［ 專訪 ］用一個動詞，蓋一座城市：清邁生活品牌 KLĀY 的感官建築學

 

KLĀY 創辦人，攝於旗艦店香氛陳列室。© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

「คลาย」在泰文裡是一個動詞，意思是鬆開、釋放——讓某個原本緊繃的東西，慢慢回到它本來的狀態。

五月的清邁，Nimman Soi 5。我第二次走進 KLĀY，這次是為了上一堂調香課。幾個小時後，課程結束，香氣還留在手腕上，我留下來和品牌的創辦人在戶外的木桌坐下，點了一杯飲料，聊了整個下午。

 
 

  • Chiang Mai, May. I visited KLĀY for the second time — this time for a scent-blending workshop. A few hours later, the class over, the fragrance still on my wrists, I stayed and sat down with the brand founders at a wooden table outside. We ordered drinks and talked through the afternoon.

    Scent has never been a commodity. It operates more like a verb — something that happens at the edge of consciousness, quietly opening a door to memory before you have noticed it moving.

 
 

訪談現場。KLĀY 旗艦店旁的戶外座位，五月清邁的午後。© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

氣味從來不是一件商品。它更像一個動詞——一個悄悄發生在你意識邊緣的動作，在你還沒察覺之前，某個記憶的門已經被推開了。

2020年，清邁。世界按下暫停鍵的那一年，有一群人反而找到了出發的理由。疫情鎖住了航班、鎖住了邊境，卻也意外地，把一些人送回了他們真正該去的地方。KLĀY 就在這樣的縫隙裡誕生——不是計畫的產物，而是一種對的時機，遇上了對的人，和對的一塊清邁的土地。

KLĀY，泰文動詞的英文轉寫，意指鬆開、釋放、讓緊繃回歸柔軟。在英文裡，它恰好讀作 clay——黏土，品牌所有產品最核心的物質。這個名字像一個設計得極為精密的雙關：一半是哲學，一半是材料，兩者在 Nimman Soi 5 的轉角，以一棟彎弧磚牆的形式，成為了這座城市裡最安靜、也最清晰的一種宣言。

 
 

  • In 2020, Chiang Mai. The year the world pressed pause. For some, the pandemic became an unexpected reason to begin. In that stillness, some people found their way back to where they were meant to be. KLĀY was born in exactly that kind of gap: not as a planned venture, but as the right moment meeting the right people on the right patch of Chiang Mai earth.

    KLĀY is the romanisation of the Thai verb to loosen, to release, to let what is taut return to softness. In English, it reads as clay, the material at the core of every product the brand makes. Half philosophy, half material — both converge at the corner of Nimman Soi 5, in the form of a curved brick facade.

 
 

KLĀY 旗艦店弧形磚牆外觀。Nimman Soi 5，清邁。© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

以煙霧為起點，以清邁為座標


創辦人之一在疫情之前，一直住在澳洲雪梨，學習餐飲、飯店管理，在咖啡館打工，在廚房裡磨細節。澳洲那段時光，給了他一個在亞洲不容易得到的視角：看見本地產物如何被驕傲地對待。

在澳洲，你走進任何一家咖啡館，老闆都會告訴你今天的牛奶來自哪一個農場、咖啡豆是誰種的。那種對本地的驕傲感，不是行銷，是真的信念。我在亞洲長大，我們從小被教導歐洲的東西比較好。那是一種根深蒂固的偏見。我想做的，其實就是翻轉這件事。

回到清邁的時機是疫情。創辦人說那是某種來自宇宙的信號——航班幾乎停飛，他們搶到了少數幾個座位飛回泰國，帶著一個還沒具體形狀的念頭著陸。KLĀY 在 2020 年以全線上的方式啟動，沒有實體店、沒有展示間，只有 Instagram 和 Shopee 上的陶瓷擴香石，以及一個要讓清邁在地材料被世界看見的意圖。

 
 

  • One of the founders spent the years before the pandemic in Sydney, Australia — studying hospitality, hotel management, culinary arts, working in cafes. Australia gave him a perspective rarely available in Asia: watching local produce be treated with genuine pride.

    In Australia, you walk into any cafe and the owner tells you which farm the milk came from, who grew the coffee beans. That pride in local — it is not marketing. It is actual belief. Growing up in Asia, we were taught that European things are better. That is a deeply rooted bias. What I wanted to do, really, was overturn it.

