Designer, artist and eco-entrepreneur Thao Vu is a leader among a pioneering group of young designers who have made Hanoi an emerging creative hub. Her label Kilomet 109 is an eco-fashion brand that puts natural fibres, natural dyes and traditional skills at the heart of its production process. Combining heritage and contemporary design, Thao is able to conjure shades of indigo and magenta that are at once nostalgic and fresh. Thao describes what it means to be an ‘eco-entrepreneur’ and how...

Designer Kavita Parmar wants you to know that “heritage is the new luxury.” She hones in on this point while discussing XTANT, an artisan market she’s co-hosting in Mallorca in June, 2021. Part folk art market, part art installation and a full-on celebration of heritage craft, the event is a refreshing way for artisans to sell and to build momentum and community. XTANT comes on the heels of TEXTO, the wildly successful first edition, hosted in Mexico City in 2020. Find out what’s in store...

All aboard? Let’s go to Kabul and meet Ramzia Khorami and Maryam Omar, two vanguards bringing Afghan jewellery and Silk Road-era crafts to the contemporary global marketplace. This is a rare opportunity to hear about the experiences of two women within the country’s burgeoning artisan and design sector. Ramzia and Maryam share the inside story about leaving and returning to Kabul, about what it’s like to be a woman working in Kabul and about their work with Turquoise Mountain (listen to our...

Shoshana Stewart went from studying astrophysics to rebuilding the streets of Kabul. Literally. These days, Shoshana heads Turquoise Mountain, an innovative organisation that focuses on reviving historic buildings and developing craft entrepreneurs. In this episode, she tells us the ins and outs of running projects in some of the world’s most challenging places. What did she encounter when she first landed in Kabul? How did Turquoise Mountain mobilise master craftsmen to teach their skill to...

This story is one of our favourites! We are in Ritoma, a small village in breathtaking grasslands of the Tibetan Plateau, where we meet Kim and Dechen Yeshi. The mother-daughter duo began an ambitious project that brings together a rare fiber called yak khullu, an uncompromising aesthetic and a commitment to uphold the ancestral nomadic traditions of the Tibetan Plateau. You’ll hear how Kim and Dechen started Norlha, a social enterprise and weaving atelier where local nomads weave...

How do you introduce ‘start-up’, entrepreneurial thinking to a 400-year old artisan community? In Bagru, the hub of Rajasthani block-printing, Jeremy Fritzhand tells us that a start-up mindset is critical to growing the industry and “putting creative power back in the hands of the artisans.” A long-time resident of Bagru, a tiny village southwest of Jaipur, Jeremy is co-founder of Studio Bagru, a custom block printing house that streamlines and brings equity to artisan collaborations. Now,...

The road to Machu Picchu takes you through Chinchero, a village in the Peruvian Andes where you’ll find Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez, a dynamic Quechua weaver. Founder of the Centre for Traditional Textiles of Cusco, Nilda helped revive Quechua textiles traditions and restore indigenous pride. In spite of being a catalyst to move her community forward, she believes the key to a sustainable future lies in respecting and in employing ancestral know-how. This type of counterintuitive thinking is...

How did a man born in Vieng Xai cave during a revolutionary war end up unlocking the country’s impressive potential for adventure travel? This is a man who sailed from Australia to China with no prior experience. He ran the length of Laos for charity. That’s 1500 km of rugged country. He’s Lao's only Ironman competitor. His eyes are set on Everest. We’ll hear about how Inthy prepares for a challenge, in adventure, in life and in building one of Laos’ most progressive sustainable...

Cultural intellectual property rights are a complex issue. Cultural intellectual property and fashion attorney and founder of the Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative (CIPRI), Monica Moisin joins the broadcast to explain the colonial roots of fashion and the importance of protecting the traditional knowledge, designs and traditional manufacturing methods. Read more on our blog: https://www.ockpoptok.com/blog/cultural-intellectual-property-rights Learn more about CIPRI:...

Luang Prabang is full of stories. Textiles, temples, ceremonies, rituals and conversations convey stories of Lao culture. As Lao culture evolves, film is emerging as a contemporary medium for storytelling, and the Luang Prabang Film Festival is at the forefront of nurturing modern storytellers and cinema in Laos and across Southeast Asia. Read more on our Blog: https://www.ockpoptok.com/blog/stories-film-festival Connect with Luang Prabang Film Festival: www.lpfilmfest.org

Jo Smith, Ock Pop Tok co-founder, regales us with the story of a spontaneous journey to Houaphan Province in northeastern Laos. This journey jumpstarted the Village Weavers Project, a dynamic model for village-based collaborations. Since the trip, the Village Weavers Project has evolved and grown, helping Lao women weavers and artisans access markets and preserve their cultural traditions. Read more on our blog: https://www.ockpoptok.com/blog/houaphan-journey-village-weavers-project/ Learn...

