Confession: I didn’t really know what Black Friday was all about until I moved out of Canada. It was a faint whisper from the south. Breaking messages from the six o’ clock network news that would beam from Buffalo, just two hours below us. Up north, we start holiday shopping when it got cold enough. But we slowly got the point. Chaos, a lot of running, and plenty of anxiety over getting that discount. Then Cait wrote about how Black Friday is gross last year and we decided to fix that perception.
This year we’re turning Black Friday up on its head again
and I thought I’d get started a little earlier on that. It all started last week when Jane showed off this gorgeous travel tech kit she had just acquired in Phnom Penh. This lead to some product-envy-related drooling and through Jane, I had the chance to meet Veasna who has been with Happy Silk Cambodia and the Women for Women Foundation for the past ten years. W4W is a local Cambodian NGO forged to promote the engagement of women in society, the economy and civic action. One way of doing this has been to support the employment and entrepreneurship of women in the production of textiles and other beautiful products while also paying them an ethical and sustainable wage. And when I walked into Happy Silk (corner of No. 9, Street 178 in Phnom Penh), I pretty much fell over myself on their new line of brass jewelry, high quality cotton kroma carry-alls and most of all, Jane’s well cushioned, super sturdy ikat travel tech kit. All of it is made by women in an organization that is also administered by Cambodian women. It’s a cause I can get on top of, and immediately volunteer to take product photos of.
Which is exactly what I did when I rolled out of bed in a turkey-hangover today. These are only a selection of the gorgeous pieces Veasna’s got in store. If you’re also in Phnom Penh this Sunday, you’ll be able to find a selection of these items at Big WIG Christmas Fair, and if you’re not in country, you can also shop these items online at Sudaya.
This gorgeous tech set is complete with cushioned cases for your portable hard drive and laptop (left) and homes for your cables and chargers too! Ikat and kroma lining were dyed and woven by women in the villages of in Takeo province and final products were sewed in Kandal, Cambodia.
Bring on the high quality, locally woven, cotton kroma! Eye masks (left) which make for the perfect amenity for holiday guests for $5 each, and the best reversible carry-all bags in 3 sizes (small $5, medium $9 and large $12).
New brass pieces at a range of prices, from $5 USD.
Let the ethical and sustainable shopping begin!
All photos by Tiffany Tsang. Please request permission for use. Cait+Tiff are not liable for any credit issues that may follow shopping these items.
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January 5, 2016 at 9:55 am
Hi Cait and Tiff, spreading the word on Cambodian owned ethical companies ❤
Wanted to let your readers know that for those looking for Women for Women/Happy Silk products outside of Cambodia, Art Asia in Australia have started selling Women for Women products: https://www.facebook.com/artasiaonline/posts/1051024138264346