Dear Valued Customers:

I just returned from my annual July trip to Thailand. My July visit is when we prepare samples for the Las Vegas show and Spring collection, and I came back with exciting new designs – The LaMai Collection, which I will tell you about more in this newsletter. But this July I had an even more compelling reason for going home to Thailand – my father has been ill.

I arrived at midnight as usual, July 7. My dad picked me up at the airport just like usual, but this time my brother-in-law had to drive him to the Airport. My dad had dialysis that afternoon for 5 hours and he was very tired, but he insisted on coming to pick me up. My dad has been diagnosed with diabetes for 10 years, but in June, he had to have emergency dialysis and now must have regular dialysis treatments. I booked my flight as soon as I heard he went to an emergency room for dialysis.

So I balanced work and spending time with my dad. I believe the stronger and happier our minds are, the better our health will be. We spent a lot of time together every morning having breakfast and enjoyed our conversation about what I have done with work the previous day. My dad has supported what I have done with Sassy Thai and he has always been a good mentor on how to deal with obstacles. I took days off from work 3 days a week to go to the hospital if my mom and dad had to go to see doctor or had dialysis.

I enjoyed my twin 2 ½ year old nephews. For the first time, I heard my nephews call my name and they always gave me hug and kiss before going to bed. They make my dad happy every day because they are very funny and say things that make us laugh all the time.

There was time for work, because my July visit is always important to Sassy Thai. Last winter, we just started setting up a central facility for final assembly, helping us produce new garments more efficiently and reduce our order fulfillment time. All of our garments and products are made when our customers order them, and we try to deliver within 3-4 weeks.

Consolidating final delivery helps, but more than 60 percent of our production is still decentralized because our skilled hand embroidery workers live scattered around Thailand in different villages. So, our more elaborate styles still travel around as different embroideries and embellishments are added to the garments.

The LaMai Collection – “Beauty, Mind and Soul”

On this trip to Thailand, many workers asked me how long it will take for U.S. economy to recover. I told them no one knows, but Sassy Thai has to keep coming up with new things every day to excite our customers.

We have something very exciting for you. We are launching a new collection for Fall/Holiday 2009: The LaMai Collection. LaMai is my best friend’s name and it means “beauty, mind and soul” in Thai. This collection will feature elegant evening sets, beautiful dresses with matching coats for the holiday season.

The LaMai Collection showcases both our skilled embroidery workers in combination with our excellent sewing workers. We added the new sewing team at the beginning of the year when we set up our consolidated assembly facility. We are previewing a few pieces, but we will unveil the LaMai Collection at the WWIN Las Vegas show in September. Get your first peek at the LaMai Collection and other new pieces on our website, http://www.SassyThai.com

Made to Order, Many Options Available

We continue to get orders for our famous embellished denim, each piece a unique design that creates a statement for the wearer. We have good-fitting jeans available with a little embellishment or extravagant embellishment. Our denim now is also available in skinny and straight leg that you can place special order on any design you like. We also offer metallic bronze, silver, and gold denim for this holiday.

Economic distress makes it hard for everyone in business, but I learned that there are people in the world having an even harder time. Going to the hospital and seeing what my dad had to go through with his dialysis and other patients even made me realize how lucky I am to have healthy mind and body to do what I love every day, making beautiful Thai garments available to our customers around the world. Not every path in our lives is easy, but we decide how we cope and feel about it. I wish you all very best for family and business. Working together, we have added strength to face our problems. Like an autumn storm, rough times will pass. We will celebrate the holidays and emerge into a bright, lovely Spring.

Your friend, Titima

Lamai was my best friend through college in Thailand. She now lives in Dallas with her husband and two sons. I have known her for 18 years, and she has always been a giving person. Her desire to give to others has influenced me in many ways to think beyond myself.

Niya has worked for SassyThai as a hand-embroidery worker since 2006. She is a single mom, therefore working in her village home allows her to make a good living as well as spending time with her son, 8-year-old Army.

Niya is one of our best hand embroiderers and she leads our sample team.  Her creativity and talents make my imagination endless.

The Art of Team Work - Mother and Daughter Succeed with SassyThai.

Wa began working for SassyThai as a beading worker in 2006. Now she is the head of beading team. Her daughter, Fa, turned 17 this year and started her first year in college. She assists her mother by delivering garments to embroidery workers’ houses by motorcycle before and after going to school.

Fa also recently learned how to use computers, and so she helps the beading team and other SassyThai operations by communicating with me through email. As she makes her rounds on the motorcycle, she delivers messages and orders to our wide-spread operation.

Our little company has operations on both sides of the globe, but we are still one big happy family.