At 30, actress, artist and bag designer Natrika 'Nam Phueng' Thampridanant is enjoying life to the fullest

Actress Natrika "Nam Phueng" Thampridanant's eyes light up as a customer enters her small boutique, which is crammed full of bohemian handbags. She turns to her friend and business partner, saying "Please give her a large discount, she's a frequent buyer," then turning to Daily Xpress with a smile, explains "I have this thing about not wanting to disappoint my customers."

Her shop, Natrika at the Crystal shopping mall, is a sanctuary for the actress, a place where she can spend time admiring her own designs and interact with customers who, like her, love ethnic fashions. At the store, she sheds her showbiz persona and is simply Nam Phueng, the bag designer.

Her days are spent sitting on the comfortable rattan couch or next door, chatting with the owner of Shoe Berry about materials.

"I'm just crazy about bags," she says.

Her shop is doing well and she's also landed some plum jobs as an actress, portraying Lila, sister of Narin (Ann Thongprasom), in the Channel 3 soap opera "Sawan Biang". She's now appearing in "Avejee Si Chompoo" ("Pink Hell").

"I love acting because I like the fact that I can be somebody else. For example, you can kill someone and get away with it," she grins.

Did some soul-searching

The 30-year-old actress has found a balanced recipe for life after returning to the screen from a two-year hiatus, much of which she spent travelling.

"I did some soul-searching. I saw how others lived and learned to think outside the rut of my own habits."

The fact that Nam Phung acts and thinks differently from most other actresses has earned her a reputation as the black sheep of the soap opera world. She's shrugs off the criticisms, saying she's happy.

The shop and her career aside, Nam Phueng has kept up her interest in art and will be displaying her works in a group exhibition at chulalongkorn University from Thursday.

She also sets time aside to help stray animals and campaign against the illegal trade in wildlife.

Little wonder she always has a smile on her cute face!

XTRA

Empire of a star

>> "Karn Dern Tang Khong Nak-ek Nok Kok" is published by Mono Books. In it Nam Phueng describes her experiences as an actress and as a traveller.

>> Natrika's shop is at the Crystal Mall at Ekamai and the Ram-Intra Expressway.

>> "Sensational Selves: Thinking Through the Human Body" is a group exhibition curated by Brian Curtin at Chulalongkorn University library from Thursday through June 28.

>> For a video interview with Nantika, see www.DailyXpress.net.