Upon visiting the pottery and ceramic workshop, I found it absolutely mind-boggling that these men and women work hard, long, labor-intensive hours hand-making such incredible pieces of artwork, when in return, they sell these pieces at such a low cost. As our guide was walking us through the steps it takes in order to complete a piece, starting with transporting the clay and keeping it moist in the factory to adding the finishing glaze and firing it in the kilm making it showroom ready, I was intrigued as to how much they sold each finished product for. In addition, watching the level of precision the women painted with, I assumed that even the simplest looking mug or teacup would be sold at somewhat similar prices as to those we see in the US, or at least more expensive than the equivalent of $2.
Therefore, when we came to the last stop of the factory tour, the showroom, I was intrigued, and somewhat saddened for the workers, to see that a vase the height of me, painted in such extreme detail, was less than 2 million dong, which is equivalent to less than $100. These craftsmen bend over backwards on the detail and precision they put into their art and yet their hard work barely seems worth the $2 reward. Therefore, I can honestly say that I walked out of that factory and showroom completely shocked that such intricate ceramic and pottery pieces are sold for nearly nothing after seeing with my own eyes how much labor it took to complete each and every piece.
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