We paid Nhật, the founder of Kramahan.Clothing, a visit on a windy day in Saigon. This room in the heart of the city has many functions: a living space, a working studio, and also a showroom displaying a huge collection of colorful knick-knacks. If you’re in search of uniquely made little things, this place might be an exciting stop to drop by.
Minh Nhật created the accessories and clothing items for Kramahan himself. On his workbench lies a number of wooden blocks, assorted strings, stones, and key chains — all waiting their turn to transform.
Few people know that, before embarking on this creative journey, Nhật graduated with a Chemistry degree from the University of Science and spent 3 years working in cosmetic product development. His career’s watershed moment came after visiting weekend arts markets, where he recognized the immense potential of tiny but interesting accessories. Once it was decided, Nhật returned to Cambodia, where he was born in 1988, to source clothing and checkered scarves.
“I only started the shop as a hobby, but it was unexpectedly successful. I would haul a big bag [of products] to the market and return empty. I got ‘greedier’ and started opening a kiosk every weekend. About six months later, I quit my job to run the kiosk full-time,” he tells Saigoneer.
The childhood creative spark that grew into a flame
After a time doing reselling, he noticed that sales started winding down, and realized that it might have been time to create his own items.
This wasn’t a random decision. At one point, Nhật considered applying for architecture college, as he’s had a penchant for the arts since he was a little boy: “When I was little, I was quite energetic. We didn’t have playdough at the time, so I dug up actual clay to make figurines, and my mom loved it.”
During the years in the chemistry lab, that artistic inclination only went into hibernation. Sometimes, he would hand-make a card for close friends, but never thought that one day it would turn into a career.
The reawakening of an old passion, coupled with a newly formed link with his second home, Cambodia, resulted in the name Kramahan. According to Nhật, “krama” means checkered scarf in Khmer while “han” is a shorthand for “hand” or “handmade,” a nod to the rustic nature of his creations.
In his workshop, Nhật dabbles in a little bit of everything: coloring, sketching, carving, drilling, sculpting, sanding, knotting, etc. He also learned pottery and knitting to enrich his accessory items. Fashion-wise, his designs are based on linen and brocade, produced by textile workers in small batches.
Interesting items for the curious
Just a glance at Kramahan’s inventor, one will encounter a colorful world crafted from Japanese, Cambodian, or even Thai influences.
Looking closer, customers can probably sense the dedication behind Nhật’s works. He meticulously handles small details and spends time balancing out the shapes and finishes. Beside a sense of personal branding and visual language, Nhật could also employ his chemistry training in how he uses colorants.
Nhật's designs.
With a motto to make items that are aesthetically pleasing, distinctive, and just a little quirky, Nhật aims to make things that he himself must feel drawn to. Whichever pieces that don’t quite satisfy those criteria, he never puts on the market. As the items are all hand-made, each version has its own life and even two earring pieces don’t resemble each other 100%.
Everything can disappear into nature
This is also another philosophy that Nhật abides by. He shares: “I sometimes walk around the city to collect wooden chunks, left behind by the municipal park maintenance department, to use as carving materials. Later, I also ordered better wood stocks like sandalwood and lim, which could push up the prices a bit, but I’ll always disclose to buyers the original sources of the woods.”
To Nhật, each travel experience is also a great opportunity to source crafting materials, like shells or unique pebbles. Everything carries a potential to be turned into wearable art.
“When picking strings to make necklaces or key chains, I would test out the material using heat. If it’s not 100% cotton, I would say no. I hope that everything I create can return to the earth and disappear into nature. Only when there’s no alternatives I would turn to materials that are harder to decompose,” he explains.”
At the moment, Nhật focuses mainly on highly practical designs at affordable prices, though he still nurtures dreams to create more abstract and complicated pieces. In the future, it’s hard to say for sure where Kramahan would go, but many surprises might be in store for Nhật, just like how, back then, his child artistic streaks dovetailed with his Cambodian roots to compel him to start Kramahan.
