Her Works, a trendy handicraft brand from Lao PDR, is transforming the textile market of tribal villagers in a big way through functional design.
Souvenirs are often a gift for showing someone that we thought of them while on our trip, but these souvenirs usually have little functionality and are stored away, soon to be forgotten. This is something that Douangmany Heuangkhamsene, a Laotian entrepreneur, would like to tackle.
Founder of Her Works
‘Her Works,’ Douangmany’s textile company, was formed through an unexpected visit to a tribal shop, where a piece of fabric caught her attention. “I liked the unique patterns,” she recounts, “and when I asked around, I soon realized that tribal groups made them, so that had me wanting to meet the weavers.”
So she set out on a trip to one of the villages, beginning with ones close to her hometown of Vientiane, and soon went further and further.
“Getting to each place was not easy. The most challenging one that I went to had no roads leading to it. The only 20-kilometer distance took me as much as five hours to traverse,” shared Douangmany.
Arriving at each place and witnessing their conditions, with many cut off from the outside world and lacking access to running water or electricity, Douangmany became worried. This led to her thinking of ways to help. Seeing the potential in their textile making, with each village having a unique design, she took samples of their fabric back with her. Using her background in fashion and jewelry, she worked on adding functionality to the materials, enhancing cloth that once was only weaved to be used as a skirt (sarong).
She first turned the fabric into cloth bags and tested market interest by opening a stall on a walking street in Vientiane. Feedback was positive, prompting her to continue on the path. She commissioned weavers to supply her with more material.
From her start in 2016 until now, Douangmany has received multiple design awards, including the Good Design Award from Japan in 2018, A’Design Award from Milan, Italy, in 2019, and the L Mark Award from Laos in 2023. Her journey involved working with local and foreign designers to help expand her product line to cover scarves, suits, shoes, laptop bags, tablecloths and many more.
After over half a decade of doing business, Douangmany remains committed to sourcing her materials only from tribal groups throughout Lao PDR and having an all-female staff.
“This business fulfills me, it is no longer something for profit, it is more than that, as we are able to help hundreds of women,” she said, beaming.
view their origin
Besides being able to uplift the livelihoods of hill tribe villagers in remote areas, the business has also turned unknown fabrics into sought-after products by tourists and locals. Customers visiting Her Works shops can scan a QR code attached to each item to see its origin and how their purchase contributes to their betterment.
Following Douangmany to a village within the vicinity of Vientiane, we met Mo Vang, a tribal villager who shared that working with Douangmany “allowed me to be able to send my children to school and relieved me from many burdens.” Additionally, Mo Vang’s family now lives in a house made of concrete, with access to running water and electricity.
However, as Douangmany’s business grew, the number of products that copied Her Works also grew, prompting Douangmany to register her trademark with the Department of Intellectual Property in Laos, to help protect her brand from violations.
Her greatest concern nonetheless, was not being copied, but rather, integrity, as the business had become a significant source of income for the hill tribes.
masterpiece
“Being copied is unavoidable, but if someone copies us or registers one of our trademarks as theirs, all the effort put into this project would have been lost,” she explained.
Today, Douangmany’s story is heard worldwide as media outlets have come to cover her development. In 2022, she expanded abroad by opening a branch in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and is planning to expand further to other countries of the ASEAN region, looking to work with their tribal villagers in order to uplift their lives as she has done with villagers in Lao PDR.