{"id":3613,"date":"2019-03-22T00:45:35","date_gmt":"2019-03-21T15:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adfwebmagazine.jp\/?p=3613"},"modified":"2019-03-22T00:45:35","modified_gmt":"2020-01-05T21:48:18","slug":"p-tendercool-in-bangkok","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adfwebmagazine.jp\/en\/design\/p-tendercool-in-bangkok\/","title":{"rendered":"P. Tendercool \uff5cAntique Dealers Become Furniture Designers in Bangkok"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reborn in Bangkok: Antique Dealers Become Furniture Designers<\/h3>\r\n

Pieter Compernol and his architect wife Stephanie Grusenmeyer had visited Thailand many times as antique dealers before starting new lives in Bangkok as bespoke furniture designers at the helm of their own company P. Tendercool<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\"ADFWebMagazine-PT-Exhibition<\/a>

P.Tendercool showroom and studio<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n

\u201cStephanie and I have always worked as a team, we do everything together. It\u2019s a real partnership. First in Antwerp as antique dealers we would travel together and source antiques for our store. Stephanie always dreamt of living in the east some day and then one day we made that decision,\u201d said Pieter.<\/p>\r\n

Some 15 years ago the Belgian couple renovated an old shop-house in Chinatown, partly because it was close to the antiques trove of River City shopping complex and partly because the neighborhood felt authentic. A dinner guest, also in the antiques business, took such a shine to their quirky yet funky shop-house that he gave them carte blanche to renovate his condo near New York\u2019s Central Park. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

\"ADFWebMagazine-PT-Men<\/a>

Bronze foundry and workshop<\/p><\/div>

\"ADFWebMagazine-PT-Showroom<\/a>

Showroom at Warehouse 30 next door where the slabs of hardwood are stored<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n

Even though they had never done interior design before, they readily agreed to take on the project and spread their creative wings. <\/p>\r\n

In the launching of every successful expat venture in Asia, serendipity plays a starring role. Looking to source design materials in Hanoi, the biggest bastion of traditional Vietnamese arts and crafts in that country, the couple came upon a hole-in-the-wall antiques shop with some slabs of rustic hardwoods, which they instantly recognized as Jichimu<\/a> or \u2018chicken-wing wood\u2019, the precious type of wood that classical Chinese furniture is made of.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThese huge pieces of wood \u2013 some 150 to 200 years old \u2013 were traditionally used by families as a platform to sit on to keep them off the damp floor of the jungle,\u201d Pieter explained. \u201cWe asked the antique dealer if he could find some more. We rented a truck, went to all the villages and started buying everything we could find because we knew the supply was finite.\u201d Before they knew it, they were in proud possession of over 60 pieces of massive wood slabs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\"ADFWebMagazine-PT-Wood\"<\/a>

Over the last 8 years, they have collected about 200 slabs of antique exotic hardwood.<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n

\"ADFWebMagazine-collection_woodstock_9\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n

In theory, that was the catalyst for their new furniture design company called P. Tendercool. <\/p>\r\n

In reality, it would take another three years of trial and error, with a series of different craftsmen, before their prototypes would move beyond the workshop and into their showroom.\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n

One of the game-changers for the nascent furniture-makers was collaborating with the Italian bronze master Armando, who\u2019s artistic CV includes casting sculptures for Salvador Dali. Turning 80 this year, he trained some of the Thai artisans to reanimate this moribund craft, while encouraging them to collaborate with the woodworkers. He also helped the Belgian entrepreneurs to rework and fine-tune their designs.\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n

The resulting pieces are an elegant hybrid of bronze and hardwood that, in their use of natural materials and less-is-more aestheticism, bear a distinctive Japanese influence. As Pieter noted, \u201cI\u2019m a big admirer of Japanese aesthetics and their love of everything pure and natural. We let the wood speak for itself. That\u2019s what we try to honor.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n

\"ADFWebMagazine-PT-PT31-Natural-007\"<\/a>

Table inspired by Japanese design<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n

\"PTendercool-ATOP-PT31-Natural-009\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n

All the items are built to last by a team of carefully handpicked craftsmen<\/a> who create the pieces in a dedicated bronze foundry and workshop situated down the street from the main showroom. \u201cWe don\u2019t sell furniture which will be outdated in a few years or breaks down. It\u2019s very sturdy.\u201d <\/p>\r\n

