Goodness Gracious Me!

If you ever feel like goodness graciousing in Vietnamese, just strike a confident pose, put on a worldly wise air, and with appropriate hand and facial gestures, exclaim ‘Oi Soi Oi!’ Go on, try it…no one’s looking!

Oi Soi Oi is also the name of the company founded by Britt Goodall and Christina Thorboll. They work with artisans and family-run enterprises in Vietnam, and bring to us products inspired by Vietnam’s day to day life and culture. Even though this store has already done a few rounds on a bunch of design blogs, I couldn’t resist showcasing it here again. The simplicity of materials and products, the close similarity with the Indian craft traditions, the transformation of daily use items into decor pièces de résistance…made me go Oi Soi Oi many times over!

Delicately hand painted ceramics. Similar achar/chutney martbaans (pickle jars) and the blue glazed pottery can be found in Northern India

Recycled trinkets

All that is jute! Jhaado (small broom) in a fancy avatar, and a chaarpai (Indian cot/diwan) in the second last pic

Gorgeous embroidery

I spy a sandook (metal storage boxes)! 

The many uses of beautiful fabrics..

[All pics Oi Soi Oi]