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For the last ten years, DIGS has been collaborating with
Aid to Artisans in an effort to create more opportunities for low-income artisans to build profitable businesses inspired by handmade traditions. They offer access to new markets, business training, eco-effective processes and design innovation through a network of partners to promote sustainable growth and community well-being.
Recently, we returned from Vietnam where we worked in a village outside of Hanoi. It was a privilege to work with such professionals. Although they have humble means they are blessed with talent, grace, humility and, openness.
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This village is renowned for over 700 years for making all the temple art in all of Vietnam. Imagine all the Buddha’s large and small you see, all the offering tables, altars, furnishings…all made there painstakingly by hand the same exact way for centuries. The gold and silver leafing, the traditional cashew lacquer with over 15 layers of processes before completed to achieve the glossy mirror like appearance. The last layer is rubbed with their own gorgeous silky black hair they cut and use to polish it to mirror sheen. They pride themselves in preserving this process however, they are open to more commercial processes of handicraft & international home furnishings as a way to subsidize their lifestyle and art to preserve the traditional household/village structure of Vietnam and keep their tradition strong and their youth returning to the village after school. |
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We hope you will like this collection we collaborated on. It is their first attempt at translating some of their traditional wood carvings, lacquer and leaf into small production runs of decorative home furnishings for export markets.
We had such a great time working with them and look forward to collaborating on many more projects with ATA in the future.
Follow this link to find out more about the wonderful work ATA is doing http://www.aidtoartisans.org/about_ata
Collection will be exhibited at the:
Aid to Artisans' booth #5304 Handmade Section
New York International Gift Fair
January 30 - February 4, 2010
For wholesale information contact Sales Manager Barbara Paley at barbara_paley@aidtoartisans.org
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