Collaboration
Nick Tran
This latest chapter introduces a modular lacquer collection exploring ritual, utility, and sculptural form through traditional Vietnamese lacquer techniques.
Created in collaboration with Nick Tran, Head of Buying and Merchandising at Dover Street Market Paris - the influential global retail platform founded by Rei Kawakubo and Adrian Joffe - the collection reflects a shared interest in craftsmanship, material culture, and contemporary design.
For In Their Hands, Nick and Thao developed a limited-edition lacquer box set exploring modularity, ritual, and function through form. Designed as a series of individual compartments, each element may be used independently or stacked together to create a single sculptural object. The work considers how meaningful objects can shift between utility, memory, and display.
Each component begins with hand-carved wood, carefully shaped and assembled before entering the lacquer process. More than twenty layers of lacquer are applied and polished entirely by hand, serving both as a protective finish and an artistic medium.
Featuring a high-gloss black interior paired with a carefully balanced matte and polished exterior, the lacquer box set moves between utility and sculpture, offering a contemporary interpretation of traditional Vietnamese lacquer craftsmanship.
This lacquer box set features five compartments with a lid that also functions as a tray. Each section is crafted for storing jewellery, incense or small keepsakes. The pieces can be stacked in different ways or formed into a solid cube topped with a blue sphere box. With a glossy black interior and a matte and shine exterior, the set becomes both functional and sculptural, a modern expression of Vietnamese lacquer craft.
Lacquered wood with a high-gloss black interior and contrasting matte and polished exterior finishes. Wrapped in handmade bamboo paper produced by the Hmong community of northern Vietnam.
Each box undergoes more than twenty individual lacquer applications and polishing stages. Each set is made uniquely to fit like a puzzle.
Minor variations in lacquer finish are a natural result of the handmade process.
• Materials: Lacquered wood, high gloss black interior, mixed matte and shine lacquer exterior, handmade bamboo paper from the Hmong community for wrapping.
• Dimensions: Approx. 15 cm height, 7 cm width, 10 cm length.
• Care: Wipe gently with a soft dry cloth. Avoid contact with water. Store in a dry place.
• Made to Order: Please allow six to eight weeks for the artisan to create your piece.
• Crafters: Nguyen Hoang Tuan & Ta Hung Cuong
• Made in Vietnam
