By their own admission they’ve both put their heart and soul into their debut development and are confident that, despite the current economic climate, it will prove to be a success.

Where are you both from?
I’m from Essex in England. Apinya is from Udon Thani.

When did you move to Phuket?
We arrived here just over three years ago, but I’ve been coming to Thailand for ten years. We were living on Koh Tao and visited Phuket on holiday. We just fell in love with the island and thought it would be a great place to do business. Tony,

What did you do before you come to Phuket?
I’ve always been in the construction industry in England. I had a company that did high-class finishing, paint effects, hanging different fabrics, top-end stuff for interior designers, hotels, shops and bars – that sort of thing. Tell us about your project. We bought the land about one-and-a-half years ago and in the construction of the villas, we used top quality materials throughout. Apinya did the interior design. Great job. She had a lot of the furniture specially made in Chiang Mai. We get about 10 to 15 enquiries a month often from people just driving around looking for bargains rather than going through an agent. The baht is presently very strong against the pound and the euro. I think many people are waiting for the rate to improve.

Whereabouts do you live in Phuket?
We’ve just moved from Kamala to Thalang to get closer to the project. Kamala’s great, but I didn’t want to have to drive from Kamala to Laguna every day. You always seem to end up getting stuck behind a cement truck.

What kind of car do you drive?
I drive a Toyota Vigo, because it’s practical. We can go off-road if we need to, which is useful if we’re visiting construction sites and it’s raining. We can still get down flooded roads in it.

What do you like most about living in Phuket?
The beaches, the food, the people, the pace of life. In England everything happens at 100 miles an hour. Here life is much, much slower. Also it’s so convenient having the airport just up the road. You can get anywhere in Thailand just by hopping on a plane. And what's the hardest thing about living here, Tony? I miss my friends and family. I don’t really miss a great deal else. Sometimes I miss the seasons, because you only really get two seasons here – it’s either hot or it’s raining. I do miss going skiing.

What do you do as a family?
We go out for a meal, or go to the beach. We’ve just moved home and we’ve got quite a big garden, so we spend a lot of time in it. Tony,

Who is the person who has most influenced you?
My father, because he’s a very interesting guy, and very clever with his hands. He used to work for Ford as a model maker. He’s 70 now and he’s retired, but as he’s become older he’s started getting into antiques.

What do you think the future holds for you?
I want to stay here in Phuket and complete this project. I’d like to build my own house, and then maybe try another project.

How do you evaluate success?
It’s all about happiness. Money doesn’t buy you happiness, so you’ve got to reach a sort of compromise. If you’re poor you struggle, but if you’ve got big money you aren’t necessarily happy. It’s a balancing act.

What do you do with your free time, if you’ve any?
Any free time we get, we like to spend as a family. When we were in construction we were working seven days a week, but now the show villa is completed, we’ve a bit more time off. Sunday is always set aside for our daughter – it’s her day.

For more information contact:
Villas Aelita
63/29 Moo5, Kamala, Kathu, Phuket
Tel: +66 (0)76 385963 Fax: +66 (0)76 385963
Mobile: +66 (0)84 731 1036, +66 (0)85 227 5608
Email: sales@villas-aelita-phuket.com
Web: www.villas-aelita-phuket.com