Here’s Hanuman for your aching neck

IF THE tales of Hanuman have long offered guidance in life, the Monkey King and his fellow characters from the Ramakien are even more useful now in a fun, funky kind of way.
New brand Holen has put wit and creativity into a collection of everyday items bearing the likeness of the famous figures from the epic poem drawn from the Ramayana.
So now you can rest your weary head on a Hanuman Transforming Neck Pillow Doll.

Hanuman Transforming Neck Pillow

Designer Silawat Virakul and his partners in Lightfog Creative and Design Studio recently launched the Holen e-commerce site to sell mugs, foldable bags, sleeping masks and those fancy dolls embellished with Monkey King and his cohort of demons. 
The items were first unveiled at the Thailand Innovative and Design Expo in August. 
This same quartet of talents garnered much attention at last year’s “Decoding Souvenirs” design exhibition hosted by the Ministry of Culture with their prototypes for new kinds of Thailand souvenirs. They realised there was a solid market for household items that made clever use of Thai iconography. 

Ramakien Sleeping Mask

“We’ve created mascots and other products for many leading companies, including the PTT Group, SCG, Kbank and True Money,” says Silawat, who studied industrial design at King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology. “This time we wanted to apply our creativity to overhauling the available Thai keepsakes, modernising them and making them more appealing to foreigners.” 
The group spent a year developing ideas based on the Ramakien characters, which they saw as a unique aspect of Thai culture. Craftsmanship meets the latest technology in graphic design, right down to the QR code on the packages that dispenses a synopsis of the Ramakien when scanned, or the location of Wat Phra Kaew with its murals of scenes from the epic saga.
Thai astrology plays a role in the designs too. The skin colour of the dozen characters skins corresponds to those associated with different days of the week. Thus you can buy a Ramakien Birthday Friday doll in bright blue. Fashioned from high-quality polyester, it’s meant to look like Maloontakesorn. 

Ramakien Birthday Dolls

The yellow Monday doll is Kesornthamala and the black Wednesday (Night) doll is Nilapanorn. 
All the dolls are filled with odour-absorbing charcoal. Topped with a removable hat, the adorable Hanuman Transforming Doll will serve as a comfy neck pillow. Here the Monkey King steps out of the Ramakien chapter in which he holds Phra Ram’s pavilion in his mouth.
“Everything’s highly detailed in an effort to represent the beauty of Thai traditional art,” Silawat says. “And we’ve tried to retain the personality of the original characters, while making them more fun by adding functionality. These are more than vacation keepsakes – they can double as home-decor items or lifestyle accessories.” 

Ramakien Folding Bag

Other collectibles include a One-Baht Coin coaster made with soft thermoplastic elastomer, a polyester Ramakien folding bag, and microwave-safe ceramic mugs that mimic khon masks depicting Hanuman, Thotsakan, Tapanasoon, Wiroonhok, Nilapat and Maiyararp. 
Coming soon are key rings and fridge magnets. 
Holen’s products are available at the Nitas Rattanakorin Exhibition Hall on Rajdamnoen Klang Avenue and HolenHello.com and from (090) 994 6559.