
THE STORY OF VERY NGON
The inspiration for our designs…
From evocative French postcards of 1900s Indochine to retro propaganda posters, Very Ngon Homewares finds its inspiration in vintage Asia. Carefully curated images are printed onto natural fibres, creating unique home décor items and personal accessories that are not only functional, but beautiful and well made.
The people behind the name…
Very Ngon Homewares is the creative collaboration between life partners, Nguyen Thi Minh Hieu, and self-proclaimed tea towel fancier, Lise Nguyen-Owen. Their first product, the humble kitchen towel, was hand-printed by Lise back in 2009 in the kitchen of their tiny Saigon-based home. Freshly printed fabric was hung to dry over parked motorbikes in the yard next door and Lise and Hieu would sleep amid towers of folded fabric and silk-screens.
Our determination to keep it local…
Most of the initial tea towel prints sold at their first designer market mid-2010. As interest in their brand grew, so too did their product range and space needs. A dedicated workshop was found not too far from downtown Ho Chi Minh City and their Very Ngon Homewares family began to grow. Ms Thu (pronounced Too) started working with Very Ngon Homewares in 2012 and continues to work with them today.
Hieu now oversees the entire production process, spending time working alongside Very Ngon Homewares staff to ensure that all products are made to a high standard. Lise divides her time between a part-time job and designing, dreaming and searching for new (but old) postcards and images to be transformed into eye-catching designs and products for Very Ngon.
Very Ngon Homewares remains a small, ethical, independently-owned business that cycles money back into the community and country in which it resides. Everything undertaken to create a product – from washing and cutting the fabric, to printing* and sewing it – is done onsite by their employees in their workshop. VNH staff are provided with secure, long-term employment opportunities and benefits, including health care, annual dental checks and social insurance.
Very Ngon Homewares products can be found in a number of boutiques throughout Vietnam. For those of you are unable to travel to this vibrant country, check our retailer logos below. Purchases can also be made online.
* With the exception of some of our colour images where we outsource the printing.
Find very ngon homewares at these locations
THE VERY NGON BLOG
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Saigon, a stewardess and a surprise – how a lecturer in France discovered Very Ngon
When a customer from France revealed to me that she and a friend spent their childhood years growing up in
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Decorative, durable and very dep – encaustic tiles in Vietnam (part 1)
A recent visit to an encaustic cement tile manufacturer in Ho Chi Minh City inspires a dive into how these
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School Days – an exciting new CUSTOM PRINTING SERVICE for schools
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