Issue05 : 9 June 2014

In our increasingly commercialised existence, it makes a change to meet a designer who has a genuine concern for the environment. Labrador Factory’s Anek Kulthaveesup proves that taking the green route can be the pathway to success.

Walk into any leather workshop and you will see bits of scrap leather scattered all over the floor, deemed useless by visitors and leather workers alike. Yet for Anek Kulthaveesup, lead designer of Labrador Factory these become transformed into handbags, belts and elegant book covers.

What started off as a “hobby” has now become a fully-fledged business, with Kulthaveesup designing while his wife Supreeya, takes care of marketing.

Labrador Factory produces mainly leather book covers, handbags and satchels. Hardly unusual but what makes it a unique experience is what Kulthaveesup calls “green awareness”. One line is called RElabrador – stationery goods made from recycled leather.

Kultheveesup’s environmental conscience does not stop at the materials he uses. Entering one of Labrador Factory’s shops, you will see tables made from slabs of wood displaying green products. And when you leave your acquisition will be stored within a recycled paper bag.

“I was thinking about the lifetime of a bag … I want to make that lifetime worthy,” says Kulthaveesup of his design philosophy. Each leather bag has a lifetime repair guarantee and all the notebooks can be refilled with new recycled paper.

Apart from a green consciousness, Kulthaveesup’s designs have two more concepts at their core – simplicity and creativity.

The former is achieved through adopting simple forms. Labrador’s handbags and satchels are not complicated, rather their appearance is like a seamless silhouette. Notebooks have the feeling of a handicraft with each line drawn by hand.

Creativity is imbued in every piece. For instance, Triangle is a simple yet unique notebook. Kulthaveesup removes the corners, which people usually fold, and replaces them with dog ear shaped bookmarks instead – an easy but innovative idea.

Touches like this have given Labrador Factory a foothold in a niche market, which Kulthaveesup believes is growing. “Nowadays people need to be choosier about how to spend their money,” he says. “They want items that would help create their identity.”

Already his nine-year-old brand has been recognised both home and abroad, winning awards such as Thailand’s DEmark, the PM’s Business Enterprise Award, and Japan’s Gmark. Labrador products are also exported to Europe, Southeast Asia, China and Taiwan.

Has all this success gone to Kulthaveesup’s head? Not at all. “I think the secret to business is to do only what you’re good at – for me, it’s designing,” he says.

For more information, visit www.labradorfactory.net/web

Words by Ratipol Opasjaroenkij