Pang was born in Hua Hin to parents who originated from the province of Petchaburi.  Pang’s parents have always worked hard to provide for her, their only child, and have been adept at finding business opportunities in Hua Hin and its surrounding areas.  They had a swimming pool construction business, have bought, sold and rented homes to the ever-growing foreign community, and even themselves worked for several years in the jewellery business, which may well have been the beginning of Pun’s fascination with taking metals and polished stones and turning them into objects of great beauty. Her Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design, earned in Singapore, only had a single unit of study in jewellery, where she, as a fashion design student collaborated with a student in the jewellery design stream, to create a co-ordinated outfit. It was enough to pique Pang’s interest in jewellery design, which now has all the markers of becoming a very successful long-term career. In Australian parlance, this young woman has got her head screwed on straight.

Pang attended high school in Pranburi, where she was seen as a quiet, smiley and diligent student by her teachers.  Yet, the most important and lasting factor of her high school years for Pang is that this was when she established the circle of close friends she relies on today. Not having siblings meant that those friends have been essential sounding boards for Pang as she developed from a somewhat shy adolescent into the confident and highly competent young woman she is today. Chief amongst these school friends is Junior, her boyfriend and business partner, whom she has known from the age of 13. Pang was at pains to explain that this circle of friends knows each other intimately: their desires, their secrets, their inner beings.  That is what makes this group so close-knit, so comfortable and attuned to each other’s needs, and why Pang is comforted by the knowledge that no matter what she will face in life, they will always be at she side, and guarding her back. Although she did make some friends during her university years, Pang feels her relationship will never be as profound with them as with her school friends, who she describes as having common opinions and a shared heart. This tight circle of friends, now many years removed from their common schooling, ensures they have an annual physical catch-up, though they speak much more regularly over the phone.

The relationship between Pang and Junior didn’t blossom until their high school graduation however.  It was a case of impending absence making the heart grow fonder, it seems.  Pang’s father is of Chinese Thai heritage, and he has always harboured great ambitions for his only child.  He has been prepared to make family sacrifices to ensure that Pang will have a bright future.  Having an older sister who married a Dutch man and has been resident in The Netherlands for many years, engaged in a Thai food business there, he was keen for Pang to use this opportunity to live with her aunt and study and learn in an international environment. Pang’s imminent departure for The Netherlands was the spur for the pair to acknowledge the desire for their relationship to move beyond friendship.  Luckily for the pair, modern communication technology allowed them to keep in close contact with each other, despite them being worlds apart for quite a number of years.

So, fresh from high school, and now with a boyfriend, Pang headed to The Netherlands.  To be admitted to university to study her choice of fashion design, Pang needed to meet a standard of English language proficiency that, try as she might, she was unable to reach in time.  A back-up plan saw her in English school in Singapore, where the requirements were less stringent, and Pun was able to matriculate to university after just 2 years. It was a further 3 very intense years of effort and study for her Bachelor’s degree before Pang graduated at the end of 2021 and returned to Thailand to be reunited with Junior.

The return to live again in Hua Hin was very welcomed by Pang.  When she compares other cities with Hua Hin, she finds them sadly lacking, even Bangkok. While impressed by Singapore’s cleanliness, it still didn’t hold her heart like Hua Hin does.  Pang’s parents originally chose Hua Hin over their native Petchaburi for its better air quality, and Pang concurs.  She finds the air here much better for her health, along with the slower pace of life, and the satisfaction she finds on the faces of the locals is enough to warm her heart.  She can find peace and contentment in Hua Hin.  However, she would like to see the reintroduction of high-rise development closer to the shoreline, as the high and ever-increasing price of land in Hua Hin is all but pricing Thai locals out of even being able to afford to buy a condominium.  It seems home ownership is becoming a real challenge for her generation, worldwide.

Pang’s return to Hua Hin was tinged with sadness.  She needed to regroup and recoup both her physical and mental strength to recover from the stress that she allowed herself and others to inflict upon her while in Singapore.  Her university lecturers quickly discovered both her innate talent and her willingness to impress them, and pressed her repeatedly to enter competitions, aware that her participation was a boost for the reputation and prestige of the university. Only relatively new to fashion design, Pang was full of nerves and self-doubt, but rose to the occasion each time.  Her very first international competition, saw her take out first-place in the Sakura Collection, where one chosen student from many Asian countries travelled to Japan to show their collections. Pang was almost overcome with nerves on the final day of the competition, which had involved her designing and personally sewing every stitch of each outfit, as well as selecting the models to wear her designs. It was a huge relief to her that her father was able to attend the judging, and the result came as a surprise to both of them.  It was a huge achievement for a young woman who had always loved art in all its forms, but who had never learnt to sew, never had a sewing machine before she started university. What Pang had, and still has, is a thirst for knowledge, no fear of hard work and a need to prove herself to her parents.  She is a self-confessed workaholic and perfectionist who is simply unable to refuse a challenge. Pang cites her weakness as overthinking, which has led to stress-related health issues such as sleeplessness, self-doubt and depression.

