Silk, embroidered paintings favoured by APEC guests

One day after coming to Vietnam, Janette Howard, the wife of Australian Prime Minister John Howard, came to the Ha Dong Silk Shop to purchase clothes.  

After carefully selecting cloths, this special guest ordered four suits, including o­ne made of tussore material to wear at the Gala Dinner. In the afternoon o­n the same day, she returned to the shop to try the suit o­n and she was very satisfied. 

The shop’s manager Pham Hong Thai said that the Australian lady was very skillful in selecting the colours and materials. Before leaving the shop, she didn’t forget to write some words to thank the shop’s tailors in the visitor’s book. 

On the same day, the Ha Dong Silk Shop welcomed the wife of the Canadian Prime Minister. Within o­nly 30 minutes, Mrs Laureen Harper had bought five silk scarves of different colours as gifts for her mother and daughter. She said that Vietnamese silk is very beautiful. 

The Indonesian  resident’s wife at XQ Shop.

Becoming famous after serving former US first lady Hilary Clinton, Ha Dong Silk welcomed many groups of APEC guests during the APEC week. The shop’s manager revealed that its sales were 1.5 to 2 times higher than normal days. 

The XQ embroidered painting shop o­n Hue Street was the destination of the Indonesian President’s wife, Mrs Susilo Bambang. This distinguished guest looked at embroidered paintings and learnt about the traditional embroidery art of Vietnam. She then bought some flower and landscape paintings. 

“I admire the softness, the colour and the creativeness of Vietnamese embroidered paintings,” she wrote in the visitor’s book.  

XQ craftsmen also presented Mrs Susilo Bambang with a flower painting.