FAQs
Why did I start Flying Fox?
In a nutshell – to find ways of value adding to Indigenous Australian hand printed fabrics. People like to support artists but most want to buy something that’s ready to display or use for themselves, or as a gift. The market for fabric lengths is limited – mostly it’s people who know how to sew. At Injalak Arts, where I was Mentor Manager for six years, we had an 8 metre fabric printing table. The printers really like coming to work and printing, and the artists loved creating designs and then seeing them printed (plus getting the royalties) – but we had to find creative ways to sell it. No sales means no more printing. People would visit the art centre, look at the freshly printed fabric and say – ‘what do you do with it? tablecloths?’I was thinking and thinking – what can we do with this fabric? Once I started the project at Injalak Arts it quickly became really important to the printers, the artists, the community and the artisans who made the products. It was good for local people economically, socially and culturally. The locals loved the bags and clothing, and so did the customers. So when it was not going to be continued by Injalak Arts a lot of people were going to be impacted if it didn’t continue.
How did you get the idea?
Working for and with Australian Indigenous art centres for 30+ years is the foundation upon which Flying Fox Fabrics is built – an unparalleled track record of promoting authentic and ethical art and craft businesses. Plus I spent two years in Cambodia working as a volunteer Management Adviser to a local NGO under the AVI program from 2010. I continue to be involved with the country and developed strong networks with the fair trade social enterprises that employ disabled and disadvantaged artisans. My home in Riverside was only two blocks from Kravan House and I visited the shop regularly to buy gifts and befriended the owner/founder Hok Thanan. One day in 2012 I asked Thanan whether she would be prepared to make products from other people’s fabrics. Her response was classic Cambodian “why not?“.
Why Cambodia?
There are many disabled and disadvantaged people and with no social security there is no form of government support.
Cambodia has a history of exquisite textiles in the form of silk production and ikat weaving. Many artisans perished during the Khmer Rouge years and craft traditions were completely disrupted and some were almost lost. After years of disruption and war from 1970 – 1994 Cambodia finally began to experience a period of peace and relative stability so allowing people to regroup and small businesses to begin tentatively operating. Sadly many people had and continue to suffer injuries and physical disabilities as a result of war, disease, landmines and poor access to medical treatment.
After the cessation of conflict in the early 1990s it was possible for normal life to begin again and earning money through enterprise was seen as a way out of poverty. Social entrepreneurs such as Thanan Hok established their own businesses, she was the first in 1993. A number of international non-government-organisations (NGOs) and volunteers gave support to recovering craft traditions in danger of being lost and also the development of new skills and products that could create livelihoods for people suffering from disadvantage. They did this by setting up workshops and cooperatives such as Villageworks and Watthan. These were both later handed over to local people.
Where does the money go?
Flying Fox Fabrics pays a fair price for the fabric our products are made from and to the social enterprises that make them. We do not look for the cheapest production partner we look for quality + ethics, we do not try to bargain on price (believe it or not, some people do!). In Cambodia our production partners either exclusively employ or target disabled people for employment. We share and will be sharing the stories of individual artisan makers so you can see how their lives are transformed by right livelihoods.
Australian fabrics are sourced from remote community art centres. It is not cheap to print or buy art centre fabric, however, we know that the designers and printers are being paid fairly and that buying from art centres supports local livelihoods and cultural maintenance and creates real social impacts.
For any Flying Fox Fabric product 60-75% of the wholesale price is shared between the art centres and the manufacturers.
Why get the products made in Cambodia (and not Australia)?
Discrimination and lack of opportunities are the two key challenges for disabled people in Cambodia. There is no social security, there are no pensions, no Government benefits and the health system is bad. (Could say a lot more about the state of the ‘health’ system in Cambodia but best to be discreet.) The social enterprises we work with are making a really important contribution to wellbeing in Cambodia. Another good reason is that production costs are lower than Australia due to differences in cost of living – it’s cheaper to live in Cambodia. Therefore our products are not only hand-made and high quality – they affordable and they create positive social and economic impacts in two countries.
