I can't resist the beautiful calligraphy "Sa", a Lao green tea offered by famous Mariage Freres, Paris. The quality is excellent enough to be part of their offering so this makes me very proud. It's a collector tin, a celadon green canister with 100 g of scented and smoky green tea. Description: LAOS - Thé des Moussons Green teasmoky & flowery «

In the 60s, Judith was a foreign American student who was hosted by my grandfather "Pho Gnai". She stayed for two months in the grand house in the Bouasavanh neighborhood the middle of Vientiane, participated to the royal wedding of princess Savivanh. Fifty years later, she found her way back and visited my mother in Paris, offering this betel set

Anou Thammavong established Oradesign, a fine textile company based in Vientiane. He inherited his love for textiles from his grandmother gna mae Orady Souvannavong (she is my grand auntie too:)). His level of artistry is probably the same as Carol Cassidy. Check it out! Interestingly, his recent creations have been inspired by the textiles of Nort

Photos Frederic C. Benson (Collection at the University of Wisconsin) I am grateful of foreigners like Fritz Benson who have documented the life of Lao people when they were working in Laos. I wonder how much we would remember the past if they have not taken what might be ordinary photos in their time and made it available to the you and I some hal

Even if you don't want to buy, connect to the several facebook stores that sell Lao costumes online. It is a good pulse of the creativity of Lao weavers and store owners who are ordering the costumes. They post by bunch of 30 or 50 photos. It can be the same design in different colors or just 50 different designs. I have to say at the end you are a

If you are in love with old stuff from Laos, you have to follow on facebook the page " Laos Thai Galerie Collectibles". I have no clue if the owner has virtual gallery or a physical one - there are so many in River City Mall though. On the FB page, we come across wonderful ancient images and documents but I also see truly remarkable reproductions o

Some well done videos of recent weddings in Laos. These are full length video that can give you a pretty good feel of today's wedding and the way of life of some wealthier families. It's not an endorsement - some stuff are tooo much, too nouveaux riches -- but is a testimonial of Laos' today. The wedding of Soukdaly Vongsay, as narrated by her brid

In the region, it is difficult to match the creativity of Lao weavers, in particular when it comes to wedding costumes. The quality of the silk, from China, the golden threads and the marriage of colors make them very unique. No wonder why there are so many collectors and future brides willing to pay thousands of dollars for a set. Look at this ani

There are always these wonderful encounters in life that bring you the warmth of a sunny day and friendship for life. Julia is one of these people. She cares as much for people as she cares for old and damaged textiles, the expertise for which she is known worldwide. She is a textile conservator and works for museums as well as for families looking

If you pass by Paris this year of 2018, do not miss to visit the Museum of Quai Branly. The museum is showing 200 paintings from its colonial past with a few from Laos and Cambodia. I particularly enjoyed looking at how Lao women dressed in the early 20th century, a style that still inspires our weavers. There are three or four drawings from Andre