Men's Fair Trade Leather Bracelet - Thai Knots

Artisan Organization: Khun Boom

Country: Thailand

Congratulations go to Khun Boom for receiving the 2015 Chiang Mai Creative City Design Award!

"I have a passion for life, art and jewelry. I was born in 1979 and grew up in Chiang Mai. My mom is a nurse and I have a younger sister. My parents divorced when I was five and my father passed away when I was 12. I started working at a young age as my mom had loans to deal with due to the fact that she had to provide for my sister and me, and put us through school. I am very thankful for this, as it gave me a lot of experience and made me a better person. I am so appreciative of my mother for her support, her strong heart and soul, and for her taking such good care of us through our childhood. At times I miss my father, but through all this I have realized that no matter what happens, your family will be there for you to give you all the support and love you need.

"Being born into the varied and abundant culture of Chiang Mai, I was exposed to the world of traditional art and the customs from China and Southeast Asia. This contributed to my love for art, which began at an early age and has become a life-long passion for design and creation. My love for art is ingrained in my personality, and it comes through in the care, love, and attention to detail that I put into every piece I design. I am so proud to be Thai, and I hope to share some of that pride with you.

"I am trained in design and art, and earned a degree in fine art from the Chiang Mai Institute of Technology. From there I moved into the world of design. I used to work for a company that exported fine silver and jewelry from 1998 to 2004. I gained international experience and a greater inspirational base for my design from working there.

"In 2004, I was hired by a major UK design house to produce elegant and unique designs to accompany their line of high-fashion clothing and accessories. While working in the UK, a number of design houses picked up my jewelry collections. I am very appreciative of this opportunity for I gained in experience and saw the world.

"I never hesitate to take the opportunities that life offers, as I believe that an opportunity is like a lucky bird: it might come just once in your life or maybe a few times and when it does, I am going to do my best to take it. I also believe in honesty. I live my life my life based on being honest; I am honest about my feelings. I am honest to people as I do believe that if you do good things, you will get that back in return.

"I am pretty content with my life now although I still have some things to deal with. I feel that I am doing well for my age, and I am very content with how far I have come. But my real measure of success is seeing my mother smile, as she means the whole world to me. She has been through a lot of things and I would do anything to just make her happy for the rest of her life. I do not do it because I feel it is an obligation, since in Thai culture children are expected to look after their parents when they get old. I do it from the bottom of my heart because I truly want her to be happy.

"I am thankful for this 'lucky bird' to sell on your site, which has given me such a brilliant opportunity to express myself and my art to the world. I am thankful to the local NOVICA team who has been working really hard in helping artists worldwide to show the world their talents. Moreover, I am thankful to all the clients from the bottom of my heart for their wonderful support.""