Thai and Burmese hill tribes can be traced back to the 12th century, originating from Tibet . The Karen tribe is the largest of around twenty hill tribes whose total population today numbers more than seven million across The Union of Myanmar ( Burma ) and Thailand .

In Thailand , around 400,000 Karen live at between 800m and 1800m up in the mountainous and densely forested regions of Mae Hong Son, due west of Chiang Mai. Most villages are remote from Thai civilization. Houses are made of teak or bamboo and usually constructed on stilts to provide space and shelter for livestock.

The Karen villagers have few possessions and little if any furniture, usually sleeping on floor mats, cooking on open fires, and drawing washing and drinking water from a nearby river. They are predominately farmers of agricultural produce for their own use and are often referred to as 'The farmers of the forest'. Some speak the Karen language, whilst others speak Thai. The Karen lives in villages of around 25 houses raised on stilts. The villages tend to cluster. Each household consists of the parents and their unmarried children. Married daughters and their families may also live in the same house. The highest authority is the village priest who runs the village along with the elders.

The Karen has rituals to live harmoniously with the "Lord of the Land and Water", as well as with nature spirits in the rocks, trees, water and mountains that surround them. They also have guardian spirits and believe in the soul. They use a system of rotation over a large area of land and do not cut all the large trees down when they clear a plot. They are also the only group to have built terraces to grow wet-rice.

Karen cloth is hand-woven on back-strap looms and is predominantly red with white, blue or brown vertical stripes. Stitching is clear and decorative. The men may wear simple forms of this material in a sleeveless tunic (or northern Thai clothing), while the women wear more elaborate styles on their sarongs. The women's blouses are made of dark homespun cotton with horizontal embroidered patterns decorated with seeds woven onto the lower half. Unmarried girls of the Skaw group wear plain white shifts. Those of the Pwo are more decorated.

The Karen is famous for their use of beads for ornamentation as well as the silversmith skill. Karen silver has a higher silver content than Sterling silver, being between 99.5% and 99.9% pure silver. It's just the solder used to fuse the silver components together that makes up the last fractions of a percent. Consequently, it has a weight, bright satin colour, and feel, all of its own. Every piece is handmade and individual. The hand-hammered and chased details are wonderful and you can actually see evidence of each piece having been formed by the hands of Karen craftsmen. These pieces are not usually hallmarked in any way, but we can guarantee their origins.