Nutida Subboriboon only has one complaint about the arrangement of her "Tea Studio" stall at the Art Box market: smoke blows in whenever one of her neighbours fires up a wok.
Otherwise, she is perfectly happy and has more than enough space to arrange her wares inside the structure she shares with three other vendors — a renovated shipping container that is part of Bangkok’s newest weekend market sensation, Art Box.
Ms Nutida said apart from being a unique attraction for customers, the container makes a surprisingly convenient location to work out of.
“I think the container makes a very comfortable place to set up a shop. It has more space for vendors to put their things [compared to other markets],” she said.
“However, it is not so good for the food stalls since the smoke just blows over to the next stall, because the container doesn’t have a ventilator window.”
Looking down on Art Box from the Makkasan foot bridge, the shipping containers are all lined up neatly, looking like a futuristic vision of a Bangkok flea market, a far cry from the makeshift shelters usually made of spotted and stained plastic roofing.
Art Box was conceived as a way to make use of space in Makkasan that had been converted into a car park during last year’s crackdown on vans at Victory Monument.
It was held for the first time in June, is on again this weekend, and there are plans for further events until September.
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
Each container can accommodate between four and six shops. The market showcases artisanal products, clothes and food, but its real selling point is being the first in Thailand to be built from recycled containers.
Organiser Nantapob Rungwatanakit, 28, said Art Box took its inspiration from international markets which have been successful. Boxpark Shoreditch in London is one of the most famous examples, along with Re:Start in Christchurch, New Zealand, which was built after the 2011 earthquake.
Part of the beauty of using containers is that they can be set up quickly: after obtaining about 40 of them via suppliers from the Port Authority of Thailand in April, it was only a matter of weeks before the first event was held.
Five trucks delivered the “raw containers” promptly and the finishing touches were applied in May.
“Usually, a used container can be obtained for around 30-40,000 baht per box, but we had them renovated so in the end we spent around 70,000 baht per container," Mr Nantapob said.
“We had one side removed on each container. We removed both walls in some cases to make way for the shop front.”
The containers will remain in place until September. If Art Box continues to be held in Makkasan they will stay longer, but if it is forced to look for another home the containers will simply be placed on the back of a truck again.
The feedback from vendors has been positive, and demand has been overwhelming.
“The area can accommodate around 350 vendors, plus 16 rotating food trucks each week," Mr Nantapob said. "We initially thought 300 to 400 vendors would apply. But now we have around 1,500 of them queuing up and probably we need one or two months to rotate the vendors as they are waiting to sell their products at a shop space here. We only have six people in the sales team and they can barely handle them all.”
The popularity with customers, which means many vendors sell all their goods over the course of a weekend, is a large attraction for budding entrepreneurs.
“The number of vendors applying for a space at Art Box surpassed any of our initial expectations,” he said.
Mr Nantapob’s company has a contract with the State Railway of Thailand, which owns the land in Makkasan, until the end of September, and they are negotiating a possible extension.
“Even though we cannot expand the area, we are looking at whether we can add more branches of Art Box to other neglected areas of Bangkok. We don’t want Art Box to be in any shopping mall because we want to develop wasted urban spaces.”
The shipping muse: Young people were queuing up to take photographs at the fashionable market.
PACKING THEM IN
Art Box was crowded last weekend for its second event, but the customers did not come for the shipping containers alone. Thousands of people went along to shop for handmade products, scout emerging fashion lines and sample artisanal food.
Located between the Ratchada-Rama IX and Petchaburi-Asoke intersections, the market is a default stop for daily commuters on both the MRT and Airport Rail Link (and convenient for the rest of us).
It proves to be a fresh, relaxing hangout spot for students and office people alike who stop to shop or to dine on their way home. Vendors start setting up at noon on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, before the market opens at 3pm. By 6pm, the Asoke skywalk was packed as people flocked to the new spot.
The first event in mid-June saw about 5,000 visitors a day. That number at least doubled last weekend, according to Mr Nantapob.
The organisers plan to hold Art Box on the first two weekends of August: since the agreement with the SRT is being negotiated this could be subject to change.
As the evening went on, and walkways between the containers became crowded, many visitors headed to the stage area. There, the containers make way for food trucks and visitors can sit and eat at counter bars or chairs in front of the stage where a cool evening breeze was blowing.
