Interior View - Amansara Boutique, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Amansara Boutique

The resort’s small shop elegantly squeezes in an array of stylish and philanthropic products, from wild Samlot honey from the Jolie-Pitt Foundation to hand woven ikat from Golden Silk, a Franco-Khmer NGO preserving an ancient local silk known for its gilded sheen.

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Apparels at  Ambre, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Ambre

Phnom Penh based Romyda Keth is one of Cambodia’s most talented fashion designers. The former dancer creates colorful and dramatic designs for day and evening. She favors vivid colors and body-hugging designs with elaborate hand embroidery on many pieces. With numerous boutiques in Asia now, she has a truly international following. The Indagare Souk has featured her fashions, many of which are one-of-a-kind at shows in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Greenwich. Her clothes have been carried at Khmer Attitude in Siem Reap but in 2013 she opened a freestanding boutique not far from the Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor. Here she sells her men’s, women’s and children’s line of statement-making fashions.

Statue at Angkor Heritage Gallery, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Angkor Heritage Gallery

If you start hankering for a beautiful Buddha, high-quality lacquerware rice bowl or antique textile to take home with you, as many visitors do, one of the best places to find high-quality Cambodian treasures, both antique and new, is at Angkor Heritage, which has its main Siem Reap outpost in the Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor. (The original shop is in Phnom Penh.) Founded by Francois Heymann and Christophe Richard who came to Cambodia in 1994, the gallery showcases the works of master craftsman that the duo have been working with for two decades. The artists work in traditional styles inspired by Angkor to produce what the owners call “contemporary artworks of museum quality.” Other hotels such as the Amansara, Park Hyatt Siem Reap and La Residence d’Angkor carry their some of their treasures as well but the largest selection is here.

narrow beige stone sculpture outside a red building

Artisans d’Angkor

Founded in 1992, Artisans d’Angkor is a Cambodian social business and arts and crafts center in Siem Reap.
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Artisans d’Angkor

Founded in the late 1990s to teach young rural Cambodians traditional craft skills and thus provide a means of supporting themselves, Artisans d’Angkor sells high-quality Khmer silks, stone and wood carvings, lacquer ware, and silver jewelry out of a charming two-story house in the historic city center. Shoppers headed to Siem Reap can also visit some of the artisans at work in their workshop there.

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Bliss

This store carries cute cotton dresses and tops, but its true treasures are the locally made quilts and pillows that feature stunning silks and cottons sourced from all over Asia.

Merchandise at Bloom, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Bloom

Pack new purchases in a quirky carry-on satchel fashioned from recycled Khmer rice sacks sold at Bloom Cambodia, a corner store committed to “making trade fair – one bag at a time.” It was founded in 2006 as a social enterprise and the same ten sewers make all of the bags in the workshop in Phnom Penh. The motto is “Buy something beautiful, do something beautiful.”

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Central Market (Psar Thmei)

Severely damaged by a fire in 2003, the large Central Market still bears the iconic yellow Art Deco dome of its original 1935 structure. In addition to being one of Phnom Penh’s major architectural sites, the Central Market is a bustling commercial center. Dazzling jewelry stands occupy the center (under the dome) and the four radiating “arms” are filled with stalls selling everything from T-shirts and electronics to flowers and fresh produce.

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Chocolate by The SHOP

Cambodia is not known for its chocolate, but these Belgians know what they are doing. Mixing Belgian chocolate with local ingredients like Kampot pepper and Mondolkiri honey, these confections make delicious souvenirs. The Shop, a small café next door is run by the same owners and serves simple fare like quiches and salads.

four colorful framed paintings of faces

Develter Gallery

Christian Develter Gallery is the first solo gallery of internationally acclaimed Belgian artist Christian Develter.
Apparels at Eric Raisina, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Eric Raisina

Born in Madagascar and raised in France, Eric Raisina opened his eponymous boutique in Phnom Penh in 2011. Reviving the ancient art of silk weaving (which was all but destroyed during the Khmer Rouge regime), Raisina creates colorful cocktail dresses and scarves using local Cambodian silks.

