Things We Love

Spotlight on Lunch

Since I’ve been living in Hong Kong, friends have been coming and going: it’s sometimes relocating to different districts of Hong Kong, and further afield to Australia, Britain, Europe or Indonesia. The result is an eclectic mix of constantly moving people who are familiar with airports. In celebration of a few returning and in support of those leaving, we got everyone together and arranged lunch.

The theme was based around recycling so the idea was to create an original space by transforming anything secondhand. The newspapers, which I took off flights, are easy to cut up and shape into flowers. It requires patience, but hand-dyeing strips of cotton, linen, silk and lace in pale hues and hanging and weaving over the table becomes a stunning canopy. Pom-poms are pretty when dipped in tea and strung up, and guests’ names I stamped on rose-tea stained strips of canvas and the napkins were sourced from local hardware shops in Hong Kong.

Brass

Discovering that many hand-crafted vintage and modern brass pieces – trays, door-knockers, candelabras, ice-buckets, umbrella stands – can be sourced in Hong Kong turns out to be heavy work. You’re about to head home and you end up with two or more tailored, glamorous pieces under your arm. For a unique collection take a look at designer Debra Little’s Deem, her lifestyle boutique that combines furniture, accessories and one-off furnishings at 252 Hollywood Road, Sheung Wan, +852 2540 2011, www.deemlimted.com. Here you will find white and gold brass trays in a variety of sizes and her single candle holders with a second usage as vases are exquisite.

Lilliput Tales

We love Lilliput Tales and their kooky, quite captivating mini-lives-in-glass-jars or ‘mossariums’. Singapore-born creative director Maggie Chan started the idea as a little artistic experiment outside of her full-time job. The experiment turned out to have lots of possibilities. And we’re glad it did – from a tiny ‘Summer Hike” to a spirited ultra athletic mini coming down a rope – ‘Hang in There’ – they all tell a story and each piece is a one-off. Just choose one and add love, sun and water. www.liliputtales.com or contact Maggie at maggie@lilliputtales.com. They are also available at kapok stores in Hong Kong. Read More…

Lace, linen and hand-dyeing

One of my all-time favourite Sunday afternoon past-times is hand-dyeing fabric. (I’m currently into lace). Sham Shui Po is the place to find fabric – I’ve bought lace ribbons, lace fabrics and lace collars. I buy it in cream or black (only colours available) and then I make use of any organic goods I have at home, coffee, tea, roses and start blending and steeping – I’ve created a romantic tea-stained hue, a beetroot pink and a milk chocolate from coffee. As well as using vegetables such as beetroot and pumpkins which are a wonderfully natural way to transform fabrics too. Read More…

Ceramics

I love the naturalness of ceramics and Hong Kong produces some of the most beautiful in the world – and they remind me of my mum patiently sculpting for hours then glazing and firing her pottery years ago when she still had her kiln. The use of this traditional craft form has endured the centuries – but I can see that the days of a wonderful Chinese ceramic store jam-packed with treasures covered in dust and grime on every corner, are sadly over. Staunton Street, Central, was always a favourite haunt of mine. I’d end up with a big box of plates cups and vases and unable to walk home.

Yuet Tung ChinaWorks is filled with old-world charm. There is an enormous variety – everything from dinnerware, egg cups, milk jugs, ornamental pieces and platters, to cake plates and cake stands. But the best thing is Yuet Tung still makes everything by hand – there is a kiln at the back of the warehouse and four artisans work on private orders for clients, hotels or stores. You can make a piece your own by requesting specific details on the design or even more fun is to design your own dinner service by showing the artists a picture of what you want – and then you walk away with a lasting piece you’ve personally invested in.

Units 1-3, 3/F, Kowloon Bay Industrial Centre, 15 Wang Hoi Rd, Kowloon Bay. Tel: +852 2796 1125.

Chinese Letter Boxes

Chinese letter box – when Belinda first moved to Hong Kong almost seven years ago she used to be fascinated by them. She loves that they are always the same size and shape and with little cut-out symbols on the front. The colours are always different, some are old and some are new, but they are the same. Belinda made it her mission to find out what the symbols mean. It represents two old Hong Kong coins set in pairs because the Chinese believe pairs to be lucky. The idea is that the letters are placed inside the boxes and will bring luck to the receiver.

Cheung Kee Copper & Iron – a little stall on Pottinger Street steps between Wellington St and Hollywood Road in Central, Hong Kong Island sells Chinese letter boxes. As well as coming in many different colours, you can choose your own pantone shade to be matched for your box if you wish.

Party time

Belinda and I recently worked on a fashion shoot for a children’s magazine based in Hong Kong. The theme was Oriental and living in Hong Kong is truly a stylist’s playground. We sourced most of the props for the food shots from Shanghai Street in Prince Edward. Our two favourite shops for all party products are Woodwork Professor, G/F 335-339, Shanghai St, Tel: +852 2332 2443, www.woodwork-professor.com and I Love Cake, G/F 338, Shanghai St, Tel: +852 2671 2671, www.ilovecake.hk.
The clothes were sourced from a great French brand: La Petite Caravane www.lapetitecaravane.com. Thy-Tien Crampton is now based in Hong Kong and is a young French designer who has a lovely eye when it comes to prints and design. Her children’s clothes are well constructed and only run in a very limited edition as fabric is often vintage and sourced from around the globe. With Belinda’s past experience in food styling she was able to create some delicious recipes. I have posted them here for you.

Tai Hang

Tai Hang, which in Chinese means The Big Water Channel, is just a few minutes walk from Causeway Bay located on the harbour side of Hong Kong Island. There are street-side stalls selling everything from plastic canvas shoes to temple offerings. My favourite kind of boutiques, selling vintage clothing, great interior pieces and good cafes add to the appeal of going here. The area is famous for its dancing Fire Dragon during the mid-autumn Lantern Festival. And this is something everyone should see. About 300 performers and over 72,000 incense sticks do some serious styling to a 67-metre straw dragon which is then paraded through the colourful streets. http://taihangfiredragon.hk/home.htm

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