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Paul Dudley | profile | all galleries >> 22 Overseas Trips >> Vietnam 2007 >> 6: Villages for Ceramics, Silk or Furniture tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

1: Hanoi | 2: Around Sa Pa | 3: Bac Ha Market | 4: Halong Bay | 5: On the way to somewhere else | 6: Villages for Ceramics, Silk or Furniture | 8: Tam Coc: A rowboat through caves | 7: Phat Diem, a very Vietnamese Cathedral | 9: Hué – Kings, Wars and Recovery | 10: South from Hué | 11: Bach Ma National Park | 12: Hoi An | 13: Nha Trang | 14: Buon Ma Thuot, an elephant, and a waterfall | 15: Saigon | 16: The Cao Dai Great Temple | 17: The Mekong Delta | 18: Saigon Water Gardens

6: Villages for Ceramics, Silk or Furniture

There were trips arranged from us to villages around Hanoi that specialise in particular trades and products. There is a predictable routine: You are shown people working on a variety of different tasks and allowed to ask questions and take photographs. That is the interesting bit. You may suspect that the main production line is somewhere else altogether, a lot less interesting. Then you are led to a showroom, with the goods for sale. Prices in U.S. dollars, credit cards accepted, calculators needed to convert prices to dong. Prices are attractive to Australian buyers, but less so for large items when freight costs are added. Silk ties yes, teapots maybe, wardrobes no.
The wheel
The wheel		 Smoothing
Smoothing		 Handles on teapots
Handles on teapots		 Handles on teapots
Handles on teapots		 And this is what we do.
"And this is what we do".
A pattern of bowls
A pattern of bowls		 Quality control department
Quality control department		 Delicate hands
Delicate hands		 Lines inside a teacup on a wheel
Lines inside a teacup on a wheel		 Careful workers with teacups
Careful workers with teacups
Waiting for the kiln
Waiting for the kiln		 The Showroom
The Showroom		 Buddha next to the EFTPOS machine
Buddha next to the EFTPOS machine		 Raw material on its way
Raw material on its way		 Outside the showroom
Outside the showroom
Raw material waiting in the street
Raw material waiting in the street		 Street scene in the furniture village
Street scene in the furniture village		 Traditional Vietnamese transport
Traditional Vietnamese transport		 Children Waving
Children Waving		 Courtyard in the furniture village
Courtyard in the furniture village
Entrance to a lane in the furniture village
Entrance to a lane in the furniture village		 Woodworker in the light of his doorway
Woodworker in the light of his doorway		 Woman with a chisel
Woman with a chisel		 Chisels and Hands
Chisels and Hands		 Prosperous street in Furniture Village
Prosperous street in Furniture Village
Furniture showroom
Furniture showroom		 Loom for silk
Loom for silk		 Sales department for silk garments
Sales department for silk garments		 Orchids among the silk
Orchids among the silk

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