Keok’Jay

Dear R+L Customers and Supporters,

Greetings from lovely Cambodia!  We’re having such an incredible time working on the Fall/Winter 2012 Collection with our new Cambodian partnership - Keok’Jay (meaning: fresh green fashion in Khmer).  This wonderful social business trains HIV positive women from vulnerable backgrounds in design skills. The women are so beautiful and hospitable!

We loved sharing lunch together…each lady brings a dish to share on a daily basis.  Such a sweet way to form community.

We were so impressed with their inspiration boards for their local collection, and it was amazing that they were inspired by many of the same colors and ideas as Raven + Lily!

They have a wonderful local store that caters to the expat community.  Rachel is the founder of Keok’ Jay, and she’s been here almost 4 years investing in the lives of these women through her social design business. 

Yesterday we spent time going to the markets to sort through remnant fabrics for our new collection!  

The mounds of fabric were endless…with a few surprises along the way (I promise he’s just sleeping).

The last room was filled to the brim with treasures.  Our new t-shirt collection will be made from natural died jersey remnants.

Our tote bags, clutches, and home collection will be made from beautiful natural dyed hand loomed fabrics….my personal favorite type of fabric.  This is just a little sneak peak photo for you.

I just know you are going to love this collection, and I know you’ll love hearing the stories of these amazing women….but you’ll have to wait till Fall.  But never fear, our newest designs for our Spring 2012 collection launch soon.  We’re so excited to share those with you.

Heading out the door to jump on a “tuk tuk”…our choice of transportation in Cambodia. Why don’t we have these in the states?  Amazing that 6 monks could fit in one!

Have a lovely day and stayed tuned for more updates on our adventure….Angkor Wat here we come!

Blessings from “The Charming City,”

Kirsten