Materials of the Blue H’mong

Wax, Indigo & Hemp

The New Year took us to new territories: we traveled to Vietnam for a week-long scoping trip facilitated by the British Council.

The aim of the trip was to spark new conversations between the designers and artisans, which will culminate in new collaborations between the UK and Vietnam for a series of events and showcases in September 2023.

Photo: Benjamin Reich @Kilomet109

Crafting Without Borders

In January 2022, we had the chance to initiate a collaboration online with a group of artisans from the Blue Hmong, in a project named Crafting Without Borders, supported by the British Council. The exchange was facilitated by our friends Thao Vu and Benjamin Reich, founders of Kilomet109, an eco fashion label based in Hanoi, who celebrates and revives Vietnamese traditional craft by collaborating with several small groups of artisans in the country.

To foresee the opportunity to pursue this collaboration, we travelled to Vietnam in early 2023, to meet in person the community of makers in Pa Co village, in the Northern Mountains of Vietnam. They master traditional crafts including paper making, hemp weaving, indigo dyeing and batik print making.

Natural Materials

During our trip, we had a glimpse into the everyday life and routines of the makers. We also had the chance to join key moments of their trips into the forest to harvest raw materials, for the various crafts.

Upon our arrival at Pa Co village, we were guided by the craftswomen over mountains and hills to reach the forest a few kilometres away. We were amazed by the tacit knowledge embedded in so many aspects of their living and craft knowledge. All of the materials in their crafts, is hyper local, sourced only a few miles away from their village. Bamboo, hemp and indigo are grown and harvested in the nearby forest and fields, while wax is sourced from wild hives from around the mountains.

Cross-pollinating craft techniques

From London, we brought some presents to the group : some of our candles and waxed linen flowers.

We were touched by the generosity, openness and creative ingenuity of the community. In just a few hours after our arrival, the makers were already making their own version of waxed paper flowers; embedding plants collected in their surroundings and fusing them between the waxed sheets.

Young woman making waxed paper flowers

A mixed bouquet of London Waxed Linen Flowers and botanical specimens embedded in waxed paper freshly made by the female makers during out visit.

From the forest to the village: preparing to boil the bamboo shoots to soften the fibres for making paper.

Pouring a thin layer of bamboo fibres mixed with water onto a thin mesh. The next step of the process consists in leaving it to dry for a few days.

Hemp fibre and candle making

One of the eldest maker in the group - a Master maker, aged 75 - demonstrated the making of hemp yarn and together we started making a few meters which we propose to use as a wick for candles.

We could not resist sharing with the group our candle making technique. Despite the lack equipment available on-site, as soon as we had hot wax, we knew we could improvise! So we and adapted our method to their equipment by pouring melted wax onto the hemp wick, using a ladle.

That simple layout resonated with the workshop of Doña Viviana last summer in Mexico. (read our article)

Photo by Benjamin Reich @kilomet109

Hemp wick and beeswax from Pa Co Village

Photo by Benjamin Reich @kilomet109