The Story of Tamay & Me
High in the mountains of northern Vietnam, where mist lingers over rice terraces and tradition weaves through daily life, is a story of embroidery that speaks of language, legacy, and a decent livelihood. This is where Tamay & Me was born, a collaboration rooted in friendship and dedicated to sustaining the intricate, time-honoured textile practices of the Mien people.
Tamay, a skilled Mien embroiderer, met Hannah in 2008 and began teaching her the precise, counted stitch embroidery passed from mother to daughter for generations. Over three months, they worked side by side on a single delicate piece, sewing not only stitches but a deep bond. Their mission has been to preserve this remarkable craft, ensuring it remains a source of pride and sustainable income for Mien artisans.
At the heart of Tamay & Me is an unwavering commitment to slow, ethical fashion. Every embroidered jacket is an homage to the traditional Mien men's garment, and is made from homegrown, hand-spun, and handwoven cotton. Tamay personally sources the cotton, riding three hours on her motorbike through local villages to collect it.
The White Thai community carefully cultivates this cotton alongside rice and indigo, ensuring a holistic and chemical-free approach to textile production. The indigo is fermented, and then the cloth is dip-dyed 21 times over the course of a week, which yields a deep, rich blue that speaks to centuries of dyeing mastery.
In the village of Taphin - a small mountain village in the North of Vietnam near to Sapa and the Chinese border - most people are Mien and speak Mien as their first language. They identify themselves through their tiny counted stitch embroidery. The more beautiful the embroidery, the more respect a woman earns in the village, and Mien women dedicate months to crafting intricate patterns on garments, with motifs symbolising rice paddies, family, and nature.
One of Tamay and Me's longstanding customers, Gabes Morris, describes her visit to Tamay's tribe during a trip to Vietnam. Whilst choosing pieces of embroidery to take home, she describes herself sitting amongst countless scraps of material, trying in vain to reorganise them to return to each individual seller. Of the embroiderers in the village, she says,
“They just laughed. To me, each piece of embroidery looked so similar, but they knew. They knew exactly which pieces were theirs. Some weren’t even their own work but their mothers, their grandmothers, and yet they knew instinctively. I realised how engrained embroidery is for them. It runs in their veins”
Each stitch is a narrative of cultural memory, yet this tradition faces an uncertain future. Modernisation, tourism, and education have transformed life in the mountains, posing both opportunities and challenges to heritage preservation. Through evolving collections such as the ‘Dye Yam’ and ‘Stitch and Tie Resist’ series, Tamay & Me has expanded its work to support more villages, now joined by Lucy from Mountain Threads Textiles. Together, they provide flexible employment that harmonises with rural life, allowing women to balance embroidery with family, farming, and festivals. Importantly, Tamay carefully selects reclaimed embroideries for the jackets from the families most in need, ensuring the economic impact reaches as many hands as possible.
Aligned with global sustainability goals, Tamay & Me champions gender equality, responsible production, and ethical labor. By choosing a Tamay & Me creation, customers do more than purchase a garment or accessory - they become part of a story that honours skill, tradition, and a profound connection between maker and wearer. Each jacket carries the spirit of Mien culture, connecting women to the land, the mountains, and their community, and the lineage of each purchase is always made available to customers, ensuring these stories endure.
In a fast-paced world, these textiles remind us that the most beautiful things take time. Tamay & Me stitches together a future where heritage thrives, and artisans continue to create with pride. Their work is a testament to the power of handmade textiles - not just as garments, but as a living history.
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For further information, visit:
Tamay and Me in the Selvedge Shop
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Image Credits:
Tamay & Me