7 Best Places to Shop in Chiang Mai, Thailand

This is the biggest and best paper outlet in Chiang Mai. On its first floor is a gallery whose works include paintings done by elephants at the Elephant Conservation Center near Lampang.

This collection of modern buildings constructed in Lanna-style and connected by walkways around an inner courtyard has the aesthetic of a small village and is part cafe-restaurant, part art gallery, part textile studio, and part retail shop. The clothing, accessories, and home decor items for sale are all handmade and local, with the Kalm brand. 

Patricia Cheesman has been working with local textiles since 1988, though she first encountered them in the 1970s, when working for the UN in Laos. Today she and her daughter Lamorna run a collective of female weavers, designers, and embroiderers called Weavers for the Environment (WFE). There's another branch on Soi 1 Nimmanhaemin Road.

Four kilometers (2½ miles) after the turnoff from highway 108 to Baan Tawai, lies this community of workshops dealing in antiques and handicrafts. Expect to see teak, mango, rattan, and water hyacinth being worked into attractive and unusual items. If you end up buying a heavy piece of teak furniture, the dealer will arrange for its shipping.

Chiang Mai's largest handicrafts retail outlet has an astounding selection of ceramics, jewelry carvings, and silks and other textiles.

Operated by the Baptist Christian Service Foundation, the nonprofit Thai Tribal Crafts has more than 25 years' experience in retailing the products of northern Thailand's hill tribe people. The organization prides itself on its fair trade policy and the authenticity of its products like clothing, accessories, and home goods. They also run weaving classes suitable for beginners, including kids.

Among the crafts you can find at this large sales outlet in the village of Bo Sang, 10 miles east of Chiang Mai, are hand-painted umbrellas made from lacquered paper and tree bark. Hundreds of these are displayed at the center. You can watch the whole process here, as artists paint traditional designs on anything from a T-shirt to a suitcase—travelers have discovered that this is a handy way of helping identify their luggage on an airport carousel.