Close your eyes. Visualize you are on a tropical island, sipping a young coconut, and listening to the humming of breeze as your body swings to the rhythm of the waves. What are you lying on? What pops up in your mind? A hammock, of course!
Khun Tiya, the brand owner and designer of ULA, made her name by making one-of-a-kind custom hammocks since 2015. One could not imagine how making hammocks could become a thriving business all on its own. However, if you see how her hammocks complete a living space with a fairytale, happily-ever-after type of magic, you will understand why it is essential in every single villa that anyone calls home.
From Crafting Idyllic Hammocks to Building a Serious Home Textile Business
Khun Tiya passionately shared with us how COVID actually pushed her to turn a once passive home decor business into one that she took initiative to create beyond hammocks:
“I wasn’t serious about marketing in the beginning. I was selling hammocks and handmade products based on my personal preferences. I did not even have a name at the beginning. Customers referred to my hammocks as Tiya’s hammocks. After a while, the name stuck. It became a business, and the business became Tiya’s Hammocks! My services were more to be specifically curated for a certain habitat. A lot of time, I even created unique colours to meet a client’s fantasy! ULA Collections is a re-brand of two of its core products, Tiya’s Hammocks and Phuket Fabric. Phuket Fabric began at a time when life was difficult during Covid. I have had a passion for sewing ever since I was a little girl, and when COVID hit, I had a lot of free time because there was no regular work. This means, as a thank you gesture, I was able to make Home Textile items such as cushions and bags to send to customers who ordered hammocks from me. But many customers who received the items inquired about them, which has led to the start of branching out to offering more products and services.”
The popularity of ULA was not surprising— after all, the patterns and detailed craftsmanship of her products give a modern home a touch of Thailand without looking old-fashioned. These hammocks come from the north of Thailand, and are made from thin threads with various colours and designs. Every piece is a result of labour of love, as their beautiful detail as well as the fundamental need for high durability requires that they take a painstakingly long time to make (10-14 days, to be exact.) The largest size can support a weight of 250 kilograms. ULA also offers personal services such as upholstery with the unique selection of in-house fabrics the brand has to offer. The retail price of these products ranges from as low as 100 baht per yard of fabric, to the most expensive cradle, which is made out of cotton rope and priced at 12,500 baht. (At the time of this article’s creation, 1 USD was trading at a value of 35.74 THB.) The process of making the cradle and decorating the sides is truly incredible and results in a breathtaking product. That being said, all of the hammocks in the Colorful Hammocks category are vibrant and simply gorgeous, and made from acrylic yarn.
An Ambitious Mission to Promote Thai Culture, One Hammock at a Time
“We are very happy when customers see the value in handmade products or products produced by local communities in Thailand. In the future, I would like to explore the opportunity to have a brick and mortar location for the ULA shop and eventually have a presence all over the country to greet every visitor to Thailand and give them the opportunity to take home memorable and authentic souvenirs from Thailand.”
There once was a young gent
Who slept on the ground, all twisted and bent.
He got a new bed in the air, ditched his old tent.
And said, “buying this hammock was money well spent!”
Don’t be like the young gent in the poem! If you want to support local business and handmade products that are made in Thailand— and most importantly, bring a piece of paradise (in the form of souvenirs from Thailand) home with you— you can order ULA’s products from their website, which is found here:
https://www.uniquelivingarts.com/product-category/ula-v-hammocks/
Also, be sure to follow ULA’s IG @ula_uniquelivingarts to get inspirations from their clients’ choices of hammocks.
