The Soul of Vietnamese Steel

VietOrigin was founded by Vân, a woman from Thái Bình in Northern Vietnam, and Wouter, a Dutchman with a deep appreciation for Vietnamese culture and craftsmanship.

Vân previously ran a small e-commerce business in Vietnam alongside her main job, selling products online. Through this experience she developed a strong interest in e-commerce and the possibilities it offers to connect Vietnamese products with customers beyond Vietnam.

During our time together in Vietnam, we travelled across the country ourselves by motorbike, exploring both well-known places and smaller regions rarely seen by visitors. Along the way we discovered something that left a lasting impression on us: the many traditional craft villages that still produce remarkable handmade products using techniques passed down through generations.

Vietnam is also a country known for specialized regions and industries. For example, it is one of the largest coffee producers in the world, yet many people in Europe do not immediately associate coffee with Vietnam.

Near Vân’s hometown of Thái Bình there is a knife-making village with more than 700 years of history. The craftsmen there continue to produce durable and practical blades using traditional methods. Their knives  became the first products we wanted to introduce to Europe.

From  the beginning, our goal has been not only to bring these products to a  wider audience, but to do so in a way that respects the people who make  them. By working directly with craftsmen and offering their products to a broader market, we hope to help support the continuation of these  traditional villages.