Thippawan Kanthachai displays handicrafts that have found a global market.

Twenty years ago, a group of women in the northern province of Chiang Rai who had no commercial experience created a lucrative textile business making the type of clothing they wore.

They subsequently founded the Fabrics by Development Women Group.

The group has already proved successful with local and international buyers, despite the lack of a brand name and its products having a relatively low profile.

During their 20 years in manufacturing, the group's products have received a warm welcome from many high-purchase buyers. Japan, the United States, South Korea and Jordan are its major foreign markets.

The group now has 35 members jointly producing 25 hand-made embroidery products.

Major products include bags, purses, slippers, pillowcases and letter-holders, Thippawan Kanthachai, a daughter of the group's leader, explained during the recent Otop to the World trade exhibition at Muang Thong Thani.

The group started from scratch without business-management experience.

Thippawan's mother, Orrawan, started the business after foreign tourists were interest in her clothing.

"We have a tradition of making new dresses to wear during several Thai festivals, and some tourists came across us during a festival. They kept asking to buy the clothing, literally wanting to take it off our backs," said Thippawan.

Orrawan initially joined with five others to produce large, hand-made embroidered fabrics.

Each piece took three to 12 months to finish, because they wove the fabric during their free time away from their farm chores, rather than as a regular job.

The group later found it was not practical to maintain its handicraft business as a hobby, because it took time to produce and sell each item, and the prices were fairly high at over Bt1,200 per piece.

Orrawan then thought of manufacturing other small products that would not take as long to make and sell, including slippers, bags and pillowcases.

The business developed beyond the group's expectations and automatically drew strong interest from other local folk who wanted to join.

Orrawan is the main designer, with help from Thippawan, who regularly browses websites and Bangkok markets to update designs while studying in the city to become a nurse. She then encourages group members to manufacture her designs. Members are paid according to output.

Formerly, the group simply sold their products through middlemen in local markets, including well-known tourist destinations like the Chiang Rai Night Bazaar.

The group became more serious about the business and opened a market in Bangkok in 2001, when the government staged its first Otop to the World exhibition. Mother and daughter attended that trade fair and received a very good response, selling hundreds of pieces.

Attending the exhibition was also a chance for the group to attract international customers for the first time. Today, international buyers make up 40 per cent of all clients.

Over the past 20 years, the group has gained considerable business experience, including with wholesale and retail systems, although middlemen are still needed when international buyers are involved.

The group does not set a particular budget for advertising and promotion.

It creates awareness by attending various trade exhibitions hosted by the Department of Export Promotion.

Attending trade fairs does not necessarily guarantee a repeat of past success, but at least Thippawan gets inspiration for creating new products in northern styles.

The group will probably return to the Otop exhibition next year with a brighter range and greater variety of products.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation