mohan

I am planning a trip to BKK and either Burma or Laos or Cambodia. I am wondering if anyone knows where i can find nice tribal weaving and tribal objects? i have been collecting ikat from indonesia. I love weaving and textiles in general.
thanks

Kathie

There ia a wonderful weaving village outside of Luang Prabang, Laos. I picked up some exquisite weavings there. I also bought some fabulous Khmer double Ikat in Hanoi (I couldn't find it in Cambodia). There are some great places to buy weavings in Bangkok, but the prices are so much lower in Laos and Cambodia and even in Hanoi.

hobbes

In Laos there is a woman, Carol Cassidy, who is credited with reviving Laotian textiles in the west - she is expensive but her stuff is outstanding. Look up her website www.laotextiles.com. U may want to visit her studio even if u don't buy. In LP there is a lovely gallery in a small lane OckPopTok Mobile telP 020 570148, 73/5 Ban Wat Nong. In Camb the Artisans d'Angkor shop at the silk weaving farm has some gorgeous ikat silks - if u know Ind fabrics u may (as I did) find them too similar to Gujarati textiles (ikats and patolas)

rhkkmk

kathie---i looked at many of your pictures again last nite...thanks....

bob

Spygirl

Spygirl wouldn't even think of Bangkok for weavings, and if she buys things at all, it would only be in Chiang Mai's night market-because everything you see in BKK for the most part is made in and around CM!

Laos is IT for textiles and weaving in S.E. Asia-they are renowned for this. If you're careful, you may be able to purchase some authentic antique textiles as well-yes, you definitely have to go to Laos-I wouldn't bother with Cambodia, (if finding tribal textiles is one of the primary reasons for your trip) you'll not find there what you can find in and around Luang Prabang.

lcuy

Okay, next time I'll do LP and get the great bargains! I'm stuck with only Bangkok this next trip

Can you recommend any textile art places there, even if they are higher priced??

Tangata

You may also like to have a look at Studio Naenna, http://www.infothai.com/naenna They are not cheap, but they are very good.

Our last lot of visitors included a lady who has been weaving for over 30 years and she bought several pieces, as well as some died silk for her own work.

Kathie

There is a place in River City that specializes in textiles. They often have antique pieces available. All of their textiles are excellent quality. It's called the Golden Triangle. I seem to remember that it has moved... ask around at River City.

I expect that most of the textiles you'll be interested in will be from Laos, not from Thailand. You might even consider a quck trip to Hanoi to buy, as I was able to find some very unusual tribal weavings there for excellent prices. I was buying not only for myself but for a friend who is a collector and she thought the quality was stunning.

Spygirl

Of course, Icuy, I have also seen beautiful, seemingly authentic Laotian textiles on ebay for sale, so you might just want to have a look there!

I would have to say River City, as Kathie said, would be about the only place in BKK that I would know of that might have what you're seeking, but Tangata's recommendation I'm sure is spot on, since he lives in Thailand and would know!

glorialf

Golden Triange was a fabulous store but I don't believe it has relocated yet. I found something a few weeks ago that said it would be reopening in 2005 -- can't remember where but it was not River City. I must admit that I miss them. I bought several things from them in the past and while they weren't cheap the quality was superb. And the owners were charming people who really taught me a lot.

Kathie

The quality of weavings varies widely. I have to say that I'd never buy a weaving on Ebay, as there is no opportunity to examine the quality of the weaving, whether it is double-sided, etc. Even in Laos, there is a wide variety of quality. For instance, the LaoLao village where many boats stop on the trip to the Pak Ou caves has exceptionally poor quality weavings as does the small village you can cross to from the Golden Triangle.

