Sunday, September 20, 2015

Green & Renewable Bamboo Lamps

Chiang Mai bamboo lamp
BuyingNinja work together with some
responsible bamboo manufactures.
One colleague brought up a subject about how lucky we are living in Chiang Mai, one of the best city in Thailand to live in. It is surrounded by mountains with beautiful Old City setting. Lush trees alongside the main streets give a feeling that you are very close to the nature. Fruits and vegetables are plenty and fresh, brought from neighboring villages. But what if - due to global warming and deforestation -  Chiang Mai loses its tress and become unliveable?

In our line of work, we are also careful not to support an industry which has been proven to be not environmentally friendly. The danger of global warming is real, while the fear is still largely at a lower level. Fortunately, we are seeing the trend of businesses socially aware about environment and slowly moving to green and renewable resources.

We love how bamboo replaces woods. Bamboo is lightweight, easily grow, and durable. We've seen furnitures made of bamboo: lamps, decorative ceiling lamps, chairs, tables, and bedframes. See in this article, is an example of a bedside lamp made entirely from bamboo. Some of the amazing pieces are produced locally in Chiang Mai, for hotels in many part of the world. We refrain from posting many more design of the lamps due to rights issue.

With wholesale starting price of only about US$15 per lamp, there are so much you can give to your buyers and still maintain your price-friendly edge. And, have we mentioned to you that it is environmentally friendly? ...okay we say it again: it is environmentally friendly!

Come and visit us in Chiang Mai and explore the world of handicraft and furniture in the Northern Thailand. We promise, Chiang Mai will still be green and nice.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Shiraz Jewelry in Chiang Mai

Shiraz Jewelry's shop in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
In this entry we would like to feature a local jewelry business in Chiang Mai that has been around for more than 32 years: Shiraz Co Ltd or known as Shiraz Jewelry.

We visited the small shop that located in 170 Tha Pae Road, near Nawarat Bridge and aproximately five hundred meter from Old City's Tha Pae Gate. The shop has humble signage but pretty easy to locate.

When our team visited the shop, we are greeted by two rows table display on the left and right of the entrance. We can see various valuable stones such as pearls, topaz, emerald, sapphire and ruby.

We've been reading online reviews and forums, especially local expat community forums about this shop, and we must admit that we are quite impressed with it. One of the forum is in ThaiVisa.com which many users commented about their experience buying from this shop. So let's find out more about Shiraz Jewelry now.

Mr or Khun (a respectful way of calling someone in Thailand) Nasser Jafari established Shiraz Jewelry about 32 years ago in the same location. He bought the stones directly from mines and sells directly to his customers. Many among his customers are professionals who buy gems for resale back home (we are asked not mention any purchaser shop name here).

"Because the stones are bought directly from mines, the prices are unbeatable." says Mr Nasser. "There are some of my customers who bought rubies from Bangkok because they think they are cheap. They came to my shop and asked me to check them. After inspecting, my heart grew heavy and I have to tell the truth, that they are just red glass." he added.

Just shortly after that, a western couple enter the shop and Mr Nasser seated them in front of him. We are sitting now far from them to observe everything. Mr Nasser, with his shop assistants, showing some precious stones to the couple and describe the quality of them. It seems the guests know what they are looking and they engaged in serious discussion.

About thirty minutes after, the couple bought two stones from Mr Nasser. We didn't get a glance what stones they bought. Before leaving, the lady smiles and said, "I have read everywhere that your price is good. That's why I come here".

Our discussion continues with Mr Nasser. But shortly after that, another couple, from Russia came in and we decided to excuse ourselves this time.

"This month is high-season" explained Mr Nasser.

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Two Round Bracelet

We love getting our clients what they need. Just a few weeks ago, we had in our inbox an inquiry to source some fashion jewelries in Chiang Mai, Thailand. BuyingNinja's clients so far are mostly sourcing for handicrafts, woodcrafts, wooden furniture, leather work, and other artistic pieces. So we started our research.

It turned out that Chiang Mai's Sunday Night Market and Day Market have a lot more to offer. This is only one of many items that our client bought from the market to bring home to Stockholm, Sweden.


The bracelets are long strip beads knitted in various thread techniques. There are many 'lock' types at the end of each bracelets and they look amazingly fantastic.


We found not only two-round bracelets available; three, four and five-rounds are available too. There are too many beautiful designs than what we can share here. 


The client requested that the materials are free from any substance that can cause allergy to skin. Fortunately, they are.

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Handmade Solid Wood Coffee Table

handmade chiang mai
Chiang Mai handmade solid wood coffee table
When we first saw this table, we fell in love. The beauty of solid wood table top combined with dark-colored steel legs surely fit into any living room, balcony, or in any commercial cafe. 

The idea is simple: combining two oldest material known to men. 

We try to sit around and put our coffee mugs on it. The table feels solid (well, it is very solid), stable, and natural. WIth about 15 cm table top thickness, 40 cm height, it goes well with low chair or sofa.

A question we asked the craftsmen about the finishing color and sanding. They do not put too much and use natural varnish. As with the size, it is extremely hard for them to find the exactly the same size, same shape and measurement pieces of wood - since it is made by nature and crafted by skilled craftsmen.

Hope this can become your home decor and furniture inspiration. 
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