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Thai women owned business beats the odds
My Thai, Direct Importers celebrates 3 year anniversary milestone. Starting from 0 this Delaware based partnership has become a leader in Thai Handicraft imports to the USA.
Wilmington, DE---May 1, 2003-My Thai, General Partnership, a Delaware based direct importer which started operations May 1, 2000, offers quality handcrafted products Made-in-Thailand at affordable direct imported tax free Delaware prices. The style of My Thais hand woven silks, accessories, jewelry, handicrafts and gift items is an expression of both Traditional Thai Classical Crafts and modern innovative handmade items. Whether you have $2 or $200 in your pocket, enter My Thais 1000 square foot modernized Trolley Square showroom and youll be able to find something truly unique.
Starting from a card table and suitcase based in a 1 bedroom apartment 4 years ago My Thai was founded by Thai native and recent immigrant Uthairat Nunthaponpisut (26 years old at the time) and her American husband. With little business experience, no retail experience, 0 credit rating and no money My Thai started as a dream that various business consultants and non-profit community development counselors predicted less than a 10% chance of making through its first year in business. What those inaccurate predictions failed to account for was that for everything My Thai lacked it was compensated for by a surplus of vision, love, sheer determination and faith.
Convincing relatives to front $30,000 in cash and co-sign a lease My Thai has gone from $0 to grossing just under $200,000 since opening for business. Debt free and profitable My Thai has defied the odds in the post 9/11 economy. My Thais success can be attributed to hand picked reasonably priced quality Traditional Thai Handicrafts, a Traditional American Mom & Pop Store" business model and innovative, sometimes downright guerilla marketing tactics. My Thai is continuously campaigning online, via print, flyers, newsletters, community fairs, direct mail, PR, anything and everything, but more than anything else by word of mouth. My Thai simultaneously represents the balance of respect/beauty of Thai Culture and the fiercely Independent spirit of the American Dream.
My Thai owner and Generel Partner Uthairat Nunthaponpisut. Wilson was named a 2001 International Who's Who Business & Professional Woman Honoree by The American Biographical Institute, Raleigh, NC.
Honorees were chosen for making significant contributions to society. Uthairat was chosen for selecting alternative women made Thai products to resale in USA & working with women's groups in Thailand such as the BanHun's Village Housewife Weaving Association in rural Issan, Thailand to create an export market for their hand woven products thus reviving Delaware's lost Thai Silk importing heritage first started by Jim Thompson a Delaware native after World War II.
My Thai has been featured in numerous articles including
-Out & About Magazine December 2002 http://www.webspawner.com/users/mythai3/article3.html
-Ultimate Guide to Delaware 2002 & 2003
-Wilmington's Brandywine Valley "Finest Tax Free Shopping List" January, 2002
-Visions Today, Style Fall 2001
-Delaware Today Magazine "An Old Thai to Delaware" September, 2001
http://www.webspawner.com/users/mythai3/article2.html
-News Journal-Business May 23, 2001
http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/business/2001/05/23asian.html
-Art Matters, Philadelphia's Regional Art Magazine April 2001
-Delaware Today Magazine-Arts on the Town April 2001
-Prime Life March 2001 -www.delawareonline.com March 2001
http://www.delawareonline.com/primelife/issues/2001/march/treasures.html
-Expression, Boston March 2001
-www.office.com February, 2001
http://www.webspawner.com/users/mythai3/article.html
-Delaware Today Magazine January 2001
-The News Journal Sunday December 3, 2000
-Esperanto, IWC Newsletter September 2000
-Delaware Today Magazine-Arts on the Town September 2000
-Greenville Community News-Business News August 2000
-Also well as sponsoring "Del-Thai" Delaware's Thai Culture Newsletter
CONTACT:
Joel Wilson
My Thai, Direct Importers
21A Trolley Square
Parkside at Gilpin Ave
Wilmington, DE 19806 USA
Phone: 302-428-1040
Email: mythai_2000@yahoo.com
Web site: http://www.webspawner.com/users/mythai3/
About the Author
Joel Wilson is My Thai's American Partner. He graduted Cum Laude from Emerson College, Boston MA after transfering credits from the European Institute of International Communications Maastricht, NL where he received a Native English Speaker Academic Scholarship. Before co-founding My Thai, Joel taught English throughout Asia and later worked as a special order clerk at amazon.com.
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