NOVICA: Helping Artisans Around the World!

NOVICA is a leading fair trade artisan website working with National Geographic to help talented artisans around the world promote their work. I am a fan of collaborative efforts such as this, and was honored when NOVICA contacted me to do a product review on an artisan product of choice offered on their website.

With my love for the clean lines of classic Mid-Century Modern design, AND a husband who has an affection for the suave style of the Mid-Century cocktail era, these sleek cufflinks handcrafted by artist, Sarote Lochotinunt were a perfect fit!

Sarote’s designs are predominantly for men, and he enjoys using natural materials in his work. He is known for his wood encased silver pieces, and works with Indian elm wood from the Circar Mountains.

This set of cufflinks is made of brushed satin sterling silver which encases pieces of the Indian elm wood. Each design has its own name, and these cufflinks are called ‘Naturally Rugged’.

One of the things that intrigued me with Sarote’s encased wood pieces is the process he’s perfected for curing the wood. Because wood expands and contracts with the changing weather, Sarote had to figure out how to fix the wood permanently in the encasing.

This led him to study how to bake the wood dry to prevent the expansion/shrinking obstacle. Once the wood is properly dried, Sarote uses a special glue and chisel to attach the wood to its silver encasing. In mastering this technique, Sarote now not only hand crafts his own designs, but he also works with clients to craft their custom designs for them.

I can attest to the quality of this process as there are no visible gaps or hairline cracks showing between the wood and the silver encasing on either one of these cufflinks!

Everything about the craftsmanship of these cufflinks is exquisite, with the care and attention to detail being evident right down to the beautiful box they come in.

Sarote is from Bangkok and he studied Metal Forming Process at the Industrial Engineering faculty in university. After working for a semi-industrial jewellery company for five years Sarote left to pursue his passion for creating jewellery, starting his own workshop at home. Today he has grown his business to employ an artisan family of 12!

Visit Novica’s site {here}to see more of Sarote’s beautiful pieces, and {here} to learn a little more about artisan Sarote Lochotinun.

Thank you so much NOVICA for this opportunity – it was my pleasure to provide this review! And… I should also mention, the shipping time was incredible – I received my package just one day after making my selection!

Thanks for stopping by!

Photographs by Sheila Zeller. Please credit and link if you choose to use!