Mother Ly Thi Khu
Mother learned to make Hmong clothing as a young girl, the way it has always been passed down, watching her own mother work, then practicing with her own hands until she mastered it.
For many years she has made and sold handwoven textiles. Every piece of fabric has passed through her hands, starting from the very first thread of hemp. Today she teaches her own children, the same way her mother once taught her.
OlySapa begins there: a space where mother's story, and the craft itself, can be passed on to those who come after.
"I want to keep this culture alive, and pass it to my daughter the way my own mother once taught me. I hope she can carry it forward, not just for herself or our family, but as a living, the way it has supported me for more than twenty years. Before I am gone, I want people from around the world to know about our culture."
"I raised my four daughters largely on my own, without help from others. Handicraft was one of the things that helped me raise them, and helped me stand on my own two feet, to have money of my own."
Mother doesn't speak English, but she teaches with her hands. Her daughter, nephew, and children from the village are always close by to help translate.
Ly Thi Khu
Founder & lead artisan, OlySapa
In Hmong tradition, a girl learns embroidery from her mother while still very young: a girl who doesn't know how to embroider cannot marry well, the skill is proof to a future husband's family that she's ready to run a household. She embroiders for herself first, then for her husband and children, and one day she passes the needle to her own daughter. Hmong textiles are also woven into wedding customs, worn and given as gifts marking a bride's journey from daughter to daughter-in-law.
