill Tribe people live primarily in the densely forested Mae Hong Son regions of Thailand. Most villages are remote from Thai civilization and consist of houses made of teak or bamboo, usually constructed on stilts to provide shelter for livestock. The Karen people are predominately farmers of agricultural produce for their own use and are often referred to as “The farmers of the forest”.

For centuries, The Karen Hill Tribe have been making silver, providing a much needed source of income for the Villages; an invaluable alternative to growing illicit crops and slash and burn farming. The Karen Hill Tribe creates silver of very high purity, between 99.5% and 99.9% (whereas sterling silver is 92.5% pure). The Karen silversmiths hand craft each piece using traditional tribal methods passed down from generation to generation. Beads are hammered, etched and sculpted into natural designs such as fish, butterflies, leaves and flowers. No two pieces are exactly like.

We purchase our Hill Tribe Silver directly from suppliers in Thailand who fund assistance programs that return a portion of their profits directly to the Karen Hill Tribe people in order to improve their standard of living and prevent their exploitation.

LAMPWORK BEADS

Lampwork is a term that refers to “torch” made beads. Many years ago, before propane and oxygen torches, beads were made over small wick type lamps. Hence the term “lampwork” was originated.

Lampwork is an ancient technique of using flame to melt glass. Hot glass working skills came to us beginning with the Syrians around 1700 BC. The “lamp” in lampwork came from the oil lamps and blowpipes originally used in seventeenth century France and Italy. Blowing by mouth, or with a bellows, into an oil lamp flame through a small pipe makes just enough heat to soften and form the softer types of glass.

Lampwork beads are made with a type of soft glass or hard glass. The glass comes in rods about the thickness of a pencil. The rod is heated in the flame until it becomes soft, and then is manipulated, or wrapped, on a metal rod called a mandrel into bead designs. The final step is a process called the annealing process where the bead is hardened by heating it in a kiln over several hours. It is a time consuming and painstaking process that can take days to complete depending on the complexity of the design. Artist made “Lampwork” glass are one-of-a-kind, and are considered art work that is wearable. No two lampwork beads are identical.