Fragrance is what we made first, because it is small, easy to carry, and it touches people quickly. But from the earliest days in the workshop, what we pictured was always wider than a candle jar. We want to add to the ways of a household, meaning the things we use every day and rarely think about: the small stool on the veranda, the basket for holding things, the basin of warm water at the end of the day.
So while the fragrance range goes on, behind it we are gradually preparing a few other things. There are herbal foot soaks, bathing leaf recipes following Dao knowledge, wooden pieces for the family, rattan and bamboo weaving, small tables and chairs, and hand-sized ornaments in wood or woven bamboo. They all go in the same direction as the candles and the perfume; they simply come into your home through a different door.
Something that comes from a basin of warm water at the end of the day
In Cam's home region, boiling a pot of herbal water and soaking the feet before sleep is an ordinary thing for the elders of the house. The firewood cracks, the steam rises carrying the smell of crushed leaves, and the ache in feet that have walked the forest all day dissolves bit by bit. We grew up in that way of doing things, so when we think about the next piece, it appears first.
The Dao bathing leaf recipes are knowledge that many families in the highlands have kept across generations, passed down within the household, tied to the plants growing around where they live. We approach it with respect, learning from the very people who keep it, recording its origin clearly, and only working together with their agreement. For us this is a matter of community and has never been a product idea.
Wood, woven bamboo and hand-sized pieces
The other direction is everyday things. A small table big enough for two cups, a low stool for sitting on the veranda, a rattan basket for towels, a wooden tray by the entrance for keys and letters. We like pieces like that because each does only one thing, does it for many years, and gains colour the more it is used.
Rattan and bamboo weaving has travelled alongside our people a very long time, and the villages of this craft still have skilled hands. Wooden furniture for the family needs more time, because we want to be certain of the source of the wood before making anything, and that is slower than everything else in the plan.
We tell you these things not to invite you to wait. Only that if you are travelling with ZUNGZA from one candle jar, we want you to know what shape the house we are building has, and why each new piece takes more time than a fast-selling brand would allow.
A few questions you often send us
What other ranges will ZUNGZA have
Herbal foot soaks, bathing leaves following Dao knowledge, wooden pieces for the family, rattan and bamboo weaving, small tables and chairs, and small ornaments in wood or woven bamboo. We will open them one range at a time, when each is ripe enough.
Why does a fragrance workshop also make wooden things
Because both belong to the ways of a household and both are Vietnamese handcraft. We see ZUNGZA as a workshop of things used in the home, and fragrance is only the opening piece.
When will they arrive
We keep a slow rhythm and will say when each range is truly ready. If you come to the workshop at no. 31, DM6, Van Phuc craft village, you will usually get to see the samples being tested first.
If you would like to understand the root of these plans, read the story of Hoa Binh and the small stream, how we understand the words just enough, and the story of using up, using long, using again.