Gloria, I'd love to know where the Golden Triangle shop is going. I also saw a sign, but can't remember where they planned to reopen.

mohan

Thankyou all. You guys are the best.
Kathie,
I like to have an idea of the weaving you got from Hanoi. Are they silk? Are they mostly plain with some geometric design? Are they for sarongs?
I have been buying ikat ifrom the village 'Tanganan' in Bali and textile from speciality shops. I kind of like the idea that I am buying from the source. The profit goes back to the village so they told me. I'll definetely look up Golden triangle in BKK.
hobbes: thanks for the info on carol cassidy and that gallery. I'll pay them a visit when I go to LP.
Spygirl: i probably won't buy in BKK either unless it is so outstanding. I am not sure buying on ebay for this sort of thing is a good idea. i usually like to touch and feel before i make the decision. Color can be adjusted in the scanner as you know.
My reason of going to Asia is both business and pleasure. i will be making the most out of it while I am there. i was in CM 10 + years ago but didn't know about the night market. I didn't do my homework then.
Tangata: The studio Neanna's stuff is somewhat similar to the ones i acquired in indonesia. Is silk the only chosen medium? what about cotton?

glorialf

Kathie -- I had found this online awhile ago: "The Golden Triangle had left their previous shop in River City (from October 2003) but will be moving to "Paragon, Southeast Asian's best shopping complex due to open in mid 2005". Meanwhile contact details for their export office are: 211/1 Prannock Road, Bankok-Noi, Bangkok 10700, tel: 662 411 4061, 662 866 2002, fax: 662 412 7708, email: [email protected] pac

I'm thinking of emailing before I go to bangkok this winter. When I was there in October, the Oriental concierge tracked them down and gave me their phone number because they had said that if I told them what I was interested in they would bring it to my hotel. However, we kept playing telephone tag so never connected -- I wasn't there very long.

Kathie

mohan, The weavings I purchased in Hanoi from Craftlink (a fair trade store) included a Khmer silk double ikat with human figures and some cotton tribal geometric weavings that incorporated bone beads (sorry, I can't remember which ethnic group. Carol Cassidy's gallery in LP is lovely, and her weavings were of very high quality, but she has encouraged her weavers to modify their traditional color patterns to appeal more to the western eye. That didn't appeal to me. Her prices were also significantly higher than buying from the individual weavers. I loved the weaving village outside of LP. Put it on your itinerary next time around!

By the way, I found the weavings in the night market in Chaing Mai to be of highly variable quality. There was nothing I saw that was as high a quality as I found in LP, Hanoi or Bangkok.

Enjoy your trip!

hobbes

Mohan & Icuy, there is a shop called Sop Moie in Bangkok, not far off the beaten track as in the main Sukhumvit area - http://sopmoeiarts.com/ that has woven textiles of a very high quality. Again, not cheap but the real stuff. They do runners, wall hangings, some table linen. Studio Naenna has silk and silk, cotton blends. I found the stuff in Bkk very different from what I picked up in Indonesia.

rhkkmk

Ladies--do any of you know where this Paragon mall is or where it will be? i've never heard of it..

we looked for the goldend triangle shop in may and found that a jewerly store is not in that spot...

their quality is/was top notch however...

lcuy

Thanks for the information on Bangkok textiles. Last time I was there was in 1982, in the middle of a year long RTW trip. Needless to say, I had very little money, but busted the budget to get one weaving. Still love it! As I have taught weaving over the years, I love to pick up fabric art when I travel.
Thanks again!
Lucy

crellston

Best place for the genuine article is Lao Antique Textile Collection in Luang Prabang - it is located on the main street in the old part of twon (Si Sa Vang Vong Road. The owner sources weavings from all over Laos and has both antiques and specially commission weaving made according to the old patterns. The quality is very high and this is the genuine article and the prices reflect this! The weaving village just outside LP is not very good but try taking a drive further out into the countryside to the more remote villages who will be happy to sell you weavings made in the village.

mohan

Thanks crellston.
re:remote villages. I don't mind going to remote places as long as they are safe. I would much prefer to buy directly from the source than go thru several middle man. Should i assume i can just hire a guide and a car and anyone should be able to point me to the right directions? What kind of price range should I expect to pay? As much as i know I have to bargain, i thoroughly do not enjoy the process. I don't need antique pieces but a good size (enough to drape over a 2-seater) and good design is what I am looking for. I particularly like animal motifs and figures.

Kathie

The traditional Lao weavings in the LP area are geometric. None of them have animal motifs or figures.