In 2015, Siam Piwat signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of International Trade Promotion, the Ministry of Commerce, to introduce the work of up-and-coming Thai designers to the global market by giving information support, facilitating exchanges of ideas between agencies, providing venues for promotional activities, as well as giving marketing support to open up sales channels in the market.
As an ally of the initiative, Siam Piwat has provided venues for DEmark Show and Talent Thai and Designers’ Room, both of which are important platforms that enable Thai designers to fully showcase their designs and creativity and ultimately develop their capabilities to meet international standards.
In addition to supporting these annual contests, Siam Piwat has also collaborated with the Department of International Trade Promotion, the Ministry of Commerce, and opened Objects of Desire Store (ODS) to showcase lifestyle and home décor products from over 130 Thai brands on an area of over 600 sq.m. on the third floor (Creative Lab) of Siam Discovery. These items on display are from the projects initiated by the Department of International Trade Promotion, such as DEmark and Talent Thai and Designer’s Room, among many others. The store is divided into sections, each featuring products from model projects such as ISAN Project, an initiative in which young designers help elevate local northeastern handicrafts by injecting a contemporary touch into their appearance and adding daily life applications. The store also houses I+D Style Café, another model project in which Thai coffee beans are utilized as the basis of a contemporary café business.
This collaboration has opened up practical sales channels for products of Thai designers and expanded their customer bases to international tourists, in line with Siam Piwat’s long-standing policy to support Thai designers. Siam Piwat also aims to transform all its shopping malls such as Siam Center, Siam Paragon, Siam Discovery, and ICONSIAM into centers of Thai designers’ products.