    The return to Chiang Mai came with the pandemic — a signal from the universe, the founders say. KLĀY launched in 2020 entirely online: no physical space, no showroom. Only an Instagram page, ceramic diffuser stones, and an intention to make Chiang Mai local materials visible to the world.

 
 

KLĀY 旗艦店外觀。Nimman Soi 5，清邁。© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

用 Spotify 描述一款氣味


如何在網路上賣一個需要用鼻子理解的產品？這是 KLĀY 最早面對的問題，也是他們最有趣的一個答案。

五位創辦人，其中兩位是藝術家，一起為每一款氣味製作了一張 Spotify 播放清單。不是隨機選歌，而是精心策展——每一首曲目都在情緒上對應這款氣味的性格：溫暖的、清冷的、沉靜的、輕盈的。讓還沒聞到氣味的人，可以先用耳朵感受它。

這其實是我做所有創作計畫的方式。我會先建立一張播放清單，確定我要去的方向和氛圍，然後才開始做任何事情。音樂對我來說是最快速的情緒定位工具。

這個看似特別的決定，後來也成為了品牌最被記憶的細節之一——一款叫做 Forest 的氣味，附帶的播放清單裡有松針、有苔蘚、有雨後的寂靜。你不需要打開瓶蓋，就已經知道那是什麼感覺。

 
 

  • How do you sell a product that needs to be understood through the nose — online, without any physical encounter? Five co-founders, two of whom are artists, built a curated Spotify playlist for every single scent. Not casual — each track corresponds emotionally to the personality of the fragrance: warm or cool, hushed or weightless.

    This is how I approach every creative project. I build a playlist first — to establish the direction, the atmosphere — before I start making anything. Music is the fastest emotional positioning tool I know.

    A scent called Forest comes with a playlist that evokes pine needles, moss, and the stillness after rain. You do not need to open the bottle to know what it feels like.

 
 

創辦人介紹 KLĀY 香氛產品線。© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

黏土、磚塊與一棟老屋的輪迴


KLĀY 的旗艦店落腳在 Nimman Soi 5 的街角，前身是一棟普通的舊建築。設計師 Beat（STUDIO WOM）接下這個案子時，她已經是 KLĀY 的忠實顧客——她在品牌還只是一個 Instagram 帳號的時候就開始購買產品。創辦人說，他們本來考慮過找有知名度的大建築師，作為行銷話題，最後決定選擇真正理解品牌的人。

建築語言從產品語言裡長出來。KLĀY Cube，那塊在 800 度低溫燒製、未上釉的陶瓷擴香方塊，是整個品牌的核心物件。設計師把它放大——旗艦店的外立面，是由一排排相互扣合的圓柱形混凝土磚砌成的弧牆，觸感粗糙，形狀模組化，和產品的幾何邏輯完全一致。屋頂保留了原有的蘭納式紅瓦斜坡，室內保留了舊木樑。材料說實話——這是整棟建築的核心原則。

 
 

  • KLĀY flagship occupies what was once an unremarkable old building at the corner of Nimman Soi 5. Designer Beat of STUDIO WOM took on the project as an existing KLĀY customer. The founders considered a well-known architect for the marketing cachet, but ultimately chose someone who genuinely understood the brand.

    The architectural language grows directly from the product language. The KLĀY Cube — an unglazed ceramic diffuser block fired at 800C — is the brand central object. The designer scaled it up: the facade is a curved wall of interlocking cylindrical concrete bricks, in complete formal dialogue with the product. The original Lanna-style red-tile roof was preserved. The old timber trusses kept. Honest materials — the operating principle of the whole building.

    We did not want the space to become a backdrop for photos. We wanted people to walk in and feel the loosening before they were even aware of it. That is what klāy actually means.

 
 

複合式咖啡店內。© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

旗艦店室內——陳列架、香氛產品，窗外透出模組磚牆。© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 
 
 

複合式咖啡店內。© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

我們不想讓空間變成一個拍照背景。我們希望走進來的人，在還沒有意識到之前，就已經感覺到鬆了。那才是真正的 klāy。

 
 

創辦人站在旗艦店內。© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

本地的驕傲，與共同成長的課題


KLĀY 的每一件產品都能說出它的材料來源。陶瓷，來自清邁近郊 Mae Jo 的 Dungjai 陶藝工坊；包裝紙，來自 Sankampang 的 Ton Pao 村，以當地傳統的構樹皮紙製成；茶飲系列，使用清邁 Monsoon Tea 的森林友善茶葉。零塑料包裝。本地供應鏈。一個在全球化可以取得任何材料的時代裡，刻意選擇留在原地的決定。