In 2023, Pang’s focus has turned to jewellery design.  Although modern production techniques focus on computer-aided design, incorporating 3D animation, and wax molds are now 3D printed, Pang has been interested to learn about the historical aspects of metal-shaping techniques and jewellery manufacture, including how significant pieces such as royal crowns have been constructed meticulously, over months by master craftsmen.  Pang loves the hands-on process where she can call on her passion for design, her imagination and creativity, along with her knowledge of materials, to produce objects of beauty.  Of course, this scale of production would not be a commercial proposition.  Pang has a production facility in Bangkok which turns her stunning designs into reality for her now, and she is an adept user of many online platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, Tik Tok, Instagram and Shopee to market her jewellery pieces.

The evolution of her business now sees Pang’s thoughts turning to a physical shop and she has been in negotiation with the management of Bluport to open a pop-up shop.  Pang explained to me that this will probably not increase her turnover, but that having an actual bricks-and-mortar establishment will increase consumer trust in her online business dealings.  She knows this is an essential step, as there are many unscrupulous online sellers whose products do not match their descriptions.  Pang will confidently reach the attention of many more potential customers when she has a physical presence in the market, and she is aware that this is a necessary cost in terms of strategic business development. 

Pang has a savvy head for business, no-doubt modelled to her by her parents.  Her dad, in particular, has been a motivating influence, though he was initially a bit skeptical about her ability to make a successful career out of an artistic pursuit, and would have been happy for her to follow him into the family business.  Luckily for Pang, her mother has always been a moderating influence who has taken a more relaxed and less intense approach to life.

Pang describes herself as optimistic, creative and hard-working.  The best compliment she has received is that she is a happy, enthusiastic girl. Initially quite wary of foreigners as a child, she has surprised herself with her ability to do business with them now. Her one fear is that the world could be on the brink of an all-out war, and she already has personal experience of the impact of war, her aunt in The Netherlands having been forced to close her business because of the escalating price of gas, precipitated by the war in Ukraine.  Pang's greatest hope for the future is that all peoples learn to at least respect each other, if love is beyond them.

Raised in the Buddhist faith, Pang has reached a point where she is now taking a personal interest in the scriptures and wishes to make her own interpretation rather than relying on the edicts of others.  She feels she has a lot to learn from Buddha and will always maintain her positive thinking and her trusting nature.

Pang wishes she had focused on her English language competence earlier in her life, aware that at 27, and only just now beginning to fulfill her career potential, she might be running a bit behind her preferred life schedule. However, she is completely on course with her personal life, and is constantly building relationships and improving the world by highlighting the good she sees in others.

If she indeed has a guilty pleasure, for Pang, it is cake.  Her slim build makes no hint of over-consumption of sugar, but blood tests beg to differ and she needs to be careful of her diet to avoid the threat of diabetes in later life.  Luckily, after cake, her other favourite food is sushi, in its myriad variety.  Pang avoids highly processed foods, as well as spicy foods, content with a simpler diet of fresh, often uncooked ingredients.

A very family-oriented young woman, Pang is happy to spend her work-free days with her parents and partner, having a shared meal or a shared experience.  Pang admits to being a “daddy’s girl”, admiring her father above any other living person. She has the ambition of being able to take her parents to travel wherever they desire in the world on an annual basis, and has already joined them in holidaying in the Philippines to swim with the whale sharks there. Pang feels a great debt of gratitude to her parents. Perhaps one day she will take them to Hokkaido, her favourite place on earth.

Usually very even-tempered, Pang gets annoyed by the ants who constantly try to invade the food bowl of Daisy, her much loved 6-month-old white Samoyed pup, who is a constant joy to Pang.  Indeed, there is little in Pang’s phone gallery except pictures of Daisy and pictures of her own jewellery creations.

Visitors to Bluport may well see her pop-up shop soon.  Oomploy Gemstone is certainly worth a look on Facebook or other social media if you are looking for a unique jewellery gift for a partner or loved one, or even as a treat for yourself, though be warned, leaving without inserting your payment details may be difficult.  As a fledgling designer, Pang is currently working mainly in sterling silver and semi-precious stones, though as she builds her reputation and her client base, she has both the intention and capacity to move towards incorporating gold varieties and more expensive grades of precious stones into her collection, which is already stunning. Hua Hin locals are lucky to have such a talented young woman in their midst.