#artisan

Health

A Hanoi Duo Crafts Intricate Silicone and Clay Prostheses for People With Disabilities

“The products we make are fake arms, legs, noses, ears… from silicone. The value we create is emotional healing, giving our customers confidence in themselves and their lives — the things they lack after surgeries,” Phúc shared while introducing their products.

Travel

In Thổ Hà Village, Rice Paper Spills Onto the Streets and Wraps Around Daily Life

A few hours after sunrise in the small village of Thổ Hà, Bắc Giang Province, alleyways morph into picturesque tunnels of drying rice paper, while ladies toast crackers over fire in the streets.

Saigon

A Visit to Lê Minh Xuân, a Rare Craft Village Making Incense Sticks Amid Saigon

From inside the workshop, artisans carry bundle after bundle of freshly made incense sticks into the courtyard amid the morning mist. A gentle scent of spices linger in the air.

Culture

The Artist Preserving Saigon's Cultural Tapestry Through Hand-Painted Signs

"In the early 2000s, the market experienced an exodus of painters due to the shift to digital; it was difficult to retain customers otherwise. I didn't want my craft to be forgotten, so I started everything all over,” Nguyễn Hoài Bảo told me in Vietnamese when I visited his studio.

Fashion

In Sa Pa, Learning How to Indigo Dye, One Plant, Vat, and Beeswax Pen at a Time

My first meal in Sa Pa was accidentally earned. After a few hours of uneven rest in a sleeper bus and a short ride from Sa Pa city center to the village, I finally arrived, along with two other indigo enthusiasts, at a small hill in bản Cát Cát. A few modest houses framed a quiet courtyard where indigo vats rested, and long strips of dyed fabric hung on bamboo poles, drying in the morning air.

Music & Arts

In an Ever-Changing Saigon, Street Artisans Hold Fast to Dying Crafts

We delve into the lives of Saigon’s artisans — an animal coconut leaf folder, a woodcarver embracing modern influences, an accomplished street corner calligrapher, and an itinerant craftsman to see what they’re doing to keep their art alive.

Hanoi

Hanoi's Bát Tràng Ceramic Village Turns Historic Craft Into Global Fame

Bát Tràng has been producing ceramics for over 700 years, but it’s the recent decades that interest me most: a period in which this small village has mirrored Vietnam’s rapid economic growth.