Not Your C.
Google
An interesting centre for sure set in lovely grounds in one of SR'ｓbest neighorhoods with lots of potential. So why ★★★? My low rating pertains to the shop and the direction of the work they sell.
As I have commented elsewhere, craft centres like this in SR, and in many SE Asian countries in general suffer from a common malaise, the same as 85% of the shops in the Central Market. That problem is that they are essentially producing nice items, of reasonable quality and price which (Western) tourists have little to no interest in purchasing, hence visitors go In a shop and come out without opening their wallet; walk by market stalls without stopping. Most tourists have money to spend, but no amount of hawking or pressure will persuade them to buy something they don't like. In this case, I have money, I have interest, I love ceramics and Cambodia and I leave without spending any money. So the problem here, which is VERY common in SE Asia, is that the items being manufactured aren't what tourists/visitors/collectors want. They are conceived from a bottom up perspective (desire of the manufacturer), rather than a top down perspective (desire of the consumer), which ultimately creates a mismatch. I would strongly suggest conducting some market research and focus groups to ascertain what customer needs, wants, and desires are, rather than tryIng to second guess, as appears to be the situation now. Here, for example, there was almost nothing which is distinctly Khmer, either in shape, finish, colour, or firing style. So much of the items for sale were bland, homogeneous items which could have been manufactured or purchased anywhere. All items for sale should shout "made in Cambodia" so when someone takes an item back to their home country, upon seeing it, their friends should say, "That's an interesting piece/shape/pattern/colour... where is that from?" The only three items which I felt did that were the lovely teapots, a cup and saucer, and the flasks in the photos below. I really wanted to purchase a flask, but they weren't produced or glazed very well and there was no mention of what the script meant. Likewise I also wanted to purchase one of lovely green cups, but I didn't want the saucer, and they are only sold as a pair. I wonder how many other customers liked the cup but not the saucer?
To reiterate. Use Khmer scripts, shapes, patterns, colours, emblems, motifs, and textures to create unique pieces which reflect the rich cultural heritage of Cambodia. Don't produce and sell bland, homogeneous, and generic pieces which look like they came from a Dollar Store. Follow my advice and your business will thrive!
