Before Silk Project was one of the longest standing and first suppliers on the West coast to import silk from China, Oriental Silk Co. Below are a few words on the business from former owner and President, Kenneth Wong:
The Oriental Silk Company is a family-owned-and-operated business. We offer a wide variety of the finest silk in an incredible selection of colors. We also carry woolens, linens, fine porcelains, and hand embroidery from China.
My parents first opened the Oriental Silk Company for business in early 1973. Their objective was to introduce America to the wonderful comfort, luxurious richness, natural beauty, and low-cost of silks from China.
Over the years, we have served a wide variety of customers by providing silks for clothing, decorating, and costuming. Our customers are many and varied, ranging from the home sewer to some of LA’s finest designers and decorators. Our silks have also appeared in numerous television shows and commercials as well as many motion pictures.
It all started for us in the 1970s with Bob Mackie's use of our silks for many of the costumes for Cher and Carol Burnett in their television comedy shows. It continued into the 80s with Nolan Miller’s many costumes for Dynasty. In the 90s it was Bob Blackman’s wide variety of costumes for Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Stat Trek: Voyager.
We have supplied silks for many feature films over the years. Most recently, our silks were used extensively in Memoirs of a Geisha and helped costumer Colleen Atwood win the Oscar for Best Costume Design at the Academy Awards in 2006. In 200, our silk satin tapestry brocade was used extensively in Topsy-Turvy and helped costumer Lindy Hemming with the Oscar for Best Costume Design at the Academy Awards that year. Our silks have also appeared in such works as Superman Returns, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Last Samurai, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Second Hand Lions, Hidalgo Titanic , Wild Wild West, Minority Report, Rush Hour 2, Charlie's Angels, Shanghai Noon, Ocean's Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve, L.A. Confidential, Star Trek: Nemesis, Star Trek: Resurrection, Star Trek: Generations, Batman, Batman Returns, and Batman Forever.
Our silks are also used by many fashion designers, such as Richard Tyler, Bill Whitten, Bob Mackie, Nolan Miller, Rick Owens, and Katayone Adeli.
I hope that you get an opportunity to sample our silks and enjoy their richness and beauty.
Sincerely,
Ken Wong
President
Oriental Silk Co.