Our Story
It began with a push cart
Forty years of collecting, from a beachfront cart in Phuket to a seashell centre on the Andaman coast.
The founder
Projob Thongprasit
Born 1964 in Kathu, Phuket. One of seven children.
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1985
The cart at Patong
A relative who was already selling souvenirs to tourists introduced him to the trade, and he decided to commit himself to it completely. About 5,000 baht in capital became one push cart and a first load of stock, and he set out to vend at tourist spots around Phuket — above all along the Patong beachfront.
Illustration -
1987
The first shop, at Wat Tai
He sold from that cart for two full years before he had a place of his own: a shop at the front of Wat Tai, in Chalong, Phuket. And this was the year he marks as the business truly taking root.
Wat Tai, Chalong · photograph The shop at Wat Tai, Chalong, Phuket · photograph -
1990
Into import and export
Three years later the retail shop expanded outward. He began importing and exporting under the name "Phuket Shell Export" — the business that had started with a single cart on the beachfront.
Illustration -
2020
Andaman Seashell opens
A centre for souvenirs and for seashells gathered from around the world, on the Andaman coast. Across more than forty years of work he has collected and preserved rare and valuable seashells, so that later generations can come and see them, and so the knowledge and the fascination are passed on.
Khok Kloi, Phang Nga · photograph Andaman Seashell, Khok Kloi, Phang Nga · photograph
Collected and kept, so that later generations can come and see them.
Come and see the collection
Plan your visitKhok Kloi, Phang Nga · 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM, Monday to Saturday