In a small attic of less than 20 square meters in lane 73, Hang Than street (Ba Dinh, Hanoi), the couple of artisans Nguyen Van Hoa and Dang Huong Lan are still meticulous with paper, lake, and paint every day.
At the age of over 60, they are the last people in the old town to still make foam masks, a toy associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival memories of many generations of Hanoians.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hoa and Mrs. Dang Huong Lan have quietly preserved their profession as foam masks for the past 45 years. The small attic of Mr. Hoa and Mrs. Lan is like a miniature craft workshop, where there is always scrap paper, flour ponds and colored water bottles lying around.
Every day, Mr. Hoa patiently coat thin layers of paper into the mold, waiting for them to dry to shape, while Mrs. Lan meticulously mixed the color, holding a pen and painting the eyes, eyebrows or smiles of the character.
The pace of life in the small corner is still steady as if it has never changed, as if it has not been a year that has quenched their love for the job. For them, each mask is not only a handmade product, but also a childhood memory, a cultural soul of Hanoi passed down to today's generation.
The profession of making cardboard masks requires the most elaborate work. Mr. Hoa said: "Each mask must go through dozens of stages: tearing paper, applying each layer of the mold, drying it in the sun many times before going to the painting stage. The work sounds simple but takes a lot of effort and time. It took three or four days to finish a mask. If there is not enough sunlight, it will break down immediately, we have to start over".
In the past, every Mid-Autumn Festival, their families were so busy that they almost stayed up all night. Thousands of masks with familiar faces such as Mr. Dia, Uncle Teu, lions, pearl rabbits, ... were moved from a small attic to Hang Ma Street, where the lanterns and laughter of children were bustling.
Now, following the market flow, plastic masks and imported toys are gradually overwhelming. The profession that once supported the whole city now only remains in this house of less than 20 square meters.
There are not many customers coming to make make make-up masks. Most of them are foreigners who like rustic handicrafts, or young Hanoians who are curious to find the atmosphere of the old Mid-Autumn Festival. Some cultural projects and art student groups also place orders or invite people to guide workshops. Those moments became a rare source of motivation for the two artisans to believe that this profession had not completely disappeared.
"Seeing children interested in painting by themselves, I was very happy. Hopefully, future generations will know about the foam masks, so that they are not just in memories, Ms. Lan shared.
The current life of the artisan couple is not abundant, but they still regularly make several thousand masks each year. Not to make a profit, but to keep the profession, to keep the memories of Hanoi's Mid-Autumn Festival as a place to live.
In the midst of the noisy old town, the thunderous sound of paper, the smell of crowned lake and brilliant colors in the small attic becomes a separate world. A world where two people are calm but persistent in preserving the cultural soul of a city that is changing every day.