但這個決定，背後需要持續的耐心與磨合。

與在地小型生產者共同成長，是一門需要時間的功課。每一位工藝職人都有自己的生活節奏與生產哲學——對他們而言，穩定本身就是一種價值。我們也因此學會了，品牌的擴張速度，必須學會尊重這些夥伴本來的樣子。

這是一個在亞洲獨立品牌裡相當普遍卻很少被公開談論的課題：對本地工藝的信念，在規模化的現實面前，需要不斷重新校準節奏。KLĀY 沒有假裝這個問題不存在，他們把找到真正能一起長大的供應夥伴，列為下一個階段最核心的功課之一。

 
 

  • Every KLĀY product can account for its materials. Ceramics from Dungjai Studio in Mae Jo. Packaging from Ton Pao village, made from traditional sa mulberry bark paper. The tea range uses forest-friendly leaves from Monsoon Tea. Zero plastic. A deliberate choice to stay in place.

    But that choice requires ongoing patience. Growing alongside local small-scale producers is a long lesson. Every artisan has their own rhythm and philosophy — for them, stability is itself a value, not something to be changed. KLĀY has learned that the brand's pace of growth must learn to respect its partners as they are.

    It is a challenge common across independent Asian brands but rarely spoken aloud. KLĀY does not pretend the friction doesn't exist. Finding partners willing to grow together is named as one of the most essential tasks ahead.

 
 

© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

「commu」字樣透過霧面玻璃映出。© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

不只是瑜伽教室：klaycommu 與一種另類的商業模型


Nimman Soi 5 上，距離旗艦店步行兩分鐘的地方，是 klaycommu——2026 年初開幕的複合空間。它的官方定義是瑜伽工作室，但走進去你會發現，這個定義不太夠用。

KLĀY 租下了一塊空地，把它切成六個區塊，分別轉租給五個風格相近的獨立品牌和創作者：清邁布料品牌 Longkai、來自南奔的皮革工藝者、一位插畫藝術家，以及一間果汁吧 Goofy Juice Bar。不同的人，共用同一個地址，共享同一群進來的人。

 
 

  • Two minutes walk from the flagship along Nimman Soi 5 is klaycommu — a compound space that opened in early 2026. Its official description is wellness studio. Walk in, and you will find that definition insufficient.

    KLĀY rented a plot of land and subdivided it, sub-letting units to independent brands and creators: Longkai, a Chiang Mai textile label; a leathercraft maker from Lamphun; an illustrator; and Goofy Juice Bar. Different makers, one address, one shared pool of visitors.

 
 

klaycommu 門口立牌：Local Brands & Artisans, Fashion, Art & Craft, Yoga & Pilates。© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

我們想要的不只是一個上課的地方。我們想要一個讓創作者可以被看見的地方。如果你的瑜伽課結束了，你抬起頭，旁邊剛好有人在做皮革、有人在畫畫——那才是我們要的那種感覺。

 
 

這個模型在亞洲並不常見。它更接近哥本哈根或波特蘭的創作者聚落邏輯——不是一個品牌管理一個空間，而是一個品牌作為錨點，讓其他創作者圍繞它共生。KLĀY 在這裡既是房東，也是策展人，也是某種意義上的社群設計師。

 
 

  • We did not want just a place to take classes. We wanted a place where creators could be seen. If your yoga class ends and you look up and someone next to you is making leather goods, someone else is drawing — that is the feeling we were after.

    The model is closer to the logic of a Copenhagen or Portland maker-collective than a typical wellness studio.

 
 

klaycommu 入口。© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

klaycommu 接待台。竹編圓吧台、雲形吊燈、庭院。© jamieyelo / HCS

© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

教室一隅。© jamieyelo / HCS

調香老師。© jamieyelo / HCS

© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

在清邁活著，就要自己開店


清邁是一個很特別的城市來談生意。這裡的商業圈子小，彼此認識，不太競爭，更接近朋友之間的互相支持。KLĀY 說，在清邁生活，幾乎必然走上創業這條路——因為這裡的企業職缺薪資，撐不起你對生活品質的期待。

