Stepping Back In Time
In 2019, we partnered with boutique family-run ceramic producer Yarnnakarn Arts & Crafts Studio on our first product collaboration. This year, the Bangkok brand celebrates its 10-year anniversary
Thai artist Karin Phisolyabut’s journey to establishing his Bangkok-based ceramics studio Yarnnakarn was somewhat circuitous. After earning a Bachelor’s in applied arts with a major in ceramics from Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, he worked in graphic design for a year or two, eventually moving to Kent in the UK to pursue a Master’s in fine art. Phisolyabut had dreams of having a job that didn’t feel like a job (as many of us do), but soon realised that being a career artist wasn’t all he’d hoped it would be.
Back in Bangkok, he applied for a position and was subsequently hired at a ceramics factory. It was under the aegis of his employer that Phisolyabut learned the business skills surrounding the craft and eventually created his own collection for the export market.
Buoyed by his newly acquired business acumen and the memory of his original passion, the designer decided to set up a small studio in his garage, and not long after was, serendipitously, gifted his first kiln by a neighbour. The name Yarnnakarn, a curious bilingual portmanteau, was coined by the designer’s sister Prim and translates loosely into ‘something that transports you to another time’.
Much of Yarnnakarn’s collection has a whimsical, nostalgic and almost surreal quality to it —think oversized planters decorated with rabbits, vases in the form of headless adolescent girls, tableware decorated with dandelions, and butterfly-shaped wall decorations. Overall, the effect is nothing short of charming. Phisolyabut credits much of his inspiration to childhood visits to Bangkok’s Dusit Zoo, but doesn’t like to repeat himself so experimentation is at least half of his practise.
Ten years on, a portion of the Yarnnakarn collection is still produced in the very same garage where it all started almost a decade ago, though now the operation is complemented by larger-scale production off site, and the studio has grown to become a family business with Phisolyabut’s wife and cousin now part of the daily operations. The garage has been extended to make space for a small showroom and office, and the adjacent corner site has been taken over to house a boutique retail showroom, cafe, art space and a rooftop garden.
On a recent visit to the new premises, we were immediately reminded of what drew us to Yarnnakarn in the first place and why we wanted to work with them on our first-ever product collaboration. Our co-branded ‘rustic’ collection is actually made with cast clay, a much darker clay than what is commonly used for tableware, and the texture and glazing are done in such a way as to make them appear hand-thrown. The appearance of a natural patina means the pieces look instantly familiar and timeless. It’s precisely these qualities that we loved about the collection and motivated us to share Yarnnakarn’s work with the Design Anthology community.
Text / Suzy Annetta
Images / Courtesy of Yarnnakarn Arts & Crafts Studio
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