Weekend picks

Published on November 9, 2007

Around 2,000 booths were set up in the recently held Baan lae Suan Fair 2007. On offer were the latest collections of supplies for house and garden by Thai home-grown designers. A highlight was one booth's attractive, handmade wooden home-decor items and furniture by Country Time.

After graduating from Northumbria University's Department of International Business in the UK, the owner Arphasiri Vilaipun, 25, cooperated with her friends to open a painting studio, called Country Time off Sukhumvit Road in 2003. Then Arphasiri launched her store at Lung Purm Market last year. The store contains a comprehensive range of handmade painted wooden houseware and furniture in country-style.

"First, my friends and I wanted to do something as hobby, so we opened the studio offering painting courses", says Arphasiri. "After my partners and I broke up, I still had the business to run and so branched out with a shop in Lung Purm Market selling a line of unique, painted wooden home decorative items and furniture under the Country Time label".

Designer Arphasiri uses pinewood, which is popular for its handsome grain, to produce a line of cabinets, while durable rubber is featured in a selection of tables and chairs as well as other accessories made out of plywood. Country Time's designs feature beautiful flowers, cartoons, teddy bears, cats and rabbits. They come in pastel and dull shades of white, blue, pink, red, yellow, orange and green.

"Earlier Country Time designs were colourful. But Thai customers like cute designs like cartoons or flowers in Japanese-style, so I use pastel shades, especially white background to make the products look clean", says Arphasiri.

Country Time's products include drawers, cabinets, chairs, tables, stools, mobiles, medicine cabinets, tissue holders, glass containers, mailboxes, bird houses, boxes, beds, cloths closets, signboards and zinc water cans.

Designer Arphasiri also plans to produce a collection of furniture for kitchen such as gas cooker sets, cupboards and dinning tables.

Country Time displayed its collections in the annual fairs including Baan lae Suan Fair and Bangkok International Gift and Houseware (BIG+BIH).

Custom orders are accepted.

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Box

Country Time

Lung Purm Market

Soi 3 (behind Villa Market)

10am to 5pm,

Monday to Saturday

(081) 003 7373

(084) 008 1088

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Have a rest

An innovative cream-coloured bench is made of pinewood and rubberwood and features teddy bears. The bench, which is also a chest, costs Bt6,500. There are many designs and colours.

Collection of cabinets

Pinewood is used to produce a white-pink medicine cabinet featuring teddy bears (Bt2,500) and a white CD cabinet with birdhouse pattern (Bt1,200).

Coffee or tea?

A round table with two stools made of pinewood and parawood, featuring cartoon designs and white background. The cost is Bt5,000.

Keeping green

A collection of cute white watering cans featuring cartoon designs and made of zinc. Priced at Bt600.   

Snail mail

An attractive zinc mailbox comes in bright blue and features cartoons and a message. Price is Bt980. 

Put it in here

A pretty collection of rattan baskets with wooden lids featuring teddy bears patterns. Background colour is orange and pink. Prices are Bt700.

Pattarawadee Saengmanee