When design fusions a cafe and a shop – Bangkok

I am in a taxi of Bangkok on the way to Bang Sue, a road famous for woodcraft. I hope we are on the right way.  We have just been dropped by an other taxi at a wrong place. At 1 hour far away from our destination! The taxi pretended we was arrived, in fact he was lost. We was lost…

Travel TIP: Show the taxi driver the address written in the local alphabet.
We asked the hotel receptionist to translate it for us in Thai. (Unfortunately that tip didn’t worked with our first driver. Ahah)

Visiting woodcraft atelier at Bang Sue, Bangkok

After going down the taxi,
We went to the closest cafe to ask for direction. It was the cafe Cyclology where we met the owner who helped us calling a taxi and gave the correct direction to the next taxi driver. 45minutes later and 145 baht later, we reached the place!

Finally arrived at Pracha Rat Soi 24

Handicraft from the carpenters of Bang Sue, Bangkok

I’ll tell you more about what I learned from the woodcraft road in the next article. Before, let me share with you a bit on How Cyclology attracted my attention.

Cyclology is a cafe but mainly a cycle shop for demanding riders. The shop was so clean. To go in, we had to remove our shoes. Pretty unusual for a shop no ?

The way they care about the shop is to me an indicator of how they care about the product they sell and the services they give to your bikes.

In Thailand,
It seams pretty common to fusion shop & cafe. I didn’t took picture from Cyclology. Let me share with you this concept from an other shop I saw yesterday at Thong Lor area, famous for beautiful cafes.

When a cafe fusions with a shop.

The cafe brings people in your shop and give exposure to your products.
You can sell any kind of products. Here was about indoor and outdoor lighting for decoration- mainly with an industrial look. The shop sells the products to local customers, tourist or even professionals who can enjoy a cafe under beautiful lightings.

The product are not displayed in a row like any traditional and boring shop you find in a supermarket or specialized shop, but are nicely presented like a gallery of props!

Buy anything you see in the cafe!

What’s the link with Industrial design ?
Ok the client may come just for a coffee and a piece of cake, nothing more. But if he came to that shop we can admit he likes the ambiance and decoration from the products. He might not buy today, but maybe tomorrow or just talking about the cafe to his friends.

If your service and food are good, the customer will associate a positive experience with the products. Science shows that human act by emotion, not much from tangible reason. This is how creating such customer experience will activate the emotional memory and hopefully buy  your products and use them happily! 🙂

TIP: A designer is not about creating functions or make things beautiful. It’s about creating life experience.

“Everything” you see is for sell.

Tomorrow I will share with you what I learned about wood from my meetings with the carpenters of Bang Sue.

Asking information about Laser cutting and edging on wood.

If you want more of articles where I share with you my personal and daily thoughts and observation. Let me know by email or leave me a message in the comments!

See you!
Cheers from Bangkok,
Chou-Tac