Your necklace smells great
Sarran Youkongdee fashions jewellery from a material of his own invention and infuses it with floral aromas
A DAB HAND at many forms of art, Sarran Youkongdee has settled on handcrafted costume jewellery and works what can only be described as miracles in a variety of materials. Some of his pieces are even imbued with scent.
The Srinakharinwirot University fine-arts graduate established the Sarran brand in 2008, selling lovely handmade furniture and home-decor items made from part of banana trees and bamboo matting. Helping the environment was foremost on his mind from the beginning.
Keen to present the charm of Thai culture with an ecological slant, Sarran developed a material that’s toxin-free, resistant to moisture and stronger than cotton and used it to build a room partition inspired by jasmine garlands. The Office of Knowledge Management Development gave it a Thai Creative Award in 2011.
Two years later he presented visitors to the Maison & Objet Fair in France gifts of earrings shaped like crown flowers, made from shreds of polyester. They were a huge hit and Sarran ended up with a stack of orders from foreign buyers.
Returning to Bangkok, he expanded into costume jewellery, produced in limited editions and using another material of his own invention, “polyester faille”, which is light, waterproof, durable, flexible and even guards against harmful UV radiation.
Sarran seeks to express emotions in his jewellery while at the same time keeping alive traditional Thai techniques in handicrafts.
“I’m an artist who makes designer products,” he says. “I don’t focus on just functionality or convenience in daily life. I want to reflect the beauty of Thai
heritage, even if my jewellery doubles as home decor. My designs express Thai emotions and tell stories based on our surroundings.”
In his first jewellery series, polyester faille meets top-quality brass in designs inspired by ubamalee, the classical Thai style of arranging flowers. In the past, flowers chiefly symbolised the beauty of women.
One of Sarran’s pieces went on sale in the Siam Center boutique called The Selected and went on to win both a G Mark in Japan and a DeMark Award in Thailand.
“The jewellery is monotone, with the components dyed ebony to evoke nostalgia,” he says. “Every piece is made by hand and tailored to order, which takes about two months. The size can be adjusted to fit any customer. They look unique in the details, showing traditional craft techniques.
“The second collection has a butterfly and is more colourful,” he adds. “I’ve done handcrafts since I was little – my mother studied household arts.”
Today is the last chance to visit his pop-up shop at the Gaysorn shopping centre, where all three of his collections are on view. The shop is set up like an art gallery, with mannequins wearing his necklaces and earrings.
The most recent piece is the Rattanakosin Shadow line, with the “flowers” arranged in garlands and featuring temple architecture. There are 13 pieces in all, including layered necklaces, earrings and bracelets resembling crown flowers, jasmine and champaka.
“I’ve used a traditional Thai dyeing techniques to infuse the pieces with floral aromas and it takes a month to get them right. But the jewellery will retain the scent for a year and a half.”
Sarran is also selling earrings adorned with genuine pearl and graphic prints, bracelets made from white arcade flowers and, for the men, a metal pin in the shape of the crown flower.
LAST DAY TODAY
Closing today, Sarran’s pop-up store is on M Floor at Gaysorn. It’s open from 10 to 8.
Check his event schedule at “SarranOfficial” on Instagram and the “Sarran1982” page on Facebook.
