At House of Kelleher, we want to support our customers with luxurious, quality goods that nurture your soul and surround you with beauty; while supporting craftsmen, communities, and our environment.
That is why we focus on eco-friendly products and processes created in local communities, whether in Colorado or across the globe. It is important to us to source goods and materials created by ethical means, fair treatment of artisans, and natural hand-made products.
We support Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certification, Organic certification, Fair Trade certified, and non-violence methods of creating silk (peace silk).
We also support non-governmental organizations (NGOs) supporting child education and wildlife around the world.
We use organic Peace Silk, also called non-violent silk or SilkAhimsa, certified by GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard). We offer custom eco dyeing in certified dyeing units, as well as GOTS certified digital printing on our silks.
Silk is produced by the silkworm Bombyx mori. The silkworms are placed in bamboo baskets and fed mulberry leaves. As they consume the leaves, the insects exude viscous fluids through head glands. The substances harden upon contact with air, forming the basic silk filament, which is a combination of two fibers held together by the gum. The silkworm oozes out the fibroin continuously for about 1,000 yards, forming an oval nest or cocoon.
In regular silk, while the worm is still alive inside the cocoon, the cocoons are immersed in boiling water to kill the worms and spool the silk yarn. In peace silk, however, cocoons are left alone for seven to 10 days. Once the worms mature, they are allowed to pierce the cocoons and fly away as moths. Only then does the manufacture of peace silk begin. Each cocoon is checked individually to ensure that the moth has escaped before the silk thread is spun. Peace silk has a lot of properties of regular silk, and although it may be less lustrous it is very soft. The labor-intensive process and extra time consumption adds to the higher price of peace silk.