Made & Told From The Silk Road

Mary Mitchell set up Made & Told in September 2012 in order to showcase the makers of beautiful homeware sourced from the former Silk Road, and no less importantly, to tell their unique story.
“I studied the history and the cultures of the former Soviet Union as an undergraduate” Mary explains, “so I’ve always loved the stories of Central Asian textiles, and naturally wanted to share this with the West. I also completed a master’s degree in forced migration that focused on Afghanistan at Oxford” she says, “so I wanted to do something that provided people with solutions to the widespread socio-economic issues and unemployment.”

Working with suppliers from the former Silk Road evokes images of by-gone era where merchants from Xi’an China carried silks, spices and ideas across more than 5,000 miles of roads to the Mediterranean Sea. And yet Made & Told’s central theme could not be more relevant today as it merges commerce with authentic cultural preservation and sustainable economic growth for producers at the base of the supply chain.
In addition to helping their suppliers to access a wider international market, Made & Told has started a women’s craft group in an Uzbek community in Kyrgyzstan, training them in making cushion covers in the traditional way, thus facilitating preservation of craft and economic self-sufficiency for this group of women.
One of the artisans Made & Told works with is a fifth generation ikat weaver who has mastered the complex art of tying, dyeing and weaving the complex and beautiful patterns. Rasuljon is one of few remaining ikat makers in Uzbekistan’s Ferghana Valley following a decline during Russian rule and Soviet influence.  His work has been sponsored by UNESCO, along with several other artisans Made & Told works with. Rasuljon and his workshop of 50 artisans are the main suppliers of Made & Told’s classic ikat cushions.
Despite many negatives that the Soviet era brought to this region, it was also a positive time for women’s rights and education. “There are many educated and empowered women in Central Asia” Mary says, “and where women are in the homes looking after children, there are many who combine this with creating crafts that they then sell.” Unemployment is high, with large proportions of Kyrgyzstan’s and Tajikistan’s working age men working overseas. In Tajikistan for example, 52% of their GDP* is in the form of remittances as the men have gone abroad for work. To supplement this many women have set up cottage industries out of their homes in order to ensure a sustainable livelihood, but they struggle to access an international market for their products.
The most challenging aspect of all is quality control. “It’s incredibly important and is the most difficult thing to ensure from a distance.” Importing to the UK is also difficult because of complex trade routes and the lack of sufficient infrastructure. Sometimes items are just lost in transit for weeks on end and then suddenly re-appear, but this is part of the process and Mary takes it in her stride.
The most challenging aspect of all is quality control. “It’s incredibly important and is the most difficult thing to ensure from a distance.” Importing to the UK is also difficult because of complex trade routes and the lack of sufficient infrastructure. Sometimes items are just lost in transit for weeks on end and then suddenly re-appear, but this is part of the process and Mary takes it in her stride.
“My goal is to give 50% of the net profits back to the region” says Mary. There are two organisations she plans to donate to initially: The Central Asian Crafts Support Association in Kyrgyzstan (CACSARC-kg) and a project of Crosslink Development International also based in Kyrgyzstan. These organisations both prioritise income generation and the development of local skills and crafts, and provide entrepreneur development opportunities.
So what is the future of Made & Told, I ask. As anyone can see from her website, Mary has a knack for film and capturing the essence of the artisans’ work on camera.
“One of the things I’d really like to see in the future is further development of a multimedia platform that tells the stories of each product in a way where you can see who made it, where it comes from etc. I want the website itself to be a destination”. There is no doubt that the future will continue to see unique pieces and stories coming out of Central Asia through this budding entrepreneur’s efforts.
Made & Told are exhibiting at Asia House fair 12-14 April.
*http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTECA/Resources/CanagarajahRemittancesE.pdf
*http://cdintl.org/cdi/about-us/

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