Journal
Stories behind the objects
Guides and notes on the everyday things we collect — from phin filters to bia hơi glasses and Vietnamese café stools.
All journal posts
The Vietnamese red plastic stool
The low red plastic stool outside Vietnamese street kitchens and neighbourhood cafés — lightweight, stackable and instantly familiar.
Bia hơi glasses: recycled beer glass from Hanoi
Why Hanoi’s recycled beer glasses — thick tumblers made from old bottles — became the everyday vessel for bia hơi, iced tea and table water.
The Vietnamese phin: a slow coffee dripper
How the Vietnamese coffee dripper — the stainless steel phin filter — makes a single cup without machines, paper filters or hurry.