Chiang Mai engineer makes a living from making dolls

CHIANG MAI, Thailand (JP): He is the only engineer in town, or probably the world, who makes his living from hand-made dolls instead of building houses or skyscrapers.

Youthana Boonprakong, a construction engineer, manages the Chiang Mai doll center his mother, Vanida S. Mongkhon, established in 1959.

He decided to take over the doll business because "none of my brothers and sisters wanted to do it," he said.

Youthana has three sisters and three brothers, but he is the only one talented in doll making.

The dolls' costumes are copied from hill tribes' outfits and traditional Thai clothes. Each hill tribe dolls comes with a piece of paper explaining where the tribe lives, their characteristics, culture and livelihood.

Vanida, who has French and Laotian blood, started producing the dolls after seeing the hill tribes and their fascinating costumes. She studied doll making techniques in Japan before venturing into the business.

She is now 70 years old and retired.

Youthana was eight years old when his mother began making the dolls. He became an engineer, but later realized that he loved dolls more than buildings.

"And the doll business is good," he insisted.

Youthana joined his mother in the business 15 years ago.

His mother made fabric dolls, but in 1985 Youthana introduced porcelain dolls, which soon became as popular the originals. He also designed new dolls.

"I will make dolls which can produce traditional music," he said.

He once made male dolls, but they did not sell. People prefer female dolls because their costumes are more lively and they have more accessories.

Most buyers are Western tourists.

"Asians do not seem to be interested in the dolls," Youthana said.

He said many locals buy the dolls for their kids.

With 30 workers, the doll making factory produces 1,000 fabric dolls and 1,000 porcelain dolls a month. Most of them are sold in the country but some are exported to the United States and Japan.

An eight inch fabric doll sells for 150 Baht (US$6.25) while a porcelain doll goes for 200 Baht. The 12-inch ones cost between 200 Baht and 300 Baht, depending on the design.

Youthana sells the 12-inch cloth dolls for 160 Baht each to a U.S. exporter who then sells them for $25 each in America.

"I tried to sell the dolls for 180 Baht ($7.5), but they would not buy them," he said.

Youthana has custom-made some special dolls for 5,000 Baht ($208), including a bride and a groom ordered by a man as a wedding gift for his bride.

Since there is not much room in his home factory, some employees work in their own houses. One of worker, Vandee, makes 50 pairs of hands for the fabric dolls at her own house everyday and brings them to the factory when they are ready.

The bodies of the porcelain dolls are made in a nearby workshop owned by a friend.

The traditional costumes are made by the hill tribes themselves in their homes in the mountains.

In the factory, the bodies are assembled, the apparel sewn on and the faces painted.

"I am the factory manager, my wife is the owner," Youthana said with pride.

He has two daughters aged 11 and 4 years old.

"My eldest daughter is not interested in doll making," he sighed.

"She wants to become an artist and she is now taking an acting class," he added.

She must get the acting talent from Youthana's beautiful wife, who is a former Miss Chiang Mai.

Youthana will not force his daughters to enter the doll industry. He just hopes they will be interested when they are older and see that the business is good.

Youthana wakes up at six in the morning and works at his factory until five when leaves for his small shop in the city's night market. He returns home around midnight.

He has five small shops in the night market of Chiang Mai. He attends one shop himself, while the others are managed by his relatives.

He volunteers to teach doll making twice a week to 30 students at an elementary school located near his factory. Once in a while he goes to the hill tribes' villages to teach the people the craft.

"I want to help, especially the tribe people. They are poor," he said in way of an explanation.

He isn't afraid that people will copy his products. In fact, he is happy to share his expertise and help other people improve their lives. (sim)