The never-ending story

IF YOU’RE mulling an entirely different approach to life in the big city, the aptly named shop Another Story has an amazing selection of urban-lifestyle choices, everything from home furnishing, IT gadgets and stationery to affordable clothing.

Run by the Mall Group, it fills more than 900 square metres at the EmQuartier with 30 Thai brands and 70 more from Europe and elsewhere in Asia. There are eight zones with names like Another Parisian Chic Story – Another Script, Another Artsy, Tasty, Funky, Cosy and Lush.

“We have all of the kinds of products we love ourselves in this store,” says retail development director Maryse Kraatz. “What really makes Another Story stand out among concept stores is the balance between Thai and foreign tastes. There’s nothing here that our customers won’t be able to fit into their lifestyles, whether they see themselves as hipsters, trendsetters, artists or travellers, and the expatriate community will love this stuff too. There’s a lot of innovation and a strong focus on design and uniqueness.”

Among many other trendy offerings, the Parisian corner has, amusingly enough, sports-inspired cotton T-shirts from American Vintage, but the brand was founded by a Frenchman at least. Mickael Azoulay came back from the US in 2005 with ideas for outfits that wouldn’t look out of place anywhere in the world. The tees combine modern design and tailoring techniques to create a loose fit that looks old-fashioned, like stone washing, brushing the cotton and leaving the hems “raw”.

Article 22 sounds like a dire directive from the junta, but it’s actually an accessories brand that specialises in recycling military hardware. New York-based artist Suda visited Laos in 

 2009 to do research for a Swiss NGO and found the locals fashioning cutlery from bits of the bombs that the US rained on the country while the war in Vietnam was raging. 

Suda ended up back in the States transforming shrapnel into necklaces and bracelets for her Peachbomb collection, and now there are bracelets made just for the Thai market, each engraved with the word “peace” in Thai.  

Veja, another French firm, makes one-of-kind, eco-friendly footwear and accessories from cotton, rubber from the Amazon Basin in Brazil, vegetable-tanned leather and even recycled plastic bottles.

British brand Luckies has gifts and home decor in Another Funky Story, and funky they are. The Scratch Map is covered in foil that you scratch off to reveal each country you visit on your travels. The Undercover cases disguise your laptop, tablet or phone, and the perhaps too plainly named Brown Paper Bag is reusable, insulated and waterproof, great for toting lunches around.

Over at Another Cosy Story, Villa Home proffers great furniture and decor items that mimic percussion 

 instruments. The Nordic craftsmen have their own special technique for bending wood that retains the beauty of the raw material. The pieces are lightweight and charmingly simple.

Now, Another Tasty Story must be about food, right? Yes, indeed, and the Issaya Siamese Club is the latest restaurant opened by famed chef Pongthawat “Ian” Chalermkittichai. There’s also the Wine Garage, Le Beurre Bordier Butter Paris, which also has cheese from France, and Amatee The Bakery, with a wide range of homemade French breads.

 

SPOILED FOR CHOICE

Another Story is on the fourth floor of Helix Quartier building at the EmQuartier mall. 

It’s open daily from 10 to 10.