Vietnamese Embroideries

Probably the main items I planned to buy on the trip to Vietnam were the gorgeous hand embroidered pictures. They are only done in northern Vietnam. In southern Vietnam they also do embroideries but they are different subjects and only the center of the picture is embroidered. The ones I purchase are totally embroidered usually with just a single thread and beautifully detailed. The first one is taken from a painting by a Vietnamese artist. I happened to meet her by chance in an art gallery in Melacca, Malaysia. Along with the original painting. I asked her if she minded that her painting was being copied all over the place and she said no. These women are setting fish traps. I sell the largest version...12" X 16" for $24.
A peaceful fishing village. I also have two smaller versions of most of the embroideries for $9 and $14.

This is the famous Halong Bay around 90 miles from Hanoi. The actual embroidery is more blue than my photo. Unfortunately I see a bad trend on the horizon. When i travel around the world I sadly notice the demise of some beautiful crafts and I had expected that eventually this one would fall on hard times. On this trip (after only a year since the last one) I found fewer embroidery shops. And even worse I found that they are making a new style. The embroidery on the left is the same as the embroidery on the right. THE DIFFERENCE IS THAT THERE IS NO EMBROIDERY ON THE BLACK FABRIC ON THE LEFT. The picture on the right is the old style and totally embroidered.
Same thing. New style on the left with plain background. The new style is quite pretty but sells for almost as much as the old style. I am sure tourists will love them and buy them. But sadly they won't be as wonderful as the current embroideries.