Silk City

Another fabric field trip for me this week: the Jim Thompson Factory Outlet. 

I'd read that the outlet is the place to find high quality, but discounted silk fabric.  Yes, please!  The outlet did not disappoint:

 

The best part about the whole Jim Thompson thing, though, is the interesting back story: 

During WWII, Jim Thompson was an American operative in the OSS (the pre-cursor to the CIA), which brought him to Thailand.  Eventually he left the government and founded the Thai Silk Company, which is credited with rejuvenating Thailand's hand-woven silk industry, which had been floudering in the face of the rise of cheaper, machines-produced textiles. 

But the most interesting part of the Jim Thompson story is his mysterious disappearance in 1967 while on vacation in Malaysia's highlands.  There are lots of conspiracy theories about the cause of his disappearance: Attacked by wild animals while walking in the jungle?  A murder connected to his past in the CIA?  A government hit to silence his vocal criticisms of the Vietnam War?  Jealous business rivals eliminating the competition?  It's like a real-life, unsolved Scooby-Doo episode!