Hanoi (VNA) - A roundtablediscussion has been jointly organised by the Hanoi Culture Foundation, theHanoi Industrial Design College and the Bat Trang Ceramics Guild.

It brought together business owners,ceramic designers and researchers, marketing professionals to look for a newapproach for Bat Trang ceramics.

Ha Van Lam, chief of the People’sRepresentative board, said that during the economic boom of the 1990s and the2000s, craftsmen in different kilns in Bat Trang sought every way to get theirkiln firing and their potter’s job going. To judge a ceramic product, accordingto Lam, one needed to value its design, and the glaze, adding to the fivetraditional glazes handed down from ancestors, young craftsmen today have foundout new attractive glazes.

"Our red glaze has been inspected andcertified by Japanese experts as non-toxic for potters and end-users, and ithas entered the demanding markets in Japan," he said.

During many export negotiations, Lam saidforeign dealers told him, "Bat Trang ceramics are not as competitive interms of design and price compared to Chinese products, but they still buy fromus because we meet a certain demand from their market."

To put it more specifically, founder ofHien Van Ceramics, designer Bui Hoai Mai, said that Bat Trang craftsmen need towork together as members of a guild, where they need to agree upon certainethics and rules, and respect each other’s turf.

"We need to understand competition ina more constructive way," he said. "If everyone is fighting to lowerthe price at the cost of their neighbours, we are all dragging each otherdownhill. You would need to make clear who is good at refined products, who canproduce home appliances, who can provide construction ceramics, and everyoneshould recommend it to visitors. That way we can develop as a whole."

From a marketer’s point of view, NguyenDinh Thanh from Elite PR asked more direct questions.

"Could you create a tea cup that holds800 years of Bat Trang history in it?"

He went further by asking questions aboutmapping of the two villages, Bat Trang and Giang Cao, so that visitors knowwhere they are. There is no history board/placard with Bat Trang’s briefhistory on it. More importantly, there are no homestay addresses, no cafes noreven public restrooms for visitors. "All of these factors need to be takeninto account," he added.

"At the village ceramics market,"ceramic designer Mai said, "We see ceramics of all types and styles. Avisitor will not be able to tell which product is strictly Bat Trangstyle."

Out in the ceramic market, it took Lam afew minutes to screen the product shelves to spot a distinctive Bat Trangglaze.-VNA