Cotton toy, 'Orange Siam Ellie'

Wide-eyed and sweet, a Siam elephant brings the flower of friendship in her trunk. She comes from Thailand's Community Forest Support Group and she's sewn from cotton featuring a cotton filling. Her coquettish presence is embellished with colorful flowers that are inspired by Lisu hill tribe artistry.

Cotton toy, 'Green Siam Ellie'

Wide-eyed and sweet, a Siam elephant brings the flower of friendship in her trunk. She comes from Thailand's Community Forest Support Group and she's sewn from cotton featuring a cotton filling. Her coquettish presence is embellished with colorful flowers that are inspired by Lisu hill tribe artistry.

Cotton and ceramic doll, 'Hmong Belle'

Poised and beautiful, this young girl proudly represents the Hmong hill tribe. Suwit Suthamtha crafts the endearing doll faithful to the Hmong's traditional clothing. Dressed in cotton, the face and limbs are shaped of ceramic and features kapok seeds for filling. The Hmong people live in many parts of Southeast Asia and are divided into two separate groups: the Blue Hmong and the White Hmong. Women traditionally hand-craft clothing for their families using cotton or hemp, creating richly decorated attire with magnificent embroidery, often complemented by silver jewelry. For centuries the Hmong have sustained themselves through the cultivation of the opium poppy. However, most people are now seeking alternative markets, such as the fabrication and selling of exquisite needlework. Strict animists, the Hmong rely on shamans who use dramatic methods to contact the spirits.

Cotton and ceramic doll, 'Hmong Charm'

Dressed with colorful elegance, this young girl proudly represents the Hmong hill tribe. Suwit Suthamtha crafts the endearing doll faithful to the Hmong's traditional clothing. Dressed in cotton, the face and limbs are shaped of ceramic and features kapok seeds for filling. The Hmong people live in many parts of Southeast Asia and are divided into two separate groups: the Blue Hmong and the White Hmong. Women traditionally hand-craft clothing for their families using cotton or hemp, creating richly decorated attire with magnificent embroidery, often complemented by silver jewelry. For centuries the Hmong have sustained themselves through the cultivation of the opium poppy. However, most people are now seeking alternative markets, such as the fabrication and selling of exquisite needlework. Strict animists, the Hmong rely on shamans who use dramatic methods to contact the spirits.

Cotton toy, 'Pink Siam Ellie'

Wide-eyed and sweet, a Siam elephant brings the flower of friendship in her trunk. She comes from Thailand's Community Forest Support Group and she's sewn from cotton featuring a cotton filling. Her coquettish presence is embellished with colorful flowers that are inspired by Lisu hill tribe artistry.

Cotton and ceramic doll, 'Hmong Beau'

Poised and handsome, this young boy proudly represents the Hmong hill tribe. Suwit Suthamtha crafts the charming doll faithful to the Hmong's traditional clothing. Dressed in cotton, the face and limbs are shaped of ceramic and features kapok seeds for filling. The Hmong people live in many parts of Southeast Asia and are divided into two separate groups: the Blue Hmong and the White Hmong. Women traditionally hand-craft clothing for their families using cotton or hemp, creating richly decorated attire with magnificent embroidery, often complemented by silver jewelry. For centuries the Hmong have sustained themselves through the cultivation of the opium poppy. However, most people are now seeking alternative markets, such as the fabrication and selling of exquisite needlework. Strict animists, the Hmong rely on shamans who use dramatic methods to contact the spirits.

Cotton and ceramic doll, 'Lisu Belle'

Poised and beautiful, this young girl proudly represents the Lisu hill tribe. Suwit Suthamtha crafts the endearing doll faithful to the Lisu's traditional clothing. Dressed in cotton, the face and limbs are shaped of ceramic and features kapok seeds for filling. The Lisu, or Lisaw, live in areas 500 feet above sea level in northern Thailand, and their colorful dresses differ greatly from the Lisaw of China and Burma, who dress in black. Thailand's Lisu women are always embellishing their attire in the pursuit of being number one, and when they dress up their their New Year celebration, the amount of jewelry they wear can weigh up to four pounds!

Doll, 'Cuzco Girl'

This beautiful doll by Giselle and Margarita proudly represents Peru's Cuzco region. Her colorful attire includes a black skirt and red coat, both trimmed with the legendary weaves of Cuzco. A colorful hat complements the doll's elegant costume, which can be taken off. This doll is intended for children 3 years old and over. Stuffing includes tiny pebbles. Clothes are made of wool and acrylic; shoes are imitation leather.

Cotton and porcelain doll, 'Akha Girl'

The graceful beauty and colorful elegance of the Akha women is captured with sensitive care by Suwit Suthamtha. This doll of ceramic face is dressed in an Ulo, comprising of a black long jacket and pants, and accented with red, yellow and green. Her elaborate headdress features long and colorful strands of wool and her jewelry complements the whole costume with a touch of sublime delicacy. Makes for superb gift to surprise the admirer of authentic international fashions. Akhas believe in continuity and see themselves as a link in the chain of life which includes birth, procreation, the preservation of the Akha way of life - which venerates family life - and death, seen as a meeting with their ancestors. The Akha have a poetic code of life which governs all aspects of life from waking to sleeping, from birth to death. It covers laws, customs, religion, medicines, agriculture, architecture, blacksmith works, and handcrafts. Containing 10,000 lines, this code must be memorized by the village priest because for the most part, Akhas are illiterate. Their attire characterizes their origin, those who wear the Ulo are from Thailand, loimi is worn by immigrants from Burma and the phami is worn by the women of Mawn Po Chan. Distinction is further made between those who are married, and wear tall hats or u-cher, and single women who wear u-coe, or bonnets. Suthamtha made a number of trials before achieving the hand-crafted perfection that characterizes his work and that of the artisans that collaborate with him. "I begin by molding the shape of the head, arms and legs in clay, and kiln the pieces at 1472?F. I then paint in the skin as well as the facial features. I use wire for the body, and shape it into a human posture, I wrap it with raw cloth and use kapok seeds for stuffing. I attach the ceramic limbs and face so that they may move. Then, women working at my workshop sew their clothes, I teach them how as well as about the different hill tribe costumes. Finally, I add jewelry items made of aluminum and zinc to authenticate what I see in real life."

Cotton and ceramic doll, 'Lanna Belle'

This hand-crafted doll from Suwit Suthamtha represents the legendary elegance of Lanna (northern Thailand). Suthamtha replicates every miniscule detail, including makeup and headdress, adding a coquettish touch with her colorful jewelry. The doll's head and limbs are crafted of ceramic over a wire body and a kapok seeds filling. Over 150 years ago, the people of Lanna where ruled by the king of Siam. They refer to themselves as Khon Muang, meaning "people of the principalities" and were renowned for their knowledge and interest in past cultures. They are closely related to the people of Laos, the Shan of Burma and the Siamese of central Thailand.