Carol Cassidy's Lao Textiles, Vientiane

Carol Cassidy’s Lao Textiles is a workshop and gallery focused on traditional Lao silk weaving. American textile artist Carol Cassidy came to Laos in 1989 to study local weaving traditions and work with Lao artisans. In 1990 she founded Lao Textiles to help preserve these skills. Over time, the workshop grew into a place where traditional methods continue alongside new designs.

Most of the textiles are made on wooden hand looms using silk thread. The weavers use techniques such as supplementary weft weaving and a pattern method called chok to create detailed geometric designs often seen in traditional Lao fabrics. The silk is usually dyed in colors such as red, indigo blue, and gold. The workshop employs several dozen artisans, most of them women, many of whom learned weaving in their home villages and have worked here for many years.

Visitors can often watch the weaving process. Artisans prepare silk threads, arrange patterns on the loom, and build the fabric row by row. The gallery displays scarves, shawls, wall hangings, table textiles, and larger fabrics used for clothing or interior decoration, showing how traditional Lao weaving is still practiced today.