Jim Thompson Thai Silk Company

The Jim Thompson product line, which is named after its founder and one of the most well-known Americans in the history of Thailand, has been around since 1951 (see the Jim Thompson sidebar on page 79). The company’s products were brought to Atlanta in 1993 when Jerry Pair and Avis Cahoon’s partnership became the authorized distributor for North America.

Today, Vice President and General Manager Chad Holman runs the operation from its Chantilly Drive headquarters, which services trade showrooms in the United States and Canada. The distributorship also plays a vital role in guiding the development of new products to suit American tastes.

Responding to evolving tastes and modern lifestyle needs Jim Thompson has dedicated increasing attention and resources to the design and development of new generation multi-purpose hybrid textiles that continue to deliver the Jim Thompson hallmark of excellence. Versatility, compatibility, disguised simplicity, and durability are essential to the design excellence equation.

Technological advances and design innovation have led to the creation of a new generation of splendid fabrics that are user-friendly and a sheer delight to enjoy. The Spring 2006 collection reflects contemporary applications of traditional techniques and the fine balance between beauty and functionality. Each collection has been inspired by one or more distinctive design elements accentuated by Jim Thompson such as luster, iridescence and ‘sai fon’.

The interplay of variations in color and graduated tones, texture, yarns and weave structure accentuates the element of contrast and becomes the technique of choice in creating sensory impact. The final results achieved are forever intriguing and never fail to arouse curiosity and interest.

Featuring winning hybrid combinations in silk and linen, silk and cotton, and other more adventurous choices, The Secret Garden Collection, Thailand Contract III and printed Choco & Midori and Amazon Lily offer a new generation of sophisticated but heavy duty fabrics for living, working spaces and other commercial use.

Jim Thompson: His Life & Legend

Nothing in James H. W. Thompson's early life suggested that he would find fame and contentment in such an exotic setting. Born in Greenville, Delaware, in 1906, he was educated at St. Paul's, Princeton, and later at the University of Pennsylvania. He worked as an architect in New York until the beginning of the Second World War, when he enlisted in the army.

During the war, Thompson worked with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), and it was in this capacity that he came to Asia as part of a group scheduled to parachute into Thailand. When Japan surrendered in August 1945, he arrived in Thailand by more conventional means, just two days after the end of hostilities. The beauty and friendliness of the country and its people immediately appealed to him, and, upon receiving his discharge from the service, he decided to settle down and make it his home.

After working for a year or so on a project to restore the old Oriental Hotel, his interest turned to the commercial possibilities of Thai silk, an ancient handicraft that was fast disappearing due to competition from cheaper, machine-made fabrics.

Convinced that the beauty and quality of the material would have an appeal outside Thailand, Thompson assembled a small collection and took it to show friends in New York. There the response was sufficiently enthusiastic for him to return to Bangkok and, with a group of shareholders, start the Thai Silk Company, Ltd.

The business was by no means an overnight success. There were technical problems to overcome - the introduction of color-fast dyes, for instance - but Thompson's confidence and commitment attracted more weavers and steadily more customers. A major turning point was the decision to use Thai silk for costumes in "The King and I", both on the stage an in the film version. Fashion designers and interior decorators were also attracted to the shimmering fabric, and exports, as well as local sales, began to expand. By the 1960s, there were over a hundred other silk companies in Thailand, giving employment to thousands of Thais, and silk had become perhaps the country's most famous single product.

At the same time, Thompson was also becoming increasingly interested in Southeast Asian art and domestic Thai architecture. These two interests were memorably combined when he built the famous residence.

In March 1967, Jim Thompson went for a holiday with friends to the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. There, he presumably went for a walk in the surrounding jungle and never returned, leaving behind an enduring mystery.

William Warren, "The Jim Thompson House"