Above The Fray

Spouses Maren Beck and Josh Hirschstein co-founded Above the Fray: Hilltribe Art in 2007 to introduce the weaving traditions and cultures of hilltribe Laos and Vietnam to a worldwide audience. Above the Fray showcases the finest independent, traditional silk artists—sericulturists, natural-dyers and weavers of—of Houaphon Province, NE Laos. This remote mountain region, once its own kingdom, has an over 1000-year tradition of designing and creating the world’s most intricate and beautiful silks for ritual ceremonies and for trade. Maren and Josh personally select the silks from independent artists in Houaphon. Their close relationship with several Houaphon artists, developed over our years of visits, enables them to represent the finest of the region’s traditional textile art. A photo of the artist comes with each silk. In an era of rapid modernization, Above the Fray recognizes the importance of cultivating broader interest in these traditional artists, their long-inherited art forms, and the indigenous cultures in order to ensure their survival.