Shopping for Thai Handicrafts

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Feel ‘Chiang Mai’ and images of mountains and waterfalls come to mind. First time visitors might be forgiven for thinking that Chiang Mai’s important attractions and activities include temple tours and trekking, and that the Northern culture is defined by colourfully dressed hill tribe folk and an ancient moat. But one of the city’s greatest selling points is its wonderful shopping and the Baan Tawai craft centre south of the city is a cornucopia of handicrafts, residence décor and Asian cultural souvenirs.

Few people come to Chiang Mai without having an evening spent wandering the famous Night Bazaar and going residence with a lot far more than they intended. The range and prices of goods on display are astonishing, featuring every little thing from antiques to Zen art. But this is merely a convenient warm up for Baan Tawai, where several of the crafts are created and sold at much cheaper prices.

“We had a wonderful day there” says, Judy Hickman, from Kansas City. “In the finish I spent much more than a thousand dollars, and the lady at the shop is shipping for me”. She confessed that she didn’t intend to redecorate her residence although on holiday but the prices had been too good to ignore. “They’re generating us a hyacinth sofa for out Television room and we got a bunch of awesome Buddha carvings, 1 huge 1 for our lounge wall” she gushes.

The area has been an artisan centre for quite some time, but with the influx of tourism it has expanded considerably in the past 5 years and now consists of numerous arcades of stalls and little shops, with a entire new wing recently added. The road leading to the centre is also lined with bigger shops dealing in furniture, outdoor ceramics and antiques. Handicraft dealers from all more than the world now fly in frequently to stock their shops abroad, spawning a entire business of sourcing agents and logistics support.

But if you’re just here for a little souvenir shopping you won’t regret squeezing a half day tour in to your Northern Thailand schedule. Baan Tawai is the least expensive spot in Thailand to locate silk, antique reproductions, incense, candles, oil and soap gift packs, ornaments, lamps, bamboo goods, wall hangings, frames, vases and a lot much more. They can all be identified on marketplace stalls at tourist centres in Bangkok, Phuket and Samui, but the range is far much less and the mark-up almost 200 per cent. Most the items on display at Baan Tawai are uniquely Thai, many characteristically Northern and hand created from natural materials.

Wood is definitely the spirit of the location, with a lot of carved figurines, Buddhist art pieces, décor items and wall hangings. But the Thai have a knack for creativity and the range has diversified incredibly in current years, introducing contemporary designs and suggestions. Many of the shops construct teak furniture, created to order, at stunning costs. And despite the fact that a bedside table doesn’t specifically fit into your suitcase, a expert packing and shipping infra-structure has developed which means you merely have to show up with your credit card.

Apart from spending dollars, just wandering amongst the shops and seeing the artisans at function is fun. The Thai are extremely gifted with their hands and you can see them weaving rattan, carving busts, painting, adding colourful finishes to figurines, or applying delicate lacquer work in time-worn traditions. Yet another great aspect of Baan Tawai is the pride that the shop owners take in decorating their small shops. Chiang Mai has a distinctively romantic character and the locals love to develop tiny ponds, gardens, water functions and displays in the shops, hotel lobbies, restaurants, galleries and coffee shops all more than the city. But by far the very best little tropical gardens can be discovered at Baan Tawai.

Baan Tawai is also renowned for Asian antiques, some of which rank amongst the world’s greatest. Chiang Mai is possibly one of the ideal locations in the region to uncover not only useful pieces but quite authentic searching reproductions. Right after all, for 200,000 baht you can turn out to be the proud owner of a late-eighteenth century Burmese Buddha head created from marble or you can outfit your entire apartment with equally impressive searching copies for the very same price.

“There’s a bigger market now for reproductions”, says Khun Monsit Boonvipatsavee, owner of Chilli Antiques – 1 of the most established dealers in town. “Now antiques are extremely expensive and tough to spot, that’s okay if you’re a dealer, but now men and women are just searching for something that looks old”, he explains. His gallery on the Hang Dong–Sarapi road has some amazing examples of ancient-looking Buddha figurines, bronze bowls, pewter and Burmese masks. He has perfected approaches of burying newly crafted pieces soaked in acid to speed up the aging procedure to create truly impressive pieces of pseudo antiquity. Aged bronze Buddha heads are quite well-liked accessories on the décor list of the expensive villas in Phuket and Samui and his pieces can be found in some the country’s most pricey hotels.

Thai goods are fast becoming well-known the globe more than, they are low cost and beautifully crafted. From silk bed throws to the ubiquitous triangle cushions, the distinctive styles are now identified on flea markets and in decors shops from London to Christchurch. You might not have planned to take too considerably back with you but when you discover the delightful goods obtainable and the rates, you’re most likely to be dashing to one of those luggage stalls at the night industry.

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Social tagging: ancient moat > night bazaar > northern culture > thai handicrafts > zen art

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