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Apparels at Eric Raisina, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Eric Raisina

Madagascar-born Eric Raisina trained in the Paris ateliers of Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Lacroix before coming as a tourist to Angkor Wat in the late 1990s. He fell in love with the silk weaving and with the people and decided to stay. After a year spent training a dozen Khmer women to weave silk and raffia that he imports from Madagascar, Raisina began designing couture ball gowns, including skirts and wraps made of psychedelic hued ‘silk fur’ and men’s traditional fishermen pants reimagined in his talented hands. His fashion empire has grown from a boutique inside the house where he lived and his weavers worked to include multiple boutiques in Siem Reap, including a fabulous four-story couture atelier with a dramatic ground floor boutique in the so-called Charming City on the road to Angkor. The newest showroom and atelier opened in 2013 within the same week as his first boutique in Paris. The dramatic modern space showcases his Technicolor fashion and accessories, from his signature fluttering shawls and silk fur trimmed scarves to velvet cardigans and organza evening bags woven like those used by local fishermen to hold the day’s catch, tie-dye silk wraps, and dresses that he sends down catwalks from South Africa to New York. Indagare members can contact the Bookings Team for an introduction to the designer as well as a private couture appointment and visit to the workrooms.

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Apparels at Eric Raisina - FCC,  Siem Reap, Cambodia

Eric Raisina - FCC

If you don’t have time to visit Eric Raisina’s show-stopper of a main boutique and atelier in the Chamming City on the way to Angkor, he has a small but sleek boutique in the Foreign Correspondent’s Club, which is alongside the river, not far from the Amansara and the Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor. Madagascar-born Eric Raisina trained in the Paris ateliers of Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Lacroix, then came as a tourist to Angkor Wat. He fell in love with the silk and the people and decided to stay. You’ll find a great selection of his Technicolor fashion and accessories from colorful, fluffy evening bags woven like those used by local fishermen to hold the day’s catch, tie-dye silk blouses, and his signature flowing silk scarves. This shop is a tease but for the greatest range of products head to his main shop and even visit the workrooms upstairs.

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Merchandise at Garden of Desire, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Garden of Desire

Paris-reared, Cambodian jeweler Ly Pisith returned to Siem Reap from Europe after designing for the likes of Philippe Starck. This bauble shop in a 1920s French colonial building is located in the Old Market area.

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Khmer Attitude / Galerie Cambodge

These two adjacent boutiques, curated by Nathalie Saphon Ridel the stylish owner of Maison Polanka, has attracted the attention of such visitors as Hillary Clinton (on her visit to Cambodia as Secretary of State). Surely part of the appeal is the fair-trade values at Gallery Cambodge, where all items originate in workshops that only use eco-friendly materials and techniques. The look here is global nomad, from the Panama hats and bamboo sunglasses down to the sustainable leather flip-flops. Next door, Khmer Attitude takes its inspiration from the swinging ‘60s, with festive Khmer silk cocktail dresses by Phnom Penh-based designer Romyda Keth of Ambre in bold, beautiful hues and shimmering silver bling things.

Interiors at Louise Loubatieres, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Louise Loubatieres

Louise Loubatieres, a graduate from London’s Royal College of Art, grew up watching her Franco-Vietnamese designer mother working with Indochinese hill tribes. Her eponymous boutique, opened in 2013, is filled with must-have homewares, like white-on-grey bird ikat cushions made by the Goel Community NGO, and Lo-Yuyu ceramics from Prolung Khmer Pottery and Weaving Training Centre. Other objects of desire include brightly colored lacquer bowls and trays, silk-covered, beaded necklaces in a rainbow of vibrant hues (made in the southwestern Takeo region) and organic tie-dye silk scarves. Louise picks up treasures on her travels around Southeast Asia and works with craftsmen to bring a more modern interpretation to traditional crafts so her stock is ever-changing.

