The Washington Post - 20.10.2019

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ EE K F5

BY JENNIFER BARGER

As I sit at my loom overlooking
the Mekong River in Laos, the
gray-blue water and jade-green
trees distract me from the melon-
colored silk I’ve spent the morn-
ing weaving.
Thank goodness for Mrs. Van-
thong, the patient master weav-
er supervising my efforts at Ock
Pop To k, a crafts center on the
outskirts of Luang Prabang, a
dreamy city where jungle land-
scapes meet French Colonial ar-
chitecture. I’m here for a half-
day weaving course that in-
volves dyeing silk with plants
harvested on site (indigo, lem-
ongrass), spinning it into thread
and then, over several hours of
hard work, weaving a surpris-
ingly professional-looking silk
place mat.
Travelers have long dipped
their paws into local culture with
cooking classes and tastings of
wine, beer and chocolate. But,
perhaps because of DIY-mad mil-
lennials or the current vogue for
worldly, fair-trade goods and
fashion, there are increasing op-
tions to learn regional crafts, too.
“Many of my clients, particularly
ones with kids, are asking for
hands-on experiences,” says
Bethesda, Md., travel agent Mi-
chael Diamond, whose Cobble-
stone Private Travel sets up tile-
making and pottery classes for
clients going to Marrakesh, Mo-
rocco. “Maybe it’s Instagram fod-
der; maybe it’s people really
wanting really individualized ac-
tivities.”
Some courses consist of an
hour or two of demonstrations by
a local craftsperson — a Japanese
paper maker, a North Carolina
woodworker — with a chance to
try your hand at their art and
create your own memento. Other
classes (such as my time on the
Laotian silk loom or block print-
ing in Jaipur, India) might take
all day or a few days, depending
on your level of interest and
available vacation time. Some
programs employ refugees or
people who might otherwise be
living in poverty; all let you
interact with locals in a deeper
way than a stop at a souvenir
stand.
Artistry tours are cropping
up, too, leading creative-mind-
ed adventurers on longer odys-
seys into, say, Oaxacan weaving
or Indian bamboo-bicycle mak-
ing. Founded in 2015, VAWAA
(Vacation With an Artist;
Vawaa.com) links individuals or
small groups of travelers to 69
artists in 23 countries for “mini-
apprenticeships” of four to sev-
en days. You cover your lodging
and meals, then spend four
hours or so a day cutting out
leather shadow puppets in Ma-
laysia or sewing denim jackets
in a Los Angeles design studio.
“I think people are craving tac-
tile experiences,” says founder
Geetika Agrawal. “There’s been
this growing desire to k now who
made this, how was it made?
Crafting really gets at that.”
And ACE Camps (Acecamps-
travel.com) take groups of 10 to
16 people on retreats spanning 5
to 11 days and focused on, for
example, batik in Swaziland or
flower arranging and pottery
throwing in southern Japan. “We
try to create immersive experi-
ences with not only hands-on
crafting but also cultural and
culinary opportunities,” says
company founder Angela
Ritchie. “You’ll get to take home
a handmade souvenir, but you
also leave with a collection of
local experiences and fresh
ideas.”
Here are several places you can
exercise your creativity as well as
your curiosity. Booking in ad-
vance is recommended.

Indian block printing

Visitors to Bagru, India, about
20 miles southwest of Jaipur, w ill
see yards and yards of vibrantly
colored woodblock-print textiles
drying in the sun in a giant
communal field, as has hap-
pened for centuries in this textile
hub. Studio Bagru holds one- or
two-day workshops demonstrat-
ing how artisans chisel teak into
intricate blocks, then painstak-
ingly use them to stamp patterns
on cotton using natural dyes
(indigo, mud, vegetable). Stu-
dents then stand at long wooden
tables, imprinting scarves,
shawls or bags with paisley, leaf
or elephant patterns.

Studio Bagru
1st Floor, G7/B, Vinobha Marg,
Opp. Magpie Villa, C Scheme,
Ashok Nagar, Jaipur, Rajasthan
011-91-199295-10239
studiobagru.com
Cost: About $85 for one day,
about $155 for two days. Fees

include a traditional thali lunch

and chai; transportation from

Jaipur available for about $25.

Italian leather crafts

Founded in 1950 to teach a

trade to World War II orphans,

this Florentine leather workshop

and school makes its home under

the arches of the old dormitory of

the Franciscan friars at the sto-

ried Basilica of Santa Croce. Stu-

dents pop on white smocks and

choose from a rainbow of richly

scented hides before cutting and

stitching a book cover during

three-hour courses, or they sew

and finish a belt over six hours.

Want to be the next Salvatore

Ferragamo? You can also buckle

down at an intensive 10-week

course covering bag-making ba-

sics.

Scuola del Cuoio

Via San Giuseppe, 5R, Florence

011-39-055-244-533

leatherschool.biz/en

Costs: Book cover making about

$160 to $270; belt making about

$308 to $470

Lao weaving and dyeing

This fiber-arts center employs

weavers and dyers from nearby

villages who teach batik, basket

making, silk weaving and other

traditional crafts, including some

aimed at kids. Courses run from

half a day (dyeing a cotton nap-

kin) to three days (weaving an

ikat scarf). An on-site cafe serves

spicy East-meets-West food, and

the textile-filled, five-room Me-

kong Villa offers lodgings.

