Son Dong Craft Village (Son Dong Commune, Hoai Duc District) is one of Hanoi’s renowned centers of handicrafts, especially famous for Buddhist statue carving, the production of ritual objects, and traditional wood carving. The village’s products are highly diverse, including Buddha statues, saint statues, horizontal lacquered boards and parallel sentences, altars, thrones, palanquins, and more.
In 2025, the World Crafts Council continues its evaluation and appraisal process to officially recognize two additional craft villages: Son Dong and Chuyen My. On this occasion, Dien dan Doanh nghiep magazine held a conversation with Ms. Barbara Velasco Hernandez, President of the World Crafts Council (WCC) for the Latin America region, at Son Dong Craft Village.
Today you visited Son Dong Village, learned about, and observed the work of the artisans here. How do you feel about this trip, from the perspective of a designer as well as a member of the judging council?
Ms. Barbara Velasco Hernandez: I am truly very excited to return to Vietnam. This is a very special place for me. Last year, when I visited Bat Trang to observe pottery making, I had a wonderful experience with that traditional craft village. We also visited Van Phu and a few other villages. Therefore, this return trip makes me very enthusiastic, especially as I have the opportunity to explore types of crafts that I had never encountered before.
Son Dong is truly impressive. From the perspective of a designer, this place offers great inspiration thanks to its very rich materials: wood, lacquer, gold, gold leaf, gilding, and so on. All of these open up countless creative possibilities. I really enjoy this visit and hope to continue learning more.
Regarding technical aspects and product design, do you have any comments or suggestions for the artisans?
Ms. Barbara Velasco Hernandez: I believe the potential for design innovation here is very large. Son Dong is well known for spiritual art, but spiritual art can be expressed in many different forms. In a contemporary context, it does not necessarily have to appear only on altars; it can also become an accessory, a symbol, or be expressed in many other creative ways.
I think young people need innovation, but while innovating, it is still essential to preserve the essence of traditional crafts. And indeed, there is a great deal of potential here for development.
Another important factor is that the number of tourists coming to Vietnam is increasing rapidly. The flight I took to Hanoi was almost entirely filled with international passengers. However, I notice that in Hanoi there are not many new designs compared to last year. I would like to recommend paying more attention to this group of visitors, because they can only purchase a limited quantity. Everyone wants to take a piece of Vietnam home, and the important thing is how to create suitable products for them to choose from.
In your opinion, when developing products aimed at tourists, what should craft villages pay attention to?
Ms. Barbara Velasco Hernandez: When thinking about tourism products, the essential point is to consider packaging, how tourists will take the products back to their home countries, and how they will use them in their daily lives. These seemingly small factors actually determine the suitability of the products.
In addition, co-creation is a very important factor, rather than simply producing and exporting to a market that one does not truly understand. Working together and building craft villages alongside people who genuinely care about and wish to contribute to the community will bring more sustainable and long-lasting results.
I come from an organization that places great emphasis on such cooperation. As a designer, I very much hope to have the opportunity to work here. I believe that many artisans from other countries also wish to collaborate with Vietnamese artisans. This is a direction that is very worthy of exploration, promoting exchange and cultural cooperation among artisans.
Thank you very much. Your sharing has been very specific and will certainly bring great value to the Son Dong craft village community.
Some images of the World Crafts Council delegation at Son Dong Craft Village
Source: Vietnam Business Forum
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