Translation of article from Senken Shimbun, May 10, 2010
Senken Shimbun. May 10, 2010
Attract Buyers from Overseas by Silk
Influential Shops from Cambodia and Laos
Mixture of Traditional Skills and Modern Sensibility
The traditional silk textile in Cambodia and Laos has flourished domestically though Thai-made silk is better known in the silk market. However, the quality of Cambodia and Laos silk are comparable to the Thai's despite the less exposure to the international market as there are high potential silk products shops in both countries that can push their quality goods to more buyers.
In the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, the Cambodian silk products shop, Sentosa Silk is located in the Sisowath Quay, opened in February 2004. The shop was started with only one sales person and two manufacturers at the beginning; however, the shop has grown to seventy manufacturers to produce the goods. The owner / designer of the shop says “Cambodian silk is all hand-made and it is highly regarded as its fine quality and authenticity. The owner is very much exposed to the international markets as many orders are from United States, France and United Kingdom. Also, he is currently interested in exporting to Japan.
Artisan d’Angkor is located in Siem Reap at the entrance of Angkor Watt has attracted many tourists. Their designs are from Hong Kong and French design wear, accessories, and scarf are all sold in the shop. It is recognized as “The largest Cambodian craft shop.” A long line of tourists can be seen from all over the world waiting at the entrance of store to shop and buy daily. There is a silk weaving manufacturer in the city that exports the goods from Siem Reap to the world.
Laotian silk weaving is well-known as a fine-craft and high-end products. There are some representative shops in the capital of Laos, Vientiane; one of them is Pheang Mai Gallary, which is a family owned company performing traditional silk weaving technique. The owner talks about the characteristics of Laos silk weaving, “It is a very fine design and it must be done by all hand-made instead of machine.” While they open two shops in Vientiane and tree shops in Luangprabang, their main export country is Japan and their most popular items are shawl and scarf. Their success is because of their combination of modern design and traditional technique.
Nikone Handcraft is the store continues to face new challenges since it’s opened in 1992. Bag and scarf made from Lao silk are especially highly regarded from overseas buyers. Though they are not planning to open other shops overseas, they are still keen to export to the Japanese market. They are keen to create a new collection of new designs but keeping the Lao tradition.
Cambodia and Laos share the common feature that constantly add new designs, colors and textures, such as using European design into their traditional weaving technique. Even though people do not recognize the Cambodian and Lao silk as much as Thailand silk in Japan, these two countries’ silk still have many attractive potentials to cater to the international market.
※ article from Senken News paper (PDF, Japanese only)