Ock Pop To k

125/10 Ban Saylom, Luang Pra-

bang, Laos

011- 856 -071-212-597

ockpoptok.com

Cost: From about $24 to $146

Moroccan pottery making

Fifteen minutes outside cen-

tral Marrakesh, Beldi Country

Club, a Kasbah-style hotel and

garden complex, has small glass-

blowing and pottery-making

workshops spinning out the re-

gion’s t rademark candy-hued tag-

ines and teacups. In the pottery

shop, kids and adults get messy

turning clay pots, cups or bowls

on the wheel, which the staff will

then glaze and fire.

Beldi Country Club

Kilometer 6, Route de Barrage,

Cherifia, Marrakesh, Morocco

011-212-5-24-38-39-50

beldicountryclub.com/en

Cost: About $20 for adults, about

$10 for children

Appalachian mountain crafts

This school and arts space, in

a bucolic setting about a two-

hour drive from Chattanooga,

Te nn., or Asheville, N.C., opened

in 1925 to preserve Appalachian

folk crafts. More than 860 week-

long or weekend classes in sub-

jects as varied as “Sweetgrass

Baskets” and “Forging an Axe”

are taught by acclaimed

craftspeople. Students can also

book cozy on-site lodgings and

wholesome meals.

John C. Campbell Folk School

One Folk School Road, Brass-

town, N.C.

828 -837-2775

folkschool.org

Cost: Rates run from $354 to

$898

Macrame and more

Do all current design trends —

the return of macrame hangings,

pots of succulents — originate in

Los Angeles? Maybe, and stu-

dents can learn how to do these

and other West Coast-cool crafts

at Makers Mess, which holds

classes in a slick Silver Lake

storefront (and, through 2019, a

pop-up downtown). Participants

scoot a brightly hued Eames chair

up to a long wooden table for

hands-on instruction in produc-

ing marbled clay coasters, felted

pet portraits, leather sandals and,

yes, macrame. Classes last two to

five hours.

Makers Mess

602 N. Hoover St., Los Angeles

213 -448-4002

makersmess.com

Cost: From $46 to $230 (for more

complex crafts, such as making

leather sandals)

American glass making

In a bright, industrial-chic

workshop at this New York mu-

seum, adults and kids 4 and older

can try glass blowing, etching and

fusing. Slip on safety goggles for

highly supervised 20- to 40-min-

ute classes at one of the world’s

largest showplaces for glass, where

students turn out a pendant, a

picture frame or even a wine glass.

Corning Museum of Glass

One Museum Way, Corning, N.Y.

800 -732-6845

cmog.org

Costs: Ty pically $13 to $32

South African wire beading

This 19-year-old nonprofit

workshop and boutique set amid

the coffee shops and galleries of

Cape To wn’s buzzing Woodstock

neighborhood employs disadvan-

taged artisans who use colorful

beads and wire to string and

shape life-size lion busts, holiday

ornaments shaped like the Afri-

can continent, and mini soccer

cleats. Ninety-minute classes

help children and adults con-

struct keychains, bracelets or

small bowls.

Streetwires Artist Collective

354 Albert Rd., Cape To wn, South

Africa

011-27-21-426-2475

Cost: About $20; book in advance

for weekday-only sessions

Argentine fileteado painting

Stroll older Buenos Aires

neighborhoods such as San Te l-

mo and La Boca and you’ll spot

business signs and the occasional

vintage bus festooned with swirl-

ing calligraphy letters, carni-

valesque colors and elaborate

scrollwork. That’s fileteado, a

homegrown painting style start-

ed by 19th-century Italian immi-

grants and continued by artists

such as Alfredo Genovese, who

teaches frequent two-hour group

classes at his Fileteado Porteño

Workshop. Participants craft a

small decorated plaque.

Fileteado Porteño Workshop

Admiral FJ Segui 1465, Buenos

Aires

011-54-11-4581-0798

fileteado.com

Cost: About $110

English silversmithing

On a 60-foot longboat parked

in England’s scenic Worcester-

shire Canals (about 45 minutes

from Stratford-upon-Avon),

silversmith Jonathan Kettle

teaches small groups day-long

courses on making rings, crosses

and bracelets. Participants also

get cake, tea and, in cooler

months, a chance to cozy up by

the tiny wood stove on board.

The Silver Jewelry Boat

No fixed address

011- 44 -07845-826415

thesilverjewelleryboat.co.uk

Cost: About $110

[email protected]

Barger is a writer based in the

District. Her website is

jennbarger.com. Find her on

Instagram: @dcjnell and

@thesouvenirist.

For crafty travelers, DIY classes are the ultimate souvenir

Local artisans teach

visitors lessons in

crafting and culture

OCK POP TOK

MAKERS MESS

MAKERS MESS

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Students at Ock Pop Tok in Luang Prabang, Laos, learn to spin and weave silk with local craftspeople. A

participant at Makers Mess in Los Angeles works on hoop embroidery. Colorful threads and other materials for the embroidery at

Makers Mess, which also offers hands-on instruction in producing leather sandals and other goods. Vacation With an Artist helps

individuals or small groups book “mini-apprenticeships” with craftspeople, such as a Malaysian leather puppet carver.

VACATION WITH AN ARTIST

“I think people are

craving tactile

experiences.

There’s been this

growing desire to

know who made

this, how was it

made? Crafting

really gets at

that.”

Geetika Agrawal, founder of

Vacation With an Artist