Beginnings

Yompai is based in Gisborne, New Zealand. Begun by Paul, in 2017 when he returned from living in Thailand for many years. At the time his father was sick and needing  treatment outside of Gisborne, making a regular job all but impossible.

Knowing a lot of different people in Thailand, many of them great craftsmen or small business owners, Paul began to import some of the products he had seen and often used while living there. Notwithstanding Covid and several cyclones, including Hale and Gabrielle in 2023 the business has developed from its first part time beginnings.

Today we import and sell handcrafted wooden kitchen utensils, everything from small wooden salt spoons to large wooden spoons, from wooden bowls to large wooden serving platters. Each piece is individually handcrafted from sustainably harvested Teak Wood 

All of the kitchen utensils are made in several small villages in the North of Thailand.

We met some of the villagers who sold their handcrafts at the Bangkok Farmers Market. Over a couple of years of going to the market we got to know the people, their story, how they had started making utensils - (you can read more about the village and people of Baan Lek on this page.)

We loved the story, and we certainly loved the things they made, we bought quite a few different style spoons, chopping boards  and bowls. They were so beautifully crafted but we also loved they were made for use. We learned about teak and why it is such a highly prized wood, not only for building and furniture but also for kitchen utensils.

We have recently added handcrafted woven baskets and bags, from another small village, this time in the South of Thailand in Phanang Tung in Phattalung Province. As with the Teak, these are high quality, lovely looking and distinctive pieces and each one helps support the villagers that has created it.

 We love that we can help friends and people we know. We love that doing what we are doing helps small communities and villages to have work with dignity.  We buy direct from them. We pay them directly at the price they ask. All of your purchases from us help the villagers directly.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any queries paul@yompai.com or you can call if you have a question or query. Ph 0275114769

Wholesale

We do wholesale so welcome inquiries from retail stores.

Shipping overseas: We are based in NZ. Our primary markets are New Zealand and Australia, but we also do ship to Canada, the USA, UK and EU countries, though the cost of shipping is high. If you have any questions about this please contact us.

Yompai Limited

36 Kelvin Street

Gisborne

New Zealand

4010

ph 0275114769