On Tnop of the world

GREAT FOR SPECIAL occasions as well as for personal use, veteran graphic designer Tnop Wangsillapakun’s fun stationery and home decor items that speak volumes about Thailand’s pop culture scene are already being snapped up by students and foreign tourists. 
Tnop, who worked for eight years with Chicago-based design firm Carlos Segura Inc before returning home in 2011, is recognised for his branding skills, coming up with attractive customised logos and key visuals for such big names as the Thailand International Cooperation Agency, AP Property, Fulton Market Films and the Thailand Creative Design Centre. 
He has designed innovative art installations for Siam Center, Studio Marketing Materials and Thai Graphic Designer Association, and transformed many of |his previous works into fashion and home accessories.
“Initially, I just wanted to put my creativity to good use and produce office supplies for designers, which were not available on the Thai market when I came home. My products are a mixture of craftsmanship and modern design with a focus on functionality and durability,” he says.
His initial collection included fun Design Propaganda posters made from recycled paper to demonstrate how the modern design movement has progressed, and smart hand-screened Motto tote bags bearing such messages as “Join Modernism”, “Live as a Scientist”, “Adopt the System”, “Save Craftsmanship” and “Seek Local Materials”.

Design Motto canvas tote bags

“I opened an online shopping corner on my studio’s website, where visitors can come and see all my works and enjoy shopping at the same time. My first collection of posters and tote bags were developed from my designs for the 2007 Singapore Design Week,” Tnop says. 
“My totes are fashioned from canvas to ensure they’re long-lasting. They come in a bigger size too so that customers can easily slide in an 18-inch laptop and documents.”
Tnop recently added two new editions of notebooks to his collection. The “Very Thai” notebooks are designed to resemble a cookery book and come with recipes, in English, for som tum, tom yum goong and iced Thai tea. 
“They are selling very well,” he enthuses. “The notebooks are available in three designs and reflect the Thai food culture. Our drawings give all details on how to prepare the ingredients and come with beautiful photographs of a pantry, social networks, and then calling mum to cook dinner for us. It’s a joke, inspired by the young generation’s lifestyle,” Tnop says.

Very Thai notebooks

The colourful Siamese Girls notebooks come in five cartoon designs. They show a young Thai girl doing gymnastics to take a selfie with a giant guard, a K-pop girl band mimicking the leading roles in the Thai literary work “Nang Sib Song” and American pop idol Miley Cyrus in traditional Thai costume flying over the Giant Swing.

Siamese Girls notebooks

There’s also a range of white, hand-screened cotton T-shirts bearing the Thai tongue twister “Chaam Khiao Khwam Chao Chaam Khao Khwam Kham” (the green bowl is turned down in the morning; the white bowl is turned down in the evening). 
Other highlights include handmade denim aprons with multipurpose pockets with adjustable and detachable genuine leather straps and limited edition Fruit Balls notepads that double as home decor accessories. They come with designs inspired by apples, bananas, pears and strawberries. 
Tnop has even come up with monochrome socks made from pure cotton to provide extra comfort and ventilation. 
“We’re launching a limited edition of black handmade sketch books that can turn into a brush to sweep eraser shavings soon,” he says. 
 

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>> Find out more at www.Tnop.com