BOHEMIAN MINIMALISM | SOUVENIRS

My mother had this bag in the 70’s, as a child I played with it and filled it with my treasures. Three decades later my daughter has one too. I scoured the entire village if Hoi An to find a matching ark bag tiny enough for my little Noon’s toddler hands. Only one store in the whole town carried it (for the highest price) but that memory will never leave me. It was a hard-won victory forever woven into the very bamboo fibers of this ark bag. Every time she picks it up I’m instantly transported back to the narrow alleyways, marigold-hued buildings of Hoi An, and our first solo mother-daughter trip to Vietnam.

Children accumulate so many things it’s a gift to purchase with intention. I can’t imagine she’d pass on a mug with the words “Hoi An” scrawled across the side, but I hope this ark bag serves her well into adulthood, and when its time to pass it on to her own daughter she’ll speak fondly about the time her mother dragged her all across Asia with her Aunties to realize her dreams.

PRO TIP: If you stay off the beaten track, and you’re selective, souvenirs can have the same bit of magic woven into them. Avoid the tchochkies and baubles peddled at just about every tourist stop. Opt instead for something you can use, something that you love. Some of my best trip souvenirs were purchased in op shops in foreign lands, they’re not emblazoned with the city name but I know exactly where they’re from. Its an added bonus when people inquire about your unique find and you get to walk them down memory lane

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