Our Roots Lie in the Northeast of Thailand

Isaan Imports is family owned and operated.  Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, we traveled to Thailand on many occasions, and ultimately, settled here.  We started Isaan Imports in June, 2000 and began to import silks from Isaan (Northeast Thailand) into the US and hence, the name; "Isaan Imports".
Isaan Imports started after my third or fourth trip to Isaan.  This area is home to the most beautiful silks I have ever seen.  The people are genuinely friendly and open, the food; delicious (if you don't mind an occasional fried bug or fermented fish paste).  I have found nowhere else in Thailand that has the abundance of fine, heavy silk as the central area of this region.  I have built lasting relationships and friendships there, but I have settled in the North.
As with any aspect of life, change is inevitable.  In the beginning, when I returned from Thailand to the US, I would bring silks, cottons and, always, a few choice pieces of handmade silver jewelry.  The demand for hill-tribe silver jewelry rose to the point we decided to look into buying directly from the hilltribe silver-smiths in the hills of the North.
In October of 2002, we settled in Chiangmai, heart of Northern Thailand, a region blessed with a heritage of beautiful, finely handcrafted goods.  In Chiangmai one finds artisans working in diverse mediums; ceramics, gold & handmade silver jewelry, wood carvings, cut gem-stones, and beautiful hand-dyed and hand-woven silks & cottons among them.
 

We Buy Handmade Silver Jewelry Direct from the Hill-tribe People

Chiangmai is still a central hub for trade in handicrafts and offers us the opportunity to present a more diverse selection of finely crafted goods for our customers.  The location offers us a central point to travel into the hills where we purchase the finest silver jewelry pieces available.  We could save time by buying from large distribution firms but prefer to inspect each piece, and find the most unique designs first-hand. By buying this way we can offer better prices and unusual items rarely found in the cities.  An added bonus; when dealing directly with the folks they get a higher price, and we get a lower price, than we would from local distribution houses.  With better shipping, storage and communications facilities we believe Chiangmai offers the best of all possible worlds to better serve the customers needs.
 

We have not Forgotten Our Roots

With five years of trade in silk we still love the silk and traveling to the silk producing regions.  While our focus is on silver jewelry, we are working on a web-site for the display of the beautiful hand-woven silks and information on the fascinating northeast region of Thailand.
The web-site is not a true catalog.  The nature of this product is such that each piece is unique, colors may depend on the seasons as many of the dyes are from natural sources. We offer a few examples and hope that interested parties will contact us with requests.  A truly unique and durable material, silk is the worlds strongest natural fiber.  The pieces we specialize in are true works of art and are ideal for decor and collectors.