That devotion to quality and durability has won P. Tendercool a loyal following of interior decorators in search of sui-generis items, as well as interior designers and boutique hoteliers hunting for one-off pieces. <\/p>\r\n

Beyond the large, statement tables, P. Tendercool has expanded its range of furniture to include coffee tables, sofas, chairs and bookcases. On the drawing board is a prototype for a desk. <\/p>\r\n\r\n

\"ADFWebMagazine-PT-PTgallery-Jiratchaya-Lifelines-004\"<\/a>

The studio regularly hosts exhibitions.<\/p><\/div>\r\n\r\n

If the continual additions to their bespoke lines are new, the reliance on materials like reclaimed teakwood from old Thai houses remains the same. In Buddhist fashion, Pieter calls this rebirth of old materials \u201ckarma\u201d.\u00a0 <\/p>\r\n

Such a combination of new-wave designs amidst an old-school setting has also reinvigorated this part of Bangkok\u2019s Chinatown around their warehouse. Just as they were ahead of the curve before, moving into a shop-house in what is now called the \u201cCreative District,\u201d they were pioneers in establishing their showroom in a historic warehouse. Located near the Chao Phraya River, the studio sports a Boho-meets-Soho vibe reminiscent of New York\u2019s meatpacking district. Meanwhile they have a new neighbor \u2013 Warehouse 30<\/a>, a popular community arts space with vendors, galleries, food and films.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWhen we saw this warehouse, we recognized the potential of the area. This is the oldest part of Bangkok. This is Chinatown. So it's a very authentic part of the city, and it has a lot of history,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n

In the small lanes and alleyways along Charoenkrung and Yaowarat Roads, hipster bars with craft beer and oddball cocktails, live music venues, funky galleries and small restaurants with artisanal menus have been popping up. Another coup was that the\u00a0Thailand Creative & Design Center (TCDC)<\/a> moved into the Grand Postal Building on Charoenkrung Road, one of Bangkok\u2019s last remaining art deco buildings, which is the epicenter of Bangkok Design Week, lastly held in January.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

Both geographically and metaphorically, P. Tendercool is right in the thick of this revolution.<\/p>\r\n

In keeping up with the high-tech times, however, they have started selling their creations on 1stDibs<\/a>, an online platform which sells carefully curated, d\u00e9cor items sourced from the world's top dealers, finest boutiques and premier art galleries. Pieter reckons that about 50% of their clients now find them through this platform and their website and Instagram page. <\/p>\r\n

Even though they have reinvented themselves professionally in Bangkok, the Belgian couple remains refreshingly down to earth. They don\u2019t live large and they don\u2019t drive around in fancy cars. As stylishly European as ever, they prefer getting around on their Vespa scooters. \u201cBut then we can get away with it because we are designers,\u201d quipped Pieter. <\/p>\r\n

What really drives them is their work.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI don't think we have a lot of ego,\u201d Pieter said. \u201cDoing our very best is rewarding to us already. Without having a furniture-making background, we are proud of what we have achieved. That's for us the true value of what we absolutely love \u2013 that people appreciate what we do.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\"ADFWebMagazine-PieterCompernol-StephanieGrusenmeyer-PTendercool1\"<\/a><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>\r\n

P. Tendercool Website<\/a><\/p>\r\n

About P. Tendercool\u00a0on 1stDibs<\/a><\/a><\/p>\r\n

Instagram: @ptendercool<\/a><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p><\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reborn in Bangkok: Antique Dealers Become Furniture Designers Pieter Compernol and his architect wife Stephani […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":3621,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"P. Tendercool \uff5cAntique Dealers Become Furniture Designers in Bangkok\r\n\r\n#bangkok #design #designer #ptendercool #interior #interiordesign #\u30d0\u30f3\u30b3\u30af #\u30c7\u30b6\u30a4\u30f3 #\u30a4\u30f3\u30c6\u30ea\u30a2","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[8],"tags":[38,42,52,122],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.adfwebmagazine.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/adfwebmagazine-pt-showroom-at-warehouse-30.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adfwebmagazine.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3613"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adfwebmagazine.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adfwebmagazine.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adfwebmagazine.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adfwebmagazine.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.adfwebmagazine.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adfwebmagazine.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adfwebmagazine.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adfwebmagazine.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adfwebmagazine.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}