Thai Silk gained a global reputation for its quality in the 1960s, thanks to Jim Thompson, a now legendary American who served with the Office of Strategic Services (a precursor to the CIA), lived in Thailand and established the Thai Silk Company -  before disappearing mysteriously whilst on a walk  in the Cameron Highlands of  Malaysia, on March 26, 1967.

Shunning automation, this cottage industry of northeast Thailand sees villagers prefer small-scale, private enterprise, producing unique hand woven pieces.

Silkworm consume mulberry leaves and then  transform from a larva to a pupa, spinning a cocoon of silk that is produced by their salivary glands. Unravelled by immersion in boling water, the single silk strand that comprises the cocoon separates into a thread anywhere from 200 metres to over a kilometre long. These threads are combined into thicker fibres before they are washed, dyed and wound into drums.

In Northeast Thailand, the village weavers use hand looms to create blended patterns and textures unique to Thailand and often particular to a certain village or locale. Near Gecko Villa, you can visit these looms and purchase your favourite piece directly from the weaver.  The design most redolent of Isan is traditional mudmee (or mutmee) with intricate geometric and zoomorphic motifs, spirited into the fabric primarily via using various colors in the weft (left to right threads) of the fabric. This is a time consuming process, where a weaver can take around  one day to create just four metres or so of silk, but such a labour intensive process belies the purpose of the cloth: it is generally used as a special fabric for weddings or funerals,  ceremonies at the temple, or as a suitable ornament when dancing attendance on  high ranking officials.