你要嘛開店，要嘛離開。這兩條路，清邁大部分的人最後都會選一條。

這座城市每年還面對另一個現實：煙霧季。大約在二月前後，來自緬甸和寮國農地的燃燒煙霧，被清邁四周的山脈困住，PM2.5 濃度飆升，居民戴上口罩，開著空氣清淨機足不出戶，長住外國人暫時出城。最嚴峻的日子，白天幾乎看不見藍天。這四年都很嚴重，你只能等雨季來，把一切洗乾淨。

但即便如此，他們沒有想過離開。清邁的節奏、土地的氣味、人和人之間相對稀少的距離感——這些東西，是 KLĀY 這個品牌的基因，不能被移植到別的地方去。

 
 

  • Chiang Mai is a peculiar city in which to talk about business. The commercial community is small, interconnected, and largely non-competitive. Living in Chiang Mai almost inevitably leads to entrepreneurship: corporate salaries here cannot support the kind of life the city itself inspires.

    You either open a shop or you leave. Most people in Chiang Mai eventually choose one or the other.

    The city also faces smoke season each year. Around February, agricultural burning traps smoke against the surrounding mountains. PM2.5 spikes. Residents stay indoors. The last four years have been bad. You just wait for the rainy season to come and wash everything clean. Even so, leaving is not something they have considered. The rhythm of Chiang Mai, the smell of its earth — these things are encoded in the brand DNA.

 
 

klaycommu 街廓——Long Goi 與 papacraft 兩個進駐品牌的店面。© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

一個動詞，可以走多遠？


今年，KLĀY 在清邁 Chang Klan 的大型商業開發案 Lannatique 開設了 klayconcept——一個全新的空間形態，從咖啡館為主的旗艦轉向以產品和居家體驗為核心。展示間裡，香氛被放置在真實的家居場景裡：客廳、臥室、廚房。品牌第一次走出自己掌握的社區尺度，進入一個由大資本主導的商業空間。

台灣市場也在他們的計畫裡。2024 年底，KLĀY 已在高雄和台北出現，以市集的形式探索市場反應，同時解決陶瓷產品跨國運送的破損問題——他們說這是國際擴張最現實的一道關卡。

我們一直知道台灣會是我們想要深耕的地方。台灣的消費者對設計、對材料、對生活方式品牌有非常高的敏感度。我們覺得，KLĀY 在那裡可以被真正理解。

如果 KLĀY 有一天出現在另一座城市，他們不想要的是複製——他們想要的，是另一個版本的自己，在當地的土地和材料裡，重新長出同樣的根。

 
 

  • This year, KLĀY opened klayconcept at Lannatique — a major commercial development in Chiang Mai. The new format centres on products and home-living experience: fragrances displayed within real domestic settings. It is the brand first step into a space shaped by larger commercial forces.

    Taiwan is also in the plan. By late 2024, KLĀY had already appeared in Kaohsiung and Taipei, testing the market while working through the challenge of getting ceramic products across borders without breakage.

    We always knew Taiwan would be a place we would want to invest in seriously. Taiwanese consumers have an extremely high sensitivity to design, to materials, to lifestyle brands. We feel that KLĀY can genuinely be understood there.

    If KLĀY were to exist in another city someday, what they resist is replication. What they want is another version of themselves — one that grows from local earth and arrives at the same root through a different path.

 
 

KLĀY 創辦人與 Jamie，攝於旗艦店。© jamieyelo / HCS

 
 

klāy 這個動詞，讓人鬆開，讓緊的東西回到柔軟。在清邁的一個街角，它成為了一棟建築、一杯咖啡、一塊陶瓷、一個香氣、一堂瑜伽課、一片皮革、一張播放清單。它正在成為更多。

不是因為品牌想要擴張，而是因為這個動詞本身有那種力量——只要在對的地方輕輕落下，它就會自己長。

 
 

  • The verb klāy — to loosen, to let what is taut return to softness — has, from a corner of Chiang Mai, become a building, a cup of coffee, a ceramic block, a fragrance, a yoga class, a piece of leather, a playlist. It is becoming more.

    Not because the brand is reaching for expansion, but because the verb itself carries that kind of force. Place it in the right ground, let it fall quietly, and it will grow on its own.

 
 

▎KLĀY / klaythailand

Add: Nimman Soi 5, Chiang Mai, Thailand
@klaythailand / @klaycafechiangmai / @klaycommu

 
 
Photography/ Jamie Lo
Interview、Text/ Jamie Lo

 
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