Anou Thammavong established Oradesign, a fine textile company based in Vientiane. He inherited his love for textiles from his grandmother gna mae Orady Souvannavong (she is my grand auntie too:)). His level of artistry is probably the same as Carol Cassidy. Check it out!
Interestingly, his recent creations have been inspired by the textiles of North Laos, from Houaphan with blue and white geometric designs from covers "Pha Hom".
A documentary of his work has been done by Arte Television, a channel dedicated to promoting culture
Check his website here: oradesign
ORA Design is a line of exquisite and refined textiles that combines contemporary aesthetics with traditional Laotian patterns and hand weaving skills. ORA Design is a unique expression of old world and new; soft and subtle colors complement bold modern patterns to create a new language of cloth.
Conceived and designed by Anou Thammavong, the ORA Design atelier is based in Vientiane, Laos, where Anou works with a studio of highly skilled artisans. For over a decade he has pursued his passion to create a distinctive line of unique silk, linen and cotton fabrics, including reviving ancient patterns and weaving traditions, some of which were lost over the past fifty years.
The launch of Anou’s new line of ORA Design captures a passion, maturity, and flavor that have been evolving for many years. Anou brings to his textiles a blend of east and west. In his designs, an inherited passion for Lao textiles through the skills and examples of his beloved grandmother, Orady, meets the refined and polished design sensibility of his French education. A personal approach to design and an eye for colors is characteristic of the ORA Design fabric collections. The colors and refined patterns pay homage to Anou’s leading source of inspiration, his grandmother.
More than merely paying homage, Anou is himself a rebirth of the extraordinary textile talent for which his grandmother was known as a young woman. Orady Souvannavong, a respected member of the Laotian Royal Court, was a woman ahead of her time. In the 1950s, she set up a weaving workshop in Vientiane and attracted the best weavers. Orady boldly took risks to modernize classic Lao silk patterns, and her cloths became ‘de rigueur’, enormously popular with the fashion-conscious ladies residing in the royal capital city of Luang Prabang. Although Orady’s workshop could not continue, her special textiles are preserved and her talent is captured and revived by her grandson.
Dedicated to pursing Orady’s legacy and inspired by her creativity and modern spirit, ORA Design has launched a new expression of decorative textiles that seamlessly combines a contemporary design ethos with traditional, and highly skilled, weaving methods. Respect and quality are at the core of ORA Design philosophy and products; from respectful relationships with the weavers and their personal mastery, to the sustainable and environmentally conscious methods of dyeing, spinning, weaving, and living our daily lives as artists.
(Oradesign "about" page; all photos from Oradesign facebook page)