"<i>Sawasdee ka!</i> I'm Khanittha Khew-nga. 'Khanittha' means 'younger sister,' but everyone calls me Tha. I come from Sukhothai, which was a kingdom all its own for two centuries. <br><br>
"I have two older brothers. Many times I had to play like a boy, climbing trees for example. Sometime I got hurt but I had a lot of fun. Whenever we have a chance to get together, we always talk about our childhood. These are really good memories for all of us. <br><br>
"We live with four other relatives, but we have our own house on the property. This is a real Thai family. When children get married, they build their own house in the same area so that they can still take care of their parents. I am very happy that we have such a warm family. We often have small parties and that make us even closer. We always help and support each other. <br><br>
"When I was young, I liked art a lot even though the curriculum set only an hour per week on my study table. So when I had free time, I liked to draw. It was funny that all the students' drawings had almost the same things, for example two mountains with the sun in the middle, a house and a palm tree. But my drawing was special - mine had four houses. <br><br>
"Although art was my favorite subject, I majored in economics. But I wanted to do other things. I happened to meet a woman who wore leather jewelry. She had an attractive bracelet with a simple motif and it looked very classical. I asked her where she got it and also what it had cost - I just wanted to own one. <br><br>
"Then I began to feel that leather bracelets have their own charm because the patterns on them can tell about one's character. I bought some books to learn how to craft my own. I also searched on the Internet. I used simple materials that I can source locally. I even made a bracelet from my old leather belt. I made them not only for myself but also for friends on several occasions. <br><br>
"One day, a friend of mine placed a small order for leather bracelets with me. She sold them at a market. That was the starting point for serious leather designing and crafting. I searched for good quality material to create many more designs. I invested quite a lot because some materials were very expensive and had to order a minimum quantity to get wholesale prices. I didn't have enough money, so I borrowed from my family. They were so kind to lend me what I needed and also helped find customers for me. <br><br>
"Unfortunately, sales weren't good because I live in small town, and not many people here are interested in leather jewelry. So I contacted a cousin who had a boutique shop in Bangkok. She kindly allowed me to rent a small space in her shop to sell my leather bracelets. My sales increased! <br><br>
"I've learned a lot, including quality control. I didn't do it well at the beginning. I faced the problems of shortage of material. Copying designs was another big problem for me. I felt discouraged, but I was very lucky that the people around me came to say good things and asked me to never give up. I didn't. I continue to create my designs and, when I face a problem, I try to find the best solution. <br><br>
"These days, I want to spend most of my time designing new styles and taking care of my parents who are getting older. They need good and healthy food, and I see that they have it. I regularly take them for medical checkups. Every week, we go to the temple together. <br><br>
"I think that I am successful. I'm not rich, but I feel satisfied with what I love to do."
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