OUR STORY
How Vellum came to be
Vellum began with a simple observation: most families have a great deal of important paperwork, and very little sense of where any of it is. Bank books, land title documents, insurance records, identity papers — scattered across drawers, folders, and memory. For the person who knows the household well, this is manageable. For anyone who has to step in when that person cannot — whether because of illness, absence, or death — it can be deeply difficult.
The name Vellum comes from the fine parchment once used for documents that were meant to last. We chose it because the work we do is about permanence: creating records that endure, systems that hold, and summaries that can be understood by anyone who needs them, whenever that need arises.
We opened our Tha Phae Road office in Chiang Mai because this city brings together Thai families with long local roots, expatriate households, and those who have settled here from elsewhere in Asia and beyond. That mix means many different kinds of document situations — some straightforward, some genuinely complex — and a shared need for someone patient enough to work through them carefully.
Our approach is deliberately unhurried. We do not advise on what decisions to make; we help families record what they have, note what is where, and put together materials that make things clear. Everything we produce is organizational — a personal record, a printed guide, a labelled archive. We signpost to lawyers, accountants, and officials wherever formal steps are needed, and we never step into that territory ourselves.
WHAT WE STAND FOR
The principles behind our work
Gentleness
The conversations we facilitate touch on matters families do not always find easy. We hold that space with care, moving at whatever pace suits the household.
Honesty about scope
We are clear about what we do and what we do not do. Vellum organizes and informs; it does not advise, interpret, or act in any professional capacity.
Lasting usefulness
The materials we leave with families are designed to remain useful over years — not just for the person who commissioned them, but for anyone who may need them later.
THE PEOPLE
Who you will meet at Vellum
Siriporn Panuwat
Founder & Lead Consultant
Siriporn spent fifteen years in records management before founding Vellum, and brings both practical knowledge and a thoughtful manner to every household she works with.
Marcus Trevelyan
Client Relations & Sessions
Marcus joined Vellum after working with expatriate families in Chiang Mai for a decade. He runs the Planning-Ahead Conversation Sessions and is known for putting families at ease.
Nanthipha Wongsa
Document Organisation
Nanthipha handles the detailed inventory and archive work. She has a background in Thai administrative records and helps families navigate local document categories with clarity.
HOW WE WORK
Standards we hold ourselves to
Strict confidentiality
Nothing shared in our sessions or in writing is passed to third parties. Client information is held securely and handled with care throughout our work together.
Clear scope, no overreach
We do not offer legal, financial, or professional advice. We are explicit about this and signpost to qualified professionals whenever the work calls for it.
Tangible deliverables
Every engagement ends with something physical — a printed inventory, a filed archive, a written summary — that families can use independently of us.
Plain-language communication
We write and speak clearly, without jargon. Our materials are designed to be understood by everyone in a household, regardless of their background or education.
Unhurried pace
We schedule time generously and do not push families toward decisions or speed. The right pace is whichever pace leaves everyone feeling settled.
Official signposting
Where formal steps are needed — registration, notarisation, legal filing — we direct families to the correct Thai authorities and can recommend trusted professional contacts.
OUR EXPERTISE
Document organisation and household record-keeping in Chiang Mai
Keeping household records in order is a small task in most years and an urgent one in a few. Vellum exists for the quiet stretches in between — the times when there is no crisis, just a family that wants to be ready. We work with households across Chiang Mai, from long-established Thai families to those who have come here from elsewhere and find themselves navigating a mix of foreign and domestic paperwork.
Our Document Inventory Walkthrough brings a practised eye to what a household holds: which documents are present, where they are kept, what they relate to, and how they might be described for someone who needs to find them. The resulting printed inventory is a simple, durable reference that requires no special software or ongoing subscription.
The Planning-Ahead Conversation Sessions draw on structured frameworks for family discussions about wishes, preferences, and record-keeping. These are not estate planning sessions and carry no advisory weight; they are organised conversations, with printed materials to take away, that help households speak clearly with one another about topics that can otherwise be deferred indefinitely.
The Household Archive Programme brings all of this together: a complete, labelled archive built within the home, accompanied by a written summary in plain language that any family member can read and use. For households with varied document collections — Thai land documents, foreign passports, mixed financial accounts, insurance policies across several providers — this programme provides a comprehensive baseline that can be maintained independently once we have completed our work.
START A CONVERSATION
We are easy to reach
Whether you have a clear picture of what you need or are simply not sure where to begin, a short exchange with us costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Get in Touch