Beyond Thai-Ness
Kritchai Bhianok
How do we keep our culture alive when we’re living far from home?
I found myself missing things that are hard to describe: the smell of lemongrass at a market, the warmth of gold and red in a temple, the feeling of being somewhere that just makes sense without explanation.
Beyond Thai-Ness is my attempt to hold onto that. Not through images or words, but through objects you can touch, open, and smell.
This project is a collection of three scent containers and one candle vessel. Each object carries three-dimensional Thai motifs inspired by Lai Kranok, one of the most iconic patterns in Thai culture.
The color symbolizes gold for the divine, red for energy and good fortune, white for purity and peace. Rather than printing the motif flat onto a surface, the pattern is sculpted into the form itself, so you feel it when you hold it.
Each container holds a hand-assembled blend of Thai herbs and essential oils, one Fresh, one Soft, one Relax ingredients that carry real meaning in Thai traditional medicine, ceremonies, and everyday home life.
The smell of a Thai market. The feeling of being far from home and wanting to bring something of it with you. Rather than printing the motif flat onto a surface, the pattern is sculpted into the form itself, so you feel it when you hold it. Each container holds a hand-assembled blend of Thai herbs and essential oils, one Fresh, one Soft, one Relax ingredients that carry real meaning in Thai traditional medicine, ceremonies, and everyday home life.
The containers and candle vessels were modeled in Rhino 3D and prototyped in PLA through 3D printing.
Scent blends were developed through multiple rounds of bath bomb experiments testing how Thai herbs and essential oils combine, layer, and release.
Herbs including lemongrass, holy basil, peppermint, ginger, and clove were sourced for their cultural significance in Thai traditional medicine and everyday life.
The final scent blends Fresh, Soft, and Relax were assembled by hand using cheesecloth and essential oils.
The candle vessel was rendered in glass using Rhino’s Raytraced mode to show the final material intent.
Every container opens differently. One you twist. One you lift by the cap. Each mechanism creates a small pause, a gesture that slows you down before the scent reaches you. The candle vessel is designed for a different kind of experience, something larger, meant to sit near your bedside and slowly fill a whole room with warmth and scent over time.
Beyond Thai-Ness is not about recreating Thai aesthetics. It is about asking what Thai identity feels like when you hold it in your hands.
Kritchai Bhianok
Direction has been one of the struggles when I first attempted this project. I had so many different ways and tools to present a final product/project to my professors and peers but I did not know what to get into. I planned to take so many different ways at the start but nothing stuck until the directions pointed me back home. In many ways, we all have that one place we look back to, someplace to miss, somewhere to reminisce. I dedicated this whole project to my home, Thailand. There are so many things that remind me of home, the food, the temples, and I wanted to share that to those who are curious about Thai culture. To show that there is more to our world than just what’s shown in the media. While this project might not be much it’s still a small step to introducing you to a whole new experience.
Release Granted
