OK when I was in Hanoi, I got a little bit strung out on textiles. Particularly attracted to the Yao things I saw.

I'm going back to Cambodia in September and wanted to take a side-trip somewhere to shop for high-quality textiles.

Is it in northern Laos where I want to go? Sapa?

I know there are some textile junkies on this board. Hope to hear from some of you.

Thanks!

Totally different area of Asia...the Threads of Life shop in Ubud, Bali has textiles from various parts of Indonesia that were stunning..so much so that we bought 2 large pieces, wanted about 10 more, but were on a quite low budget at the time...the 2 pieces were all the shopping we did. I haven't seen anything that comes close to the works I saw there anywhere else I've been.

You'd love Bali, too, I'm sure...just not Kuta. Stay at Alam Sari...reasonable, friendly, village supporting, arranges all sorts of classes if you want...we loved it there. www.alamsari.com

From another "textile junkie" I find unique textiles in places I don't expect. WHen I was in Hanoi, I found some gorgeous Khmer silk double ikat... when I expressed suprise, the woman in the shop explained that there are Khmer peoples in VN who have sustained some of these cultural traditions that have not been as sustained as in Cambodia. It was a reminder to me that many of the SE Asian ethic groups are spread out over several countries. If Yao is what interests you most, you'll find Yao people in Thailand, Laos and VN (I don't know if there are many in Cambodia). Interestingly, I purchased another Khmer double ikat silk piece in KL.

Laos has wonderful textiles. ANd Kim's hint about Indonesia is so true - Bali, yes, but central Java even more. And I bought some wonderful textiles in Lombok. I purchased some lovely textiles in Jakarta many years ago that were from Sumatra. I was stunned to see a very similar piece in a museum here in Seattle.

I have been able to find wonderful and amazing textiles everywhere I've been in SE Asia. One of my "best" discoveries on my last trip was a shop in CM owned by an Akha woman which she operates as a not for profit with the profits going back to Akha women in the villages. She had some lovely, lovely things. I was able to buy a few older items that I really treasure.

So my answer is - go anywhere - but ask, talk to people about textiles and you'll find wonderful things.

Lori, do you want to explore and buy from local people or are you willing to pay more for someone else's discovery/promotion of exquisite work?

Kim is right, Threads is a wonderful place to go as they support local weavers all over Indonesia, not just Bali, and you can buy exquisite things. They also have a web site (google threads of life). But they are not inexpensive. There are several other good textile places in Ubud as well, as well as Tenganan, the Bali Aga village to the east where they make double ikat. Quality really varies and the best weavings run upwards towards $800 -- but you know the money is going to the village.

My friend Susan Stem sells textiles through her web site and has a really good background in textile arts as it's something she's done for a long time -- she's an excellent source of older things and she really does her homework. She's in Hang Dong south of Chiang Mai -- there are several shops in CM that sell the Yao things, Hmong, etc. I also went to one of the Hmong villages and bought directly from a little old grandmother. The guide I used is Karen and he was able to get us offered some things that were definitely better than tourist class souvenirs.

I'm really partial to the Yao things myself. There's an excellent book Susan found for me called Hill Tribe Textiles published in Bangkok which helped me understand what I was looking at.

Kathie-- can you tell me the name of the Akha store in CM and where it is?

Gloria, here is the section from my trip report:

"The real find of this trip was The Golden Triangle. It was hard to find! Our driver (who could actually read the Nancy Chandler map, and my printing!) was very persistent. We were all triumphant when he found it. But the gate was closed and locked (it was after 5:30). Not to be deterred, he called the phone number and the owner came out and let us in. The Nancy Chandler book says no English is spoken but that is not true. The owner is an Akha woman who was married to a Dutch anthropologist for many years (he is now deceased). Sales of the textiles benefit the Akha women who make the items. She does have old Akha textiles from time to time. We were able to buy several old pieces as well as some new pieces. The items are really unusual. We didn’t see anything like them anywhere else. The owner is a wealth of information about the textiles. We talked for quite a while, and she pointed out that many of the new needlework pieces are done on modern synthetics, as it is less expensive. We bought a number of pieces made from local cottons and dyed with natural dyes. She can tell you which pieces use which techniques and what the various motifs mean. Note that she takes NO CREDIT CARDS. Bring cash!"

I highly recommend this place. The woman was an absolute delight. And our driver was the reason we finally found the place - he was so persistent! Alone with us, she said "Your driver is really good!" That had to be ultimate compliment to him.

My trip report is called something like Penang, Chiang Mai and Bangkok - Kathie's 2006 trip report. I reviewed several other not-for-profit crafts places in CM.

As always, a wealth of information...

No time for Bali on this trip, maybe the next one. It keeps coming up on the radar...

I would prefer to buy as close to the source as possible...like the fair trade aspect...what about the area around Hanoi....what about the area around Sapa?...can you go on a day trip to villages around those cities? Would the villages around sapa be as overrun as sapa?

I have my heart set on flying into Hanoi and out of Phnom Penh (or Bangkok) so I'm trying to work out a "side-trip to search for textiles"for a few days around those places.

Sheesh I need to do some more studying....off to the book store.

Offwego, it's wonderful if you can buy the textiles from the weavers, but there are increasing numbers of fair trade crafts stores (CraftLink in Hanoi is one) and weavers co-ops. I have heard from others that if you get farther away from Sapa, it's not as overrun.

Kathie you're right. Part of what made me get strung out on the yao textiles in the first place was a visit to CraftLink. I will look into other fair trade places in Hanoi and Sapa.

I'm also interested in the process; would love seeing it being done in the villages.

Just found this fairly interesting documentary on the site Jen referred me to:
Threads of Life: Hemp And Gender In A Hmong Village
http://tinyurl.com/27bra3

Just coincidentally heard from a friend who says there are good villages for textiles outside of Sapa. Yao textiles in particular. Maybe I'll see if I can find a guide to take me...

Great! I'll look forward to your report back!

As no-one mentioned I am assuming you are familiar with Carol Cassidy in Laos? Also OoPopTock in LP?

Some love OoPopTock in LP, others (like myself) are not so sure. I like to find traditional textiles. OoPopTock has local weavers change patterns and (especially) colors to appeal to the taste of westerners. The prices run about 5x the price of local pieces of the same quality.