Cong Ty 27-7 (Handicapped Handicrafts)

I had heard from Jim about a lacquerware factory in Ho Chi Minh City. I looked it up in the tour book and sure enough I found a listing for the Lamson Lacquerware factory address 106 Nguyen Van Troi St. (across from the Omni Hotel). It made the list. Duc took one look and immediately responded that the Omni was no longer in business, but he knew exactly where it used to be. As it turned out, the Omni used to be across the street from where the Lamson Lacquerware factory used to be! Gone in favor of a shiny new office building...ah progress. Oh well scratch that one. Instead I asked Duc if he knew a store that sold lacquerware. He thought about it, made a call, and announced that he had just the place.

The tools of the lacquerware artist
(notice the duck eggs)

At this point, short lesson in lacquerware might be useful. The art of making lacquerware (son mai) was probably introduced to Vietnam after the emperor Le Thanh Ton (1443-59) sent an emissary to China to investigate the process. Lacquer is a resin from the son tree which is then applied in numerous coats (usually 11) to wood (traditionally teak), leather, metal, or porcelain. Prior to lacquering, the article must be sanded and coated with a fixative. The final coat is highly polished with coal powder. The piece may then be decorated with a design, painted, or inset with mother-of-pearl. If mother-of-pearl is to be used, appropriately shaped pieces of lacquer are chiselled out and the mother-of-pearl inset. The process of producing lacquerware is demanding and results in exquisite works of art.

A partially completed lacquerware vase

Back to the story...we arrived at "a store that sold lacquerware" only to find a truly upscale art gallery. Before I knew which end was up, the proprietor was directing several workers to carry huge slate-based lacquerware works of art into the showroom for my perusal. I wanted to be graceful. I wanted to be respectful. Most of all I wanted to be back in the taxi headed to the next stop on the list. I am not sure how graceful I was, but we soon made an exit. I thought maybe I should just let it go. I should chalk it up to the language barrier. The lacquerware that I was talking about included plates and bowls and flower vases not super expensive art work.

I'm not sure how or why Duc thought of it but he remembered Cong Ty 27-7 the Handicapped Handicraft workshop. I am glad he did. Cong Ty 27-7 is government sponsored (think communist here) and provides gainful employment to severely handicapped people. They make lacquerware. The person who met us at the door gave me a detailed explanation of the workshop (because it was lunchtime, I could not see anyone actually working.) He showed me the work stations and answered my questions. The workmanship on the partially completed pieces was simply stunning.

A view of the showroom

The showroom was three times the size of the workshop and contained row after row of bowls, plates, vases, and wall hangings, exactly, I might add, what I was looking for!