Thai Handicrafts
Thai handicrafts are world-famous and are exported overseas, especially in Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is the center of national handicrafts and is known for its wide variety of traditional handicrafts and high quality. There are mainly exquisite crafts such as wood carving, lacquerware, silverware, rattan and bamboo. Traveling to Thailand, it is indispensable to bring back the treasures that are personally preferred and to keep them in memory.
What are the Best Handicrafts to Buy from Thailand?
Thai Silk
Thai silk is the best-known traditional handicraft specialty in Thailand. It has a history of more than 3,000 years and is famed for its soft texture, bright colors and lustrous. Thai silk has enjoyed good reputation in Europe and the united states market. A country with a population of less than 70 million has become one of the most important places in the world for the production of silk and silk products. The bright colors of Thai silk are different from the unique weaves of Japanese and Chinese silks. The unique luster and distinctive patterns are very attractive.
Wood Carving
Wood carvings are a traditional Northern Thai art and very exquisite. The main wood and raw materials of woodcarving include teak, mahogany, monkey wood and mango wood, which can be subtly engraved with traditional or modern patterns. In recent years, woodcarvings have increasingly been used to decorate furniture, elegant screens, chairs, tables, beds, and anything that has a wooden surface and is large enough to be used for engraving. Woodcarving elephants, statues and cutlery are popular purchases.
Lacquerware
The striking black and gold patterns make the lacquer glamorous and radiant. These items are made of wood, bamboo, metal, paper and ceramics in the form of containers, decorations and various souvenirs.
Sa Paper
Villagers in Chiang Mai’s Sankampaeng Village and Bosan Village have been manufacturing for more than 200 years. All materials, silk, cotton, Sa Paper (made from a mulberry bark) and bamboo are produced locally. Visitors to Bosang will see hundreds of thousands of paper crafts ranging from miniature to huge models.
Ceramic
Mainly concentrated in Lampang and Chiang Mai, there are many large and small ceramic factories. Precious items like high-temperature baked celadon, which are processed into a variety of products, such as sets of cutlery, lamp holders and decorations.
Silverware
The best Thai silverware is very exquisite and produced in Chiang Mai, where some families have trained their skills for generations. Use traditional techniques to create silver crafts by hand with at least 92.5% pure silver. There are mainly daily items like silver bowls and personal jewelry. The silver shop is concentrated in Wah Lai Road in Chiang Mai, where silversmiths and their families live.
Hand Drawn Paper Umbrella
The hand-painted paper umbrella is a famous handicraft from Thailand. The colorful umbrella surface is painted with antique cranes or flowers and birds. Paper umbrellas are available from decorative to practical umbrellas. When opened, there is a faint scent of ink that can be used for sunshade and even garden decoration.
Handmade Soap Flower
The most recommended handicraft in Thailand must be soap flower. Handmade soap flower is a handicraft that is carefully engraved with soap as a raw material and placed in a wooden box with a beautiful decoration. Each of the stall owners is a skilled artisan, a few knives, a box of paints and a pair of dexterous hands, so that a variety of flowers of different shapes bloom in their hands. You can buy it at the night market or at a souvenir shop across Thailand. Thai handmade soap smells like a real flower, hand-carved, beautiful and special, very suitable as a gift.
Where to Buy Thai handicrafts?
Chatuchak Weekend Market (Bangkok)
Chatuchak Market, also known as Jatujak, is the enormous weekend market in Bangkok. Once only popular among wholesalers and traders, Chatuchak Weekend Market has become a must-visit landmark for tourists. With more than 13,000 stalls, Chatuchak Weekend Market is the perfect place for buying Thai handicrafts in Bangkok. It sells everything, from Thai silk, hand-carved wooden furniture, traditional Thai clothing, paper and wood lanterns, pottery, leather, basketware, hand-embroidered linen to fabric toys and so on.