Why did I start Flying Fox?
In a nutshell – to find ways of value adding to Indigenous Australian hand printed fabrics. People like to support artists but most want to buy something that’s ready to display or use for themselves, or as a gift. The market for fabric lengths is limited – mostly it’s people who know how to sew. At Injalak Arts, where I was Mentor Manager for six years, we had an 8 metre fabric printing table. The printers really like coming to work and printing, and the artists loved creating designs and then seeing them printed (plus getting the royalties) – but we had to find creative ways to sell it. No sales means no more printing. People would visit the art centre, look at the freshly printed fabric and say – ‘what do you do with it? tablecloths?’I was thinking and thinking – what can we do with this fabric? Once I started the project at Injalak Arts it quickly became really important to the printers, the artists, the community and the artisans who made the products. It was good for local people economically, socially and culturally. The locals loved the bags and clothing, and so did the customers. So when it was not going to be continued by Injalak Arts a lot of people were going to be impacted if it didn’t continue.
How did you get the idea?
Working for and with Australian Indigenous art centres for 30+ years is the foundation upon which Flying Fox Fabrics is built – an unparalleled track record of promoting authentic and ethical art and craft businesses. Plus I spent two years in Cambodia working as a volunteer Management Adviser to a local NGO under the AVI program from 2010. I continue to be involved with the country and developed strong networks with the fair trade social enterprises that employ disabled and disadvantaged artisans. My home in Riverside was only two blocks from Kravan House and I visited the shop regularly to buy gifts and befriended the owner/founder Hok Thanan. One day in 2012 I asked Thanan whether she would be prepared to make products from other people’s fabrics. Her response was classic Cambodian “why not?“.
Why Cambodia?
There are many disabled and disadvantaged people and with no social security there is no form of government support.
Cambodia has a history of exquisite textiles in the form of silk production and ikat weaving. Many artisans perished during the Khmer Rouge years and craft traditions were completely disrupted and some were almost lost. After years of disruption and war from 1970 – 1994 Cambodia finally began to experience a period of peace and relative stability so allowing people to regroup and small businesses to begin tentatively operating. Sadly many people had and continue to suffer injuries and physical disabilities as a result of war, disease, landmines and poor access to medical treatment.
After the cessation of conflict in the early 1990s it was possible for normal life to begin again and earning money through enterprise was seen as a way out of poverty. Social entrepreneurs such as Thanan Hok established their own businesses, she was the first in 1993. A number of international non-government-organisations (NGOs) and volunteers gave support to recovering craft traditions in danger of being lost and also the development of new skills and products that could create livelihoods for people suffering from disadvantage. They did this by setting up workshops and cooperatives such as Villageworks and Watthan. These were both later handed over to local people.
Where does the money go?
Flying Fox Fabrics pays a fair price for the fabric our products are made from and to the social enterprises that make them. We do not look for the cheapest production partner we look for quality + ethics, we do not try to bargain on price (believe it or not, some people do!). In Cambodia our production partners either exclusively employ or target disabled people for employment. We share and will be sharing the stories of individual artisan makers so you can see how their lives are transformed by right livelihoods.
Australian fabrics are sourced from remote community art centres. It is not cheap to print or buy art centre fabric, however, we know that the designers and printers are being paid fairly and that buying from art centres supports local livelihoods and cultural maintenance and creates real social impacts.
For any Flying Fox Fabric product 60-75% of the wholesale price is shared between the art centres and the manufacturers.
Why get the products made in Cambodia (and not Australia)?
Discrimination and lack of opportunities are the two key challenges for disabled people in Cambodia. There is no social security, there are no pensions, no Government benefits and the health system is bad. (Could say a lot more about the state of the ‘health’ system in Cambodia but best to be discreet.) The social enterprises we work with are making a really important contribution to wellbeing in Cambodia. Another good reason is that production costs are lower than Australia due to differences in cost of living – it’s cheaper to live in Cambodia. Therefore our products are not only hand-made and high quality – they affordable and they create positive social and economic impacts in two countries.