Craft-Link is a beautiful shop that seems upscale until you ring up your order and realize you spent far less than you thought. Craft Link is also a not-for-profit organization that brings handicrafts from the artisans to the tourists, without a greedy middleman. The ethnic minorities and small craftsmen get paid a fair value for their work, and the buyer brings home a beautiful piece of art from Vietnam. Much of the merchandise is available elsewhere, but I prefer to give my money to this organization. Also, they did have some unique items.
Their multi-level, air-conditioned boutique across from the Temple of Literature is an oasis of beauty. I could not recommend it more as the one-stop-shop to buy all your handicrafts. I brought home a silk-lined photo album, a Hmong textile purse for my sister, and pearl-inlaid chopsticks for my roommate. If I had known that it would only cost me $8 for all that, I would have bought much more!
Other products include bamboo bowls, water puppets, lacquerware, silk clothing, and Hmong textiles.
The Craft Link organization also trains the local people and the ethnic minorities in business and management skills, and has been visited by luminaries such as Bill and Hilary Clinton.