Our History...

The word 'soteah' (pronounced suh • tee • uh) means kindness in the Khmer language of Cambodia. It was the kindness of the people of Cambodia that inspired Laura Vann to co-found Soteah with her business partner Vicki Swift in 2008, after Laura returned from spending two years training and supporting Cambodian artisans in textile design.

Our Products...

Each of our products is designed by Laura Vann and handmade by Cambodian artisans, capturing some of the natural beauty and elegance of south-east Asia.

We choose very carefully which groups we work with, ensuring both the highest standards of quality for our accessories and the highest levels of fairness in the treatment of our artisans. You can find out more about these artisans by clicking here.

Our Vision...

Soteah exists to connect its customers with the finest range of homeware accessories from Cambodia and - in so doing - to ensure that artisans who would otherwise be unemployed and shunned by society can fulfil their creative potential and earn a living for themselves and their families.

Our Values...

We believe in values. We believe they should shape the way our products are made, the way our artisans are treated, even the way we do business. Here is a bit more about what we believe...

Relationships: We choose to treat our customers in a personable and friendly way. Through our products, pictures and stories, we also look to create a connection between our customers and the Cambodian artisans behind the products.

Integrity: We aim for integrity in the way we do business. That means being open and honest about how our products have been made, where they have been made and who they have been made by.

Creativity: We encourage creativity, both within our products – which capture some of the beauty and creativity of Cambodian and its culture – and also in the artisans themselves, who have carefully handmade each of our accessories.

Nature: We look for inspiration in nature. Not only are our designs inspired by the natural beauty of southeast Asia, we also try wherever possible to use locally-sourced natural materials such as coconut shells, sea shells, palm wood and natural dyes in our range.

Fairness: We are committed to fairness on behalf of our artisans. Call it Fair Trade or ethical business, we ensure our artisans receive a fair wage and working conditions, whilst also using a proportion of our profits to extend training and employment opportunities to other disadvantaged Cambodians.