Wall clocks with vibrant colours and cool designs are getting a good response from deep-pocketed buyers at the Suan Lum Night Bazaar.

Many have been bought as gifts while some will be resold overseas in Asian and Europe.

Behind the success of Igloo is simplicity - the clocks are made from glass pot lids. Igloo is now a must-have home decorative item.

Igloo owner Potchara Thanapotcharasiri told The Nation his secret ingredient idea came from his own family.

Three years ago, his brother, a designer, started using the lids for wall clocks. The clocks were decorated using an airbrush.

Potchara, who was opening up a small shop at Suan Lum, thought the clocks would sell.

He was proved right. Customers flooded in and asked for new designs.

"What we have seen is that our product sells; there is demand there," Potchara said.

The brothers are constantly redesigning the clocks. They spent about Bt100,000 to get started. The biggest problem is making the clocks hard to copy.

"Our work is quite tough to do and it's difficult to be copied, especially the process of colour spraying. It is custom done, piece by piece. And because it's hard to do our clocks stand out in the market," he added.

Potchara employs two people to make the clocks. About 260 can be produced in a month.

A small clock sells for Bt950 while bigger ones cost Bt1,500. If the brothers had to sell them from a shop, overheads would drive the price up to as much as Bt1,800.

Potchara is making a profit of around 40 per cent to 50 per cent.

He said everyone, from teens to the elderly, love retro. He can see that from sales of about 100 clocks a month.

Some think Igloo can make it overseas.

Already some of the clocks are selling well in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, France and Germany.

However, Potchara admitted domestic sales do not look promising right now thanks to the economic slowdown. In response, he is looking at new distribution channels, like leading department stores.

He will start with Central World and Loft.

"We all need to readjust sales strategies during an economic slump. Shopping centres attract people with high purchasing power," he added.

The move will create brand awareness, too.

"Igloos are homes made of ice and lived in by Eskimos. There's no relation to the clocks. We just like the name," Potchara explained.

Building brand awareness aside, he plans to increase product lines. The retro concept will remain. New products include pillowcases, sofas and other home decorative items.

Cheerawat Khongkaew

cheerawat@nationgroup.com