A new section on the home page celebrates the lives and careers of expatriates living in Asia. A series of interviews will detail the lifestyles and work of people living away from their homes who have become known for their style, from fashion designers and artists, to others founding successful businesses. The first interview is with Melbourne-born owner of Authentiques, Kate Davies. Kate has lived in Hong Kong for over 17 years – she came in the late-90s to work as a television reporter before moving into the finance sector – and even though she still consults, her main focus is planning and carefully considering the beautiful 18th and 19th century antiques she imports from the United Kingdom and Europe. There is an exquisite sofa upholstered in blue Italian velvet, circa 1910, at her atelier in Sheung Wan, Central which Stylebrief is currently coveting – the arms and back lift off, making it a perfect bed for a guest room. Read on at The Expats…
Where are you from originally?
Born and bred in Melbourne, Australia.
How long have you lived in Hong Kong?
Seventeen fast years, since 1997.
What were you doing that brought you to HK?
I was a TV news reporter with the Seven Network in Melbourne. I knew Melbourne like the back of my hand and wanted to spread my wings and live in another city. I flew home from a European holiday via Hong Kong and fell in love with Hong Kong’s energy. I asked Seven if they could send me to Hong Kong to report on the Handover of Hong Kong in 1997 but they wouldn’t commit and always sent men on the overseas stories so I thought it was best I didn’t wait around to be rejected and miss out all together so I left and moved on my own to Hong Kong and started working with the Nine Network’s bureau in Hong Kong, plus I called in to a radio station 3AW with updates of the imminent Handover and the changes that were taking place in preparation, like the red post office letter boxes with the Queen’s emblem being replaced by plain Hong Kong ones, the “royal” being removed from the titles of clubs and associations, their signs were taken down and replaced. It was an amazing experience to see the Queen’s Yacht Britannia set sail from Victoria Harbour with Prince Charles on board, collecting the Governor, Chris Patten and his wife and daughters. Thinking about it gives me the tingles. After that I switched in to public relations and then moved in-house to ABN Amro to run their events and marketing team.
Why Authentiques now?
In my thirteenth year in banking/equities the business I was with, Samsung Securities, was shut-down. Two years earlier my husband Steve died unexpectedly when our daughter was only ten months old. The abrupt end to my job gave me a chance to sit back and look at my life and reassess my options. The banking world was in a downward spiral, people were working harder for less reward and I wanted to see if I could step back from it and find another business that allowed me to travel less, see my daughter daily and have the flexibility to juggle my responsibilities better. I noticed that there were no European antiques available in Hong Kong and was reading that the Chinese in China had an increasing interest in them. I grew up with parents who bought antiques and mixed them well with contemporary art and furniture and felt comfortable with my level of knowledge, enough to look in to it as a commercial business idea. I opened the doors in July 2013.
What were the challenges?
There were plenty. I had never run a small business before so I have had to surround myself with very good advisors. I have a business coach who firstly was given the task of keeping me from taking tempting roles in other banks. Giving up a salary was hard, I had become very institutionalized so every time I put my hand in my pocket, I think more than twice. My priorities changed, we go without certain luxuries but I have gained the luxury of freedom to explore on so many levels. Staying positive was another challenge in the first year and my coach has helped me there too, showing me that I am fulfilling my objectives which are very different to those of many of my friends and competitors. I bought in to a block of time that is a highly formative period of my daughter’s life (she is now five) so as well as building a business, I am also supporting her growth and trying to be the best role model I can as a single mother and that’s a constant work in progress. I have an investor as well who I have worked with for ten years. She is very supportive so I can bounce ideas around and know that the advice is sound and sensible.
What was one piece of advice someone gave you that really inspired you to open Authentiques?
Choose something that is scalable without adding much to your cost centre. Selling more furniture doesn’t mean we need to add more staff, it requires better systems, suppliers and organization but not salaries and the HR issues that staff bring. In comparison, opening a restaurant or setting up a consulting company on the other hand requires a team of staff and if that business grows bigger, more staff must be hired, and if the business gets smaller or goes through quiet patches, those staff still need to be paid or let go. I didn’t want to rely on an in-house team. I like shopping around for the best supplier at the time within my budget whether it be the buyers sourcing pieces for the business in Europe or the web designer. There is a lot of freedom in the business model to change as we learn more about the market.
What has been the highlight since opening Authentiques?
Buying the furniture in England and Belgium was a rush. Going from dealer to dealer, learning so much more and being surrounded by shedloads of the most beautiful furniture I have ever seen was like a dream. I met wonderful people who have vast knowledge to pass on to future generations. Antique furniture is very practical. Every piece had a purpose so there are wonderful stories and visuals surrounding each piece. The entire experience has reactivated a creative spirit in me and I get a lot of personal reward from that regularly. Essentially we are all creative but often we repress the need to express ourselves. Facebook and Instagram are two amazing examples of how creative the world is. Everyday people posting phenomenal pictures and observations. We are learning so much more about our friends and other people by what they notice and post.
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