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Danai

Danai

"For the past 20 years or so, I have had good and bad times but I enjoyed it all. It is pretty much like black coffee – bitter, sweet and very nice."

"My name is Danai Leosawathiphong. I was born March 20, 1949 in northern Thailand. My grandfather was a Chinese immigrant from the Canton province. He emigrated to Thailand at the end of the 19th century when he was in his early twenties. He was a very hard working person trading goods all along the river and during that time he met my partner's grandfather.

"I studied business and left for England. Engineering interested me, and I graduated with an engineering degree from Leeds University. I met Ilkay, my wife there. She went to Brunel University where she graduated in polymer science.

"In 1976, Ilkay and I came back to Thailand. Originally my family and partner's family planned to get into mining. And in order to analyze the rocks, ores and minerals, we needed to set up a lab. Then my partner's father suggested that we could also use the lab to create something representative of the area, and we came up with the idea of covering natural products such as exotic flowers and plants with gold. Well, the easiest way was to experiment with copper.

"So we started electro-plating products. We got a small bathtub, filled it with an electrolytic solution and placed anodes in there. We placed flowers in as cathodes wired to a DC rectifier and went home. Of course, we could not wait to see the results, so we came back at 2 or 3 in the morning. Yes, the flower should be nice by now. We took them out and… Wow! Only the wires were left! We tried and tried until we had our first flower covered with metal, but it really looked like a shrimp. So this experimenting lasted about two years. We had to start working professionally, because our process is not electro-plating, but rather electro-forming. Basically with electro-forming the layer of plating is much thicker and the surface better leveled than with electro-plating.

"It was a very demanding and challenging time for Ilkay and me because there were so many details involved in trying to get our products off the ground, working on packaging and advertising, etc. We had to run this activity like a proper business and, with our scientific backgrounds, this was another challenge. It was just as we were launching our product on the market that my partner married. His wife is in charge of marketing and has helped us tremendously.

"This new venture gave flavor to my life. It has enabled me to provide employment to others in my community, and they can provide for their families. From the very beginning, one of our main objectives has been to employ women, as there were few job offers for women then. Another main objective has been the environment, because we have to deal with chemicals. We reprocess everything we use and do not throw anything away. All our boxes are made out of recycled paper as well.

"I think our creations have a lot of potential. I do not think they will go out of fashion, because people generally love flowers. It is so interesting when you work for yourself. For the past 20 years or so, I have had good and bad times but I enjoyed it all. It is pretty much like black coffee – bitter, sweet and very nice."

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209 items by Danai

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Customer Reviews

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Artist rating

Total reviews

239

Cindy

From Metairie, La USA

Verified Reviewer

02/13/2021

"One of my wifes favorite pieces of jewelry."

Extremely well made and beautiful.

Best Uses

Can be worn anytime

Purchased Item:

Aqua Perfection, Natural orchid gold-plated flower earrings

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Lauren

Verified Reviewer

02/06/2021

"Now a cherished gift"

Absolutely stunning hair clip. Gorgeous colors with a delicate look. Elevates any simple hairstyle. highly recommend!

Purchased Item:

Blue-Violet Orchid Love, Natural Blue-Violet Thai Orchid Hair Clip

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Kelly

Verified Reviewer

01/22/2021

"Green gardens"

these are so fun and are not heavy at all. They are a great size as well.

Purchased Item:

Flowering Passion in Green, Natural Rose Button Earrings in Aqua from Thailand

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LAURA

Verified Reviewer

01/19/2021

"Lost in my earlobe!"

Beautiful colors, but too tiny. I never would have ordered these if I knew they were so tiny. I would not recommend them, unless the artist makes them in a larger size, which would be much more appealing. Very disappointed!

Purchased Item:

Orchid Kiss in Green, Hand Made Orchid Petal Button Earrings

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Kathryn

Verified Reviewer

01/18/2021

"Real flowers"

Love these. Have them in purple too.

Purchased Item:

Chiang Mai Sky, Natural Flower Button Earrings

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Toni

Verified Reviewer

01/14/2021

"very pretty"

lightweight

Tags By Toni

Purchased Item:

Bougainvillea Love in Purple, Gold Accented Natural Flower Dangle Earrings in Purple

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