“Food was the most popular product over the past weekend,” Mr Nantapob said. “People were excited to try ice-cream served with dried ice or an extra tangy orange juice. Food trucks were also doing particularly well.”
All in one: Visitors to the market can shop, eat, drink and enjoy live music.
SHUCKS, THAT’S GOOD BUSINESS
Oyster Bay Bangkok was one vendor keen to move into one of the containers. However, they woefully underestimated how many customers were prepared to shell out for their goods.
Nopphawan Engwiwat, 27, prepared only 200 oysters for Friday. But by the market’s final day, last Sunday, a total of 1,400 oysters had been sold during the three-day event.
Ms Nopphawan came with her own pop-up wooden oyster store, complete with a little balcony and a bench for people to sit on. This fitted perfectly within her allotted space in the container, and she reflected on how the event's concept had drawn a large crowd.
“We set up our shop in front of the shopping mall in downtown Sukhumvit last time, and I can say this place can easily compete with that location in terms of sales,” she said. “I think the place is very accessible. Unlike other markets in front of shopping malls where people stop by just because they are visiting the mall, here they intend to come.
“There are many ways to eat an oyster. Today we are serving it with seafood sauce, garlic, chilli oil and white popinac. We are also planning to serve it with som tam topping, larb topping and tamarind sauce or red wine vinegar, and Japanese soy sauce with chopped radish.”
Whatever the topping, be sure to always accompany oysters with “white wine or sparkling wine”, Ms Nopphawan said.
“This is our way of turning our passion into money.”
HOLDING A CANDLE TO IT
Among the hundreds of interesting items to be found at the market, one that stood out was a range of dog-shaped candles, handcrafted by 31-year-old Bom.
Bom began making the candles just seven months ago, after quitting his full-time job as a graphic designer.
“I finished my degree in sculpture, but I wasn’t confident enough to pursue art on its own,” Bom said. “Now I feel like I have to give it my all, and I’m happy that there has been a lot of interest. When people tell me the candles are cute, that’s enough to make me happy.”
Bom usually sells his wares at Talad Rod Fai, or the train market, with another vendor. This is his first time setting up shop on his own.
“I saw that no one has run this kind of market before, so I wanted to show my work here,” he said.
The candles aren’t cheap, at 350 baht for the dog designs and 250 for those shaped into hearts. But they’re certainly worth a look for their intricate creativity on show.
A PLACE TO BE SEEN
As much as Art Box is a place for entrepreneurs to showcase their products, it’s also a place to be seen. Many shoppers queued up to take photos in front of the Art Box entrance. Others took selfies by the food trucks and on the straw-covered lawn in front of the stage.
“The organisers really did their marketing right,” said Gong, 22, who was on his first trip to the market. “Art Box is super trendy right now, it’s all over social media, and it feels like something we have to come to right now.”
Ait, 21, agreed. “It’s not like anything else we’ve seen before. It definitely works as a business idea, though maybe not so much in the art sense.”
Art Box isn’t only a place for the young, however, as families could also be seen wandering among the containers.
Boxing clever: Art Box was set up to make use of a disused car park in Makkasan. Curiosity shop: Among hundreds of interesting items to be found at the market are dog-shaped candles and miniature gardens encased in glass jars.
Joey, who is in his fifties, said he came at the prodding of his daughter, who goes to university in the area. “I’ve been to a lot of markets all over the world, and this one’s pretty alright,” he said. “I’m glad that there is at least a bit more art in Bangkok.”
TIME FOR TEA
For Ms Nutida and business partner Saran Palangthanasukij, the profits of three days of hard work more than made up for the inconvenience of a little smoke from their neighbours.
Their cold-brewed bottled tea had also sold out by the last day.
“We sold more here than at any place we’ve ever sold in before,” Ms Nutida said.
“Art Box pays attention to publicity to create awareness and the location is good with convenient transportation.
“I like the concept of the event and the rent here is about half of that compared to other weekend markets organised in exhibition areas at shopping malls or in front of condominiums. Plus there are so many visitors.” n
Always hungry: From fresh oysters to ice-cream served with dried ice and tangy orange juice, food is always the biggest seller at the market.
