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Jeerasak Iverse

The artistry of Jeerasak Iverse has been featured in Natural Health magazine.

"My name is Jeerasak Iverse. I was born in the northeastern Thailand on December 8, 1966. I come from a farming family and we all helped out together in the fields. We were rather poor and didn't have enough money for every child to go to school. I graduated from high school and wanted to go to Bangkok to learn more. It was a chance for me to try something better, to leave my hometown and seek work for the future. At that time I was only about 14 or 15 years old. I studied in school and worked at the same time.

"My cousin suggested that I work with him at the Siam Vatit musical instrument workshop, and I gladly agreed. For the first time I was training with a skilled artisan. He is very famous and considered one of the masters of his craft in Thailand. I trained for three years and when I graduated I continued working there for another seven or eight years. Then I met my wife. We got married and after that we had to concern ourselves with our careers. We thought about opening our own business. We talked about it and decided to embark together upon this venture.

"Once again I was right to try to find something better. My wife learned quickly and helped me a lot in every part of the production process. We started the business and moved forward. I still had my family in another region of the country. It is important to understand that Thai people don't really like to leave their home towns. I was afraid, but life must go on. I promised myself to do the best I could. I work hard and very closely with my wife. We enjoy what we do, and now are grateful to receive many orders from music shops all over Thailand.

"This khim pictured here is one of my favorite pieces to make. Nowadays I focus on the last step of the process, which is stretching and setting the position of the strings of the khim. I have four or five men who work with me to shape the body and paint its color, but the final step requires a lot of experience, so that the strings may be correctly positioned to achieve a good sound."