Susan Hull Walker and IBU Movement are at the forefront of galvanising the global artisan community. Susan’s work empowers and connects people—in particular women—at all levels, from a village-based artisan to a woman in corporate or suburban America. She describes IBU Movement as a world wide web of self-authorised women on the move to self-empowerment and self-sufficiency. Through her work with IBU Movement, and more recently IBU Foundation, Susan is finding common ground for women from...

Why is Myanmar difficult terrain for artisans? Plastic upcycling genius Peter Pau Son, founder of Shin Thant Plastics, and Ulla Kroeber, co-founder and lead designer at Hla Day, a crafts and design organisation in Yangon, helps us understand the challenges of doing business in Myanmar. Read more on our blog: www.ockpoptok.com/blog/myanmar-upcycling-plastic Find out about Hla Day: www.hladaymyanmar.org

Palestinian embroidery is a traditional craft dating back centuries. Traditionally used on garments and pillows for the home, this embroidery is rich with motifs and stories of Palestinian culture, nature and village life. Kissweh, a craft enterprise focusing on these embroidery techniques, provides income opportunities for women living in Palestinian refugee camps inside Lebanon. Read more on our blog: https://www.ockpoptok.com/blog/palestinian-embroidery-refugee/ Learn more about Kissweh:...

Artisan textiles and crafts are often talked about in terms of technique, beauty and functionality. But what about the artisan mindset? In this episode, Kitzia Barrera, co-founder of Innovando la Tradicion and Colectivo 1050º, discusses her work with the pottery masters of Mexico. Oaxaca’s iindigenous potters practice a craft and an approach to living that is profoundly wise and sophisticated, and very applicable to challenges we face today. Kitzia shares her experience and encourages us to...

Travel with us to Dzongsar, Tibet and meet the intriguing Dawa Drolma. A filmmaker and storyteller, Dawa Drolma helps her father and brother run the Khyenle Arts Center. “Khyenle” refers to a specific alloy and technique used to make lama bronze statues. Incredibly intricate, lama bronze statues are imbued with spiritual qualities revered by Tibetans Buddhists and monasteries around the world. “Khyenle” was developed in the early 19th century by the first Khyentse Rinpoche, the spiritual head...

The Moroccan carpet is iconic. It’s flooded the marketplace, but the makers of these textiles have not necessarily benefited. Correcting the transactions, perceptions and values that drive this imbalance is at the core of Artisan Project, a craft and design studio founded and run by Nina Mohammad Galbert. In this episode, Nina discusses her work with weavers in Fes and the Middle Atlas, explains how to buy ethically and illuminates why carpets are seen as “baraka” or blessing among the...

Bibi Hanum founder Muyaho Aliyeva takes us on a journey on the Silk Road, illuminating the rich history of “adras” or Uzbeki ikat and the importance of empowering women in her country. Read more on our blog: https://www.ockpoptok.com/blog/ikat-empowering-women-silk-road/ Visit Bibi Hanum’s website: https://bibihanum.com/

Bookhou Studio co-founder Arounna Khounnaraj is credited with making crafting cool, fun and accessible, and she’s got legions of fans around the world! An enthusiastic advocate of all things handmade, Arounna Khounnaraj is happiest when she is making, teaching workshops and composing beautifully written and photographed books on crafting and mending. Read more on our blog: https://www.ockpoptok.com/blog/crafting-mending-bookhou/ Visit Bookhou: https://www.bookhou.com/

Kavita Parmar, founder and creative director of I OWE YOU Project, discusses the need for a new design ecosystem. And, she shares her love affair with the Madras check and her vision for how each of us must “be the change”. Read more on our blog: https://www.ockpoptok.com/blog/kavita-parmar-design-ecosystem-change/ Visit the project here: https://ioweyou.cc/

Weaver, designer, textile innovator Ploenchanh “Mook” Vinyaratn uses traditional handlooms and needlework to create modern, multi-dimensional textiles for handbags under her label MookV. She shares her process, the challenges in the marketplace and her relentless passion and optimism for artisan textiles. Read more on our blog: https://www.ockpoptok.com/blog/meet-mookv-textile-innovator/ Visit MookV's website: https://www.mookv.com/