Q&A With Sophie Garnier, The Founder Of Fair-Trade Homeware Brand Kalinko

Founded in 2016 by WPC couple Sophie and Ralph after a year of living in Burma, Kalinko embarked on a mission to connect the country’s skilled artisans to the global market. With and aim to revitalise local industries and provide meaningful work for talented people, this family-run business brings sustainable, fair-trade homeware that makes a difference into homes worldwide.

Read on for our interview with the brand's co-founder, Sophie Garnier, to learn how their beautiful handmade products, crafted in tiny Burmese villages, are brought to the UK. As a former Wedding Present Company couple, Sophie and Ralph also share their favourite wedding gift ideas.

And because we live in Burma, and have made a life here, we aren’t going anywhere - Ralph and me are in it for the long haul. At Kalinko, we promise beautiful objects and the knowledge that every purchase means a new order for the makers. It’s that direct.

My husband and I spent most weekends travelling around Burma when we first moved there in 2015. Our flat very quickly filled up with things we had found on our travels, from bamboo stools, baskets, and fabrics to glassware and mother-of-pearl (not to mention the armfuls of Naga hunting spears and giant gongs!).

We realised that the people making these things were struggling to find buyers, as local people tend to buy cheap, factory-made imports from China these days instead. This means that the makers have to farm to supplement their incomes, spending less and less time working with their skills. So I bought some things, filled a container, and took them to the hungry buyers in the UK! Since then, we have shipped many thousands of products and increased our reach across the craft communities of Burma. 

We travel to areas known for particular skills to find crafting families and workshops. It’s an ongoing process, and we are adding to our network of makers all the time!

We look for people who are the best at what they do, who are keen to grow their own businesses, and who are happy to work with us to design products that we think customers will love.

Pretty much all of our products are made using locally sourced, sustainable materials. Rattan, for example, grows voraciously in Burma. Our wood products are made using Pyinkado, Lebbeck Wood, and Black Walnut, all local hardwoods. The glassware is all recycled from discarded bottles, and the mother-of-pearl is gathered from the south coast.

Our main motivation is to ensure that the craft families we work with are best placed, socially and economically, to prosper as the country develops. For us, this means growing Kalinko into a company large enough to support whole communities of suppliers, helping them to preserve their remarkable talents for generations to come, to build sustainable businesses for themselves, and by doing so, take control over their futures.

To do this, we need to place enough orders with our artisans to generate sufficient income to support their families and allow them time to invest in the next generation. We want to keep them employed full-time in well-paid, skilled work (as opposed to underpaid, unskilled farming).

We buy all goods directly from our makers at fair prices. We therefore have no links in the supply chain, meaning that no money is wasted on agents, and we can pay them more than we would be able to if we were working through third parties. We also buy everything we commission, including faulty or damaged items; some products can take up to two months to make, so if we don’t buy them, they lose out on weeks of work. Often the fault or damage comes down to a lack of education rather than negligence, so we use each instance as a learning curve.

On a wider scale, talking about where and who our products come from is hopefully contributing to the rise in visibly ethically minded homeware companies. We hope that this will raise the profile of sustainability in this area, giving people more choice for where they can shop ethically. 

Get inspired by Sophie & Ralph's wedding gift picks below or browse through artisanally crafted homeware Kaling in our curated online range. You can also book your private complimentary appointment in our London showroom to explore the brand's curated collection and thousands of unique wedding gifts in person.

Whether you have a question about Kalinko products, need help with creating your wedding gift list, or simply want to discuss your gift list ideas, our Wedding List Advisors and team are always happy to help.