Nothing desperate about this housewife

Nothing desperate about this housewife

Pornpatr Witoonchart shut her chic Tong Lor art gallery to spend time with her husband, community shopping mall 'wizard' Nopporn, and between the globetrotting and trendspotting as well as her undying love of painting, there's no time for boredom

SOCIAL & LIFESTYLE
Nothing desperate about this housewife

Pornpatr Witoonchart ran a bustling art gallery for nearly a decade, but decided to close it up three years ago in favour of a new job description. ''I'm a full-time housewife now,'' she says, chuckling.

Photo by Thanarak Khoonton

But a bored housewife she is not. Her husband, Nopporn Witoonchart, is the director and chairman of the executive committee of Siam Future Development Plc (SF).

He's known among some of his colleagues as a ''community mall wizard'' and considering his accomplishments, the hyperbole might not be as thick as it seems.

Nopporn is the driving force behind SF, a listed company that has pioneered community malls throughout the country. It operates more than a dozen malls of varying sizes, including J Avenue, The Esplanade on Ratchadaphisek Road, and the massive Mega Bangna on Bang Na-Trat road, which brought in Ikea to the country for the first time.

Photo by Thanarak Khoonton

In Pornpatr's case being a housewife means jetting around the world with her husband in search of inspiration for SF's developments here in Thailand. While they are travelling, Pornpatr plays the role of trend-spotter, pointing out what's popular abroad and suggesting how it could be adapted here.

''We go on business trips overseas at least two or three times a year,'' she says.

Her husband meets with mall operators in other countries to discuss their operations and get a sense of global trends, particularly in the United States, and Pornpatr always keeps an eye open for suggestions.

''When I go to other countries with my husband, I keep on the lookout for trendy shops and products that I think could help him in his business,'' she says.

Pornpatr was not surprised by the popularity of community malls in Thailand. She says people may have become used to giant shopping centres, but that community malls have roots in the lifestyles of Thais going back generations.

''The concept is nothing new or out of the world,'' she says. ''A community mall is a market _ a market for urbanites. The market is designed for an urban lifestyle.

''In the old days, our parents went to markets to buy groceries or to eat,'' she says. ''Those habits have remained even today. A community mall has a market, a supermarket in this case, as well as restaurants and places to eat and hang out.''

She says that SF has enjoyed success with its projects because extensive research is conducted to ensure each meets the needs of individual communities.

Not all of the trips are strictly for business, she says, listing a trip to Bora Bora in the South Pacific as one to tick off her bucket list.

''I dreamed about going here for years and years, and I have fulfilled that dream,'' she says. ''It's similar to the Maldives but it's much more beautiful. It's like heaven.''

PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST

Photo by Thanarak Khoonton

The switch to being her husband's constant companion has meant a major lifestyle shift for Pornpatr, who had previously headed up J Avenue's J Gallery on Thong Lor, drawing in artists from around the country and helping to turn the community mall into a bustling urban centre.

She left that behind to be closer to her husband, she says, but that has not dimmed the love of art that led her to open it in the first place.

Eight years ago, she took a painting class with ML Chiratorn Chirapravati, starting with acrylics before settling in with watercolours. She hasn't looked back since.

''You need concentration and a lot of effort when you paint. For me, you always have to look for new ways to improve and grow. It's a constant education,'' she says.

Pornpatr hasn't counted the number of paintings she's completed over the years, but she's amassed more than enough for public showings.

Last year she held her first exhibition, ''Let's Fall in Love'', featuring 41 of her works at The Esplanade. The exhibition brought in 500,00 baht for Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, a Buddhist college in Ayutthaya's Wang Noi district.

''I was touched by all who helped contributing to the university by buying my paintings.''

CARING FOR THE KIDS

She's also a familiar face on media society pages and has worked as a presenter for beauty care products, which has earned her a reputation as a ''hi-so'' celebrity, which Pornpatr sees as a bit unfair.

''I don't think I'm a hi-so celeb,'' she says. ''I don't use brand names all the time or always live an extravagant life. I love eating at roadside shops and don't overindulge. Most of the 'hi-so parties' I've gone to have been thrown by my friends.''

Pornpatr is just as comfortable working mostly behind the scenes with underprivileged children. She currently supports five children, two of whom through the CCF Foundation Under the Royal Patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and three more at the World Vision Foundation of Thailand.

Her largely private works with World Vision became more public when she briefly became a face of the organisation following photographs taken of a water tank and purifier to the organisation years ago.

''I donated them because I wanted children to have clean water to drink and to save during the dry season,'' she says.

Initiatives to help the young are the closest to her heart, she says.

''My contributions always go to projects for children. I believe that when they grow up, they will realise that they have come this far because of help from other people and will return that back to others who are lacking opportunities,'' she says.

Pornpatr says that life as a housewife has been fulfilling and that she's not anxious about the future. She's content with the present, being with her husband and friends, painting and helping others when the opportunity arises.

She's happily out of the rat race.

''I don't want to do anything for money,'' she says. ''I mean if I were to set up a new business, I would take it seriously and I'd have to sacrifice spending time with my husband. That's not worth it.''

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