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Siripun

"I never studied art, and graduated with a degree in nursing. But I love designing. When I was a nurse, I began making clothing and I think it was then that I fell in love with this work. After that, I learned more about batik and dying from the Thai Department of Export Promotion and set up my workshop in 2001. It isn't so big, but it does well and that makes me smile.

"Sawasdee kha! My name is Siripun Suwan. Siripun refers to having a 'blooming' complexion. And my nickname is Took. It has no meaning, but my parents named me to rhyme with my three half-brothers. The first letter of their name is 'T,' the same as mine. I was born on March 1, 1956 in Chiang Mai. We are a big and warm family. We also work together and take responsibility for each duty. My nephew is the mainspring of our business. He does everything he can. We always carry on together.

"Our designs are hand-crafted with local, natural materials. People from our from village help us in my workshop and I hope to give jobs to people who otherwise might not be unemployable.

"The greatest challenge in my life was to be the leader in my workshop and to continue toward success, to just keep walking forward. The artisans who work with us look to me for direction. If someone new joins us, I teach that person until he or she is able to work.

"Leaving nursing was a major change in my life. In nursing, I received a salary, but now I don't. For a long time, I relied on trial and error. Sometimes I'm afraid I might not succeed, but I can deal with this. I have to be patient, diligent and love what I do. And the most important thing is to be honest and get along well with my clients. I want to give them high quality designs.

"My life hasn't been so fancy. I earn sufficiently to live and am satisfied with what I can do and with what I have. I don't want to struggle to earn more and more. It was bad for our health and we got headaches. I am very happy to do what I love.

"I love to design cotton fabrics in a modern Lanna (northern Thai) style, because this is the environment where I grew up. I want to show our culture through my creations and would like to develop new designs at least once a month.

"I'm impressed that my pieces sell well and that shoppers see the value of my creations. They tell me the truth – that they never order from others even when the others are closer and cheaper.

"I feel so lucky to have found Novica with their honesty and clarity. I believe in their system and their concept, and hope they can help us display our work to the world."