Samorn Sanixay

Accessories – Canberra

Samorn Sanixay was born in Laos and arrived in Australia as a refugee when she was a young child. She grew up in Sydney and later the family relocated to Brisbane. After Studying Political Science and Japanese she returned to Laos where she worked as a script writer with UNICEF for children’s stories based on health and education. While visiting remote villages in Laos she became interested in traditional weaving and learnt to weave with some local village women. As her role with UNICEF was coming to an end she decided to set up a weaving house to support young girls from ethnic minority hill tribes. As there are no factories in Laos everything is made by hand and only natural dyes are used. Seasonal leaves, seeds, plants etc are collected locally, working in harmony with the environment. In Australia, she currently resides in Canberra, where she adapts her practice to the local environment. A passionate advocate for traditional craft and sustainable design she works with found materials to create colour and weavings.