The silk road that Carol Cassidy travels has won her high acclaim in the world of fashion, art and textiles. The mother of two weaves the little cocoons of natural fibre into a vibrant art, which tells stories of a Laotian culture and her passion for the silk craft.
A collection of her work is a kaleidoscope of exotic colours and patterns. From a dramatic mustard yellow and a deep indigo to soft shades of peach and cream, all are interwoven with motif patterns from Laos. Ms Cassidy, who lives in the capital Vientiane, draws on the poor country's cultural diversity as inspiration.
Eight years ago, the professional American weaver from Connecticut, who studied the craft in Michigan and Norway before working as a professional weaver in Finland, left her job in South Africa to take up an offer from the United Nations as a textile adviser to Laos. The aim was to use the traditional craft to generate work and jobs for unemployed locals. When she arrived, the industry was in the doldrums, amid the trouble that accompanied political turmoil in 1975, when the communist-led Pathet Lao won the civil war and took control of Laos. During that time many women stopped weaving and left the younger generation lacking a model to learn from. Ms Cassidy's job has been to revive their interest.
The idea has borne fruit. Now she employs 150 Laotian men and women on a silk farm and a 35-strong highly-skilled weaving team. She spent 18 months training her staff before starting the business five years ago.
The richness of her designs springs from her weaving skills and her knowledge of the textile for Laos' traditional designs and techniques.
A hand-woven shawl, two metres long and 80 centimetres wide, usually takes six weeks to finish. A shawl costs US$200 (HK$1,546) to US$400, depending on the degree of intricate patterns. A scarf costs US$100 and the wall-hangings anything up to US$12,000.