Weekend Picks

Tucked away down a subsoi of fashionable Thonglor, newly opened Rabapapa by Canvas brings a soft touch to the traditionally rough fabric. Canvas, used to make most of Rabapapa's products, has a reputation for being coarse and undesirable. But this is far from the truth, the 100 per cent cotton canvas fabric used here is soft but strong, making a perfect medium for an array of designs, styles and textures. The material adds to the homey, country feeling of the store lined with rustic, painted, wooden shelves piled high with colourful bags and antique trinkets.

"I like to have my life full of colour," says business manager Dayin Thanavibulpol, who formulated the idea for a store inspired by childhood nostalgia while at culinary school in San Francisco, where she met artistic designer Wittamon Niwattichai. The two joined with graphic designer Patcharee Pakunpanya to open this store combining old style with a contemporary flair. Canvas was chosen as their medium, for its durability and ability to stay fresh after years of use.

Dayin's shop hearkens back to an era of what she calls the "daily lifestyle grocery" offering an array of products from clothes, to bags to household items of the old Bangkok shophouses where you could find everything under one roof without the brand-name marketing like Tesco-Lotus or Carrefour. The store offers canvas-based cloth, bags, pillows, curtains, pencil cases and lampshades. Beyond canvas, the store offers jewellery, accessories, journals and antique toys, completing the look of rustic beauty.

It's bags that dominate the shelves, though, bursting with colour combinations of greens, pinks, blues and orange. The bags' strong, but subtle design making them practical for both work and play.

The style underlying the products "turns something normal into something more stylish," says Wittamon, whose drawings serve as inspiration for the bags' prints.

The Chaiyo, or celebration, doll, which became the store's defacto logo, represents this philosophy, the original design was hand drawn, graphically reproduced, and turned into a loveable cuddly doll pillow combining the old-time look with contemporary style. Rabapapa has also reproduced the bird-shaped whistle toy, which is featured graphic designs, but has altogether disappeared from today's toy-stores. 

Studiously stylish

Floral coloured pencil and stationary envelopes roll up, making them easy to carry and store (Bt320).

Canvas clutch

Beige-and-brown fabric with bird-whistle and red dots design is used to make a wooden-handled purse (Bt1,250) and a small cosmetics bag (Bt260).

Comfortable elegance

A salmon-coloured wrap skirt is Bt1,190 while a green silk shirt is Bt1,990. Complete the ensemble with a rainbow beaded necklace (Bt350).

Bright beauty

A doctor's bag gets a redesign with green-and-white camouflage design and a shocking pink interior (Bt890).

Big and small

Orange and brown fabric, decorated with the mother-and-child logo, is used to make a large, roll-up bag (Bt850) and a small pinto bag (Bt290).

Grocery time

A grocery-shopping bag is decorated with prints of vintage advertisements for such products as Campbell's Tomato Soup and Lea and Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce (Bt820).

Classic cuddle

The rosy-cheeked Chaiyo girl pillow is Bt890. She's holding a medium blue cosmetic bag with handle, which comes separately for Bt285.

Emily Norris