A Terraced House in 2024

Thanh’s father worked as a Dim Sum chef in one of Chinatown’s first Chinese restaurants. Her father would take out these weighing scales and begin making an endless supply of dumplings and Char Siu (barbecue pork) buns. These were sold to close family and friends only; Thanh refers to this as the ‘underground dumpling network.’

Weighing scales, Credit: Museum of the Home

Tiết and Hoa obtained this sewing machine from a textile factory, where they worked as tailors when they settled in the UK. The job was accessible to them as they had learnt sewing skills in Vietnam, and the role only required a basic level of English. The couple used the machine for mending clothes and making textiles for the home.

Industrial sewing machine, Credit: Jaron James