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Apparels at Made in Cambodia Market, Siem Reap, Cambodia

Made in Cambodia Market

On the first Saturday afternoon of the month, the street running perpendicular to the Siem Reap River in front of Shinta Mani hotel transforms into a festive fair. The vendors sell everything from boho-chic woven handbags, from marginalized communities in Ratankiri province to Sombai rice spirits, infused by the villagers of Salamkomreuk with anise, cinnamon or mangoes with red chilies. After watching the Phare circus performers and snacking on homemade sweet potato chips or crispy spring rolls, look for Eric Stocker’s finely lacquered Buddha statures, as well as handbags made from recycled Pirelli truck tires by KILT - Khmer Independent Life Team (www.kiltjewelry.weebly.com).

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Interior View - McDermott Gallery, Siem Reap, Cambodia

McDermott Gallery

American photographer John McDermott takes striking, sepia-style images of the temples, and for many visiting his gallery has become an extension of visiting the ruins themselves. There's a second gallery in the Alley, in the Old Market Area, and both mount regular exhibitions of other renowned and upcoming artists. The affable McDermott also offers private photography tours of Angkor Wat.

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Neary Khmer Beauty

This simple silk tailor shop down the street from Louise Loubatieres sells silks and cottons by the meter. The owner will fashion tops and pants from what you choose or you can buy the gorgeous ikat silks for pillows or clothing that you have made at home. It is a shop frequented more by locals than tourists so don’t expect the staff to speak English. Note that the ikat silk weaves are not antique but new and soften with washing.

store interior with a clothes mannequin, jewelry and home goods on a wooden table

Oko Gallery

Oko Gallery is a small art and home goods store selling unique, handcrafted pieces across from Viroth’s Hotel in Siem Reap.
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Russian Market (Psar Toul Tom Poung)

Known as the Russian Market because all of its goods used to come from Russia (one of the few countries that provided aid to Cambodia during the Vietnamese occupation), here you will find plenty of textiles and antiques (as well as the requisite bootleg DVDs and knock-off designer handbags.) The main appeal is the silk stalls, where colorful fabrics are sold by the yard and can be taken to a tailor to be made into a custom dress, skirt or jacket.

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Interior View - Saray ,Siem Reap, Cambodia

Saray

Amansara spa goers who admire the elegance of their water-hyacinth floor mats or those staying at Shinta Mani who appreciate the natural chic of their bathroom baskets can ask the concierges how to order from Saray. This cooperative of women, living in the floating villages of the Tonle Sap Lake, weave water hyacinth to create soft, supple and luminous bags, mats and accessories, all one hundred percent natural (and totally Cambodian).

store interior with a rack of cloths and a table full of jewlery

SATU

This gift and concept shop in Siem Reap promotes small, ethical brands in Cambodia. It is a great spot to pick up souvenirs.
store with a table and shelves of soaps, creams and more

Senteurs d'Angkor

A gift and souvenir shop in Siem Reap, Senteurs d’Angkor sells Cambodian-made products like soap and body creams.
Exterior View - Smateria , Siem Reap, Cambodia

Smateria

This boutique in the Old Market Area sells colorful handbags and home décor crafted from recycled source material, including motorcycle seats and milk cartons. If you can’t decide what to buy in town, you’ll have another chance as Smateria has just opened at the Siem Reap Airport.

golden sculpture praying against a golden backdrop

Stocker Studio

Visit the workshop and studio of the Stocker brothers, where they make fine decorative items made with Cambodian natural lacquer.
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The 1961

Straight up the Siem Reap River from Amansara, this retro chic art space celebrates the 1960s, a golden age of Cambodia that coincided with the birth of modernism around the world. Interesting works by local and visiting artists fill the white walls. Co-owner Loven Ramos deserves his reputation as a creative innovator, and it is worth a peek inside to see what talents he’s spotted.

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Indagare employees walking up stiars

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