Here is the latest glossy 99-page book that not only tells us about contemporary Thai designs and trends but also something about the fascinating traditions of Thai arts and crafts. THAI TRACKS is published by Emphasis Media, the same publishing house that brings us Sawasdee, Thai Airways International’s in-flight magazine. The material found in these 99 interesting pages was originally seen in Sawasdee.

THAI TRACKS, available through all Asia Books outlets and many THAI offices, is divided into six sections: Fashion & Accessories, Home & Décor, Spa & Bath, Dining & Kitchen, Decorative Arts, and Directory & Sources 

Chris Kucway, the editor of both THAI TRACKS and Sawasdee magazine, and is a gifted writer himself, tells us more about the content of the book in his elaborate and very informative introduction:

These days, the thought of cutting-edge design and Thailand are inseparable, but it wasn't always so. As creative Thais in every corner of the country toil away in relative anonymity today, their work spreads around the world as quickly as air travel can manage. There's an obvious link here, since the Thai Tracks book you hold in your hands is the result of a monthly section in Sawasdee, the inflight magazine of Thai Airways International. That section, also titled Thai Tracks, promises the latest trends and most interesting traditions from around the Kingdom - and delivers the goods each month.

Yet the innovative designs that Thai Tracks has covered evolve from a long thread of arts and crafts native to the Kingdom. Beyond the hustle and bustle of Thailand's major centres lies a country of rural villages carrying on traditional Thai values in the form of its arts. These pleasant oases are home to a number of grass-roots cottage industries that make home accessories in small quantities from a diverse selection of natural materials. Most apply a typical palette of wood, bamboo and rattan to fashion contemporary interpretations of traditional objects. In a locale like Bangkok, on the other hand, the motivating notion is that anything—historical or modern, wood or plastic—goes when it comes to innovative design. Over the years, Thai Tracks has documented this evolution, becoming a record of Thai design in the process. Not long ago, more traditional forms of what passed for design—rice containers and wooden utensils of every description—were the norm across the country. Aside from sunny memories, these are the things that visitors took home with them. And these are the items that featured in early versions of Thai Tracks, when the section wasn't looking at more esoteric local traits such as why Thais eat with a spoon or how to make a traditional offering with incense at a temple.

Thailand's modern design community fuses the Kingdom's rich traditions with its more eclectic modern side, its work having made such a mark around the world that Bangkok and Chiang Mai in particular have fast become design centres of note in Asia. Aside from artistic aspirations, if there is a common thread to the designs, it's the Thai sense of humour, which extends from daily life to the high quality of decorative arts on offer, and the ongoing quest to treat local traditions with the honour and respect they deserve.

Like the products featured every month, what started as a modest monthly section has evolved to the point where today it covers ground unimaginable in the past. What had been everyday item to a Thai became souvenirs from this part of the world. Quickly, these same items were adapted to more modern uses: the wicker basket once used to store food turned into a generic carry-all is one memorable conversion. The next step, one well documented during the past three years in Thai Tracks, involved some genuine creativity, a not-always easy prospect but one that apparently was bursting at the seams in the country's artistic communities. The result was design that in many instances improved upon daily life in ways never heard of before. A key difference in the Kingdom was the Thai sense of fun, sanuk; which quickly entered the equation and transcended cultures. Barely does a new Thai product whether dashingly innovative, uncannily smart or simply hilarious escape the view of Thai Tracks today.

As Thai designers and their work has evolved, so has Thai Tracks. What was a magazine section has now become this book. As a matter of course, Thai creativity covers every aspect of modern living, which explains how we've broken down the book into five straight to sections, the first of which is fashion.

When the Thai Tracks section first started, fashion from the Kingdom meant hill-tribe jewellery some rough clothing and little else. Today, the silver baubles still exist but so do more modern and elegant designs, And those famously woven garment5 are now turned into patchwork purses and handbags that wouldn't look out of place on New York's Fifth Avenue or Brompton Road in London. From outright funky— where else in the world could you pick up a bamboo bag? - to comfortably practical, as in silk slippers, Thailand's fashion industry has a few surprises up its sleeve. Yes, there's more than a standard Thai silk scarf available as a gift, even though that scarf likely comes in hundreds of colours, most of which are unimaginable outside of Thailand.

Thailand's first inroads in design, its first creations to gain worldwide recognition, came with home furnishings. Today, this wide-ranging category includes everything from rubber clocks in alarming colours—the wonderful purpose behind them being their ability to withstand the shock of being thrown against a wall in the early hours of the morning—to the most immaculately designed furniture woven from extra-fine rattan and complemented with only the most comfortable of Thai silk cushions. Despite the wide range of designs, what these vases, throw pillows, lamps and chairs have in common is the reaction from potential buyers, which more often than not is why didn't someone think of that before? Suffice if to say your house will never look or feel the same,

Nowhere is the urge to take a little bit of Thailand home with you more pronounced than after a serene visit to a spa, which is why spa and bath products always prove so popular. From the early days of little more than distinctive aromas, normally in the form of either Soap or incense, to the present incarnations of gift sets to wow the weariest of travellers, Thai creativity in this area remains unsurpassed anywhere in the world. Who wouldn't want a bottle of sesame, jasmine and basil body oil to go? How about an iris-flavoured bath gel? Whether the aim is to ease aching muscles, a blissful state of relaxation or simply to re-create that magical moment at a Thai spa, every angle is covered here and the options are growing fast.

All of that said, where would Thailand be without its most famous export, food? Like spa products, dining, kitchen and food items are obvious keepsakes from the Kingdom. Here you'll find wonderfully coloured and wildly shaped ceramics, not to mention plates and bowls of bamboo, hammered bronze and moulded rubber. For every wooden kitchen tool a Thai would use, there's something that would make them roll in laughter: do farang really enjoy bamboo-stem teapots? The obvious reply is why not? As for foodstuffs, local shops have cottoned on to the fact that visitors now want to know how to cook Thai food as much as they want to eat it in a restaurant. Here is where dreams of tangerine, lemongrass, coconuts and papaya, among other flavours, grab hold of your taste buds. So nowadays there are do-it-yourself sauces that will make you look like a veteran Thai chef, delicious step-by-step cookbooks and mouth-watering treats to take home, if you can resist eating them before the end of your trip.

In terms of decorative arts, almost everything that has appeared in Thai Tracks over the past three years could be included. Natural materials such as cotton, hemp, linen and silk are the material impetus behind much of the craft and design work that goes on in Thailand, particularly when talk turns to home decoration. Beautifully handcrafted sa paper, intricate basketwork and practically anything you can imagine made out of bamboo are all within the creative realm of the country. As one designer told Sawasdee, "all homes should have at least one piece of fun furniture". So more modern items reflect the lighter side of Thai life, with rubber sink stoppers that need a helping hand or colour co-ordinated pots that will help you distinguish your chilies from your Thai basil.

Taken as a whole, every item mentioned in this book is meant to evoke lasting memories of Thailand. To this end, Thai designers continue to consciously embrace the country's traditions and integrate them into new solutions for modern living. This ongoing evolution of Thai creativity is best seen at Thailand's annual Gift Design Awards, which recognises young designers who focus on being innovative and practical at the same time, and who normally are brought greater exposure in Thai Tracks. Along with their more established colleagues around the country, they ensure that the Thai creative mind will continue to shock, surprise and please for years to come; there is still a lot more to come on the design front in Thailand.

And so, for all those Sawasdee readers who have made monthly queries about our imaginary "catalogue" that wishfully includes everything we've ever published under the Thai Tracks moniker, we finally have a partial answer in the form of this book. Enjoy it and keep reading.