2025 - Now
Pickaboo: Online record store that promotes Thai Pop and Indie music in Taiwan
Pickaboo is a project I started during my sabbatical. I am very into Thai Indie and Thai Pop, but noticed it was hard to collect Thai artists' physical releases in Taiwan, so I decided to bring them in myself and promote them simultaneously.
No record store in Taiwan curates for Thai music
I knew some Taiwanese listeners followed Thai music, but I had no idea how big the audience really was. So instead of guessing, I designed a test: I stocked albums from 3 artists already popular in Taiwan to gauge existing demand, alongside 2 from artists unknown here to see whether I could build it from scratch.
The opportunity: no record store in Taiwan curates for Thai music. It's still a niche, but Thai pop culture has been rising fast across Asia since 2024, and Taiwan is no exception. By my own tracking, more than 15 Thai acts have announced Taiwan shows across 2025–2026. Spotify has also named Taiwan one of Thai music's top markets globally. I wanted to be early.
How I reached the audience and created demand
I chose Instagram and Threads because they're the platforms Taiwanese audiences use every day. Instagram is great for presenting products; Threads is where I tell the story.
Getting the first follower and the first order from scratch was hard. My experience at startups taught me how to break the ice: stay transparent, reply fast, post daily, and use strong visuals to build trust before anyone's spent a cent. In a niche this small, trust is what carries a sale.
It's working. The store has drawn people who already love Thai music and live in Thai pop culture—exactly the audience I wanted. Threads is nearing 200 followers. More importantly, 57 orders have come in, and over 100 cpoies have sold. Some were by the artists unknown in Taiwan, which is the result I was actually testing for: not just meeting demand, but creating it. Small numbers, but a real start—and proof the demand I bet on is there.
Design is how Pickaboo stands out
Most record stores in Taiwan put little focus on branding, which is exactly where Pickaboo can stand out. So I spent real time on the brand and visuals.
Logo Ideation
Pickaboo is a trendy yet playful record store, so I want the logo to be simple and easy to remember. That's why I explored typography first.
Final logo design
The final design keeps white and black to keep it sharp and simple. The logo is ":P". I love it because it looks like a person is making a face.
Product photography and styling for the store
