Manks warehouse clearance sale starts tomorrow! Get on down folks!
Oh joy of joys! Now I don’t need to trek all the way over to Kowloon side to get my fix!
Mooi shop is having a farewell sale because they are leaving their current premises (boo hoo!) …BUT with any luck are relocating to my neighbourhood (yay!). So, for the next few months they have 50% off everything instore. A nice range of vintage furniture, lighting, accessories and luggage. Head on down and check it out!
Last night I was privileged to be invited to the VIP event to celebrate the Barbara Barry collections for Baker and Kallista. Barbara’s visit to Hong Kong has been long awaited. Looooong awaited, I tell you. So I schlepped my copy of her book into Central on a rainy night, and I was not disappointed. I am not at all embarrassed to admit I behaved like a star struck groupie when my turn to speak to her came. What a lovely, gracious and elegant woman she is. We had a brief chat, talked about Australia (that leg of her upcoming tour was cancelled, unfortunately), and she complimented me on my necklace (okay, I might have died and gone to heaven at that moment), and then I complimented her on her book….and I may have gushed a bit. Just a little bit…
All in all it was a fun night, I managed to catch up some people I hadn’t seen in a while, and of course thoroughly enjoyed hearing Barbara speak about her inspirations. Very inspiring indeed. What a way to start the week!
I was very fortunate to be invited to attend the Press conference for the upcoming Business of Design Week earlier this week. This year’s partner country will be Belgium, which as we all know has a long and creative history in design. I have visited this beautiful country twice myself and loved it both times, and count myself lucky to have a few lovely friends from both the French and Flemish speaking regions.
This year, in addition to expert speakers in the fields of Fashion & Apparel, Design for Experience, Space & Design, Design for Asia, Communications & Design, Product & Design and Culture & the City there will also be a new forum called Cities driven by Design…a topic very close to my heart.
There will be over 100 international speakers this year, some of the more well known include: Matteo Thun, Toyo Ito, Xavier Lust, and Hong Kong’s own Joyce Wang and Keith Griffiths of my previous employer Aedas.
2013 will be BODW’s 13th consecutive year, and myself having attended the last 8 years I can say it is a truly great event. So many inspiring speakers in town in such a short space of time gives Hong Kong an even bigger buzz (if thats possible?). So book your tickets, hotel rooms and get yourself an early bird ticket (until Nov 10th). I’ll see you there!?
I’ve just had a very decadent week-long staycation with some great friends from Melbourne. I might need a few days to get myself back in to work mode…but in the mean time, my Hong Kong readers can sate themselves with this feature on my friend SJ’s lovely Shek-O home in the latest Home Journal, which I styled. On newstands now.
Happy mid Autumn festival to my Hong Kong readers! I’m quite looking forward to 3 days of chilling out at home and doing a bit of baking.
I thought I’d leave you with these images as I’m finding them very inspiring at the moment, and they feel a bit autumnal. Sorry for the bad scan quality, they were torn out from a magazine ages ago…
Regular readers of this blog will know my issue with buying vintage and antiques in Hong Kong, and will be equally familiar with my love for mixing furnishings and art from various eras and styles. Well, I’ve met a kindred spirit in Authentiques founder, Kate Davies. Not only do we love to mix and antique and modern, but we also share the same maiden name, and we’re both from Melbourne!
Kate started out as a TV news reporter in Australia before making her way to Hong Kong and transitioning to public relations and events in the banking world. 16 years later, Kate is now embarking on a new venture, although the passion and experience with antiques is hardly new at all.
Raised in a home decorated by parents with an innate sense of style and a genuine passion for antiques and history, Kate says she is never happier than when in their home, and tries to find a similar ambiance wherever she is in the world.
The Authentiques gallery space in the colourful neighbourhood of Sheung Wan opened earlier this year after years of Kate offering a personalised antique shopping service and a successful pop-up store at the beginning of the year.
By specialising in one of a kind pieces of furniture and decorative arts from the 18th and 19th Century from the UK and Europe, the gallery is also a one of a kind in Hong Kong.
The gallery is open on Sundays or by appointment, or head over on a Wednesday evening like I did, for a naughty mid-week drink (or two).
I have some very exciting news to share with you all…finally! Those of you who have seen some of the changes with the blog interface, and the addition of the “Learn” page up the top may have already clued on…
INSIGHT is a brand new school about to launch in Hong Kong, but its no ordinary school…it is Asia’s only specialist Interior Design school, with a very hands-on approach to learning. And yours truly will be one of the lecturers! The concept (and the lady) behind this is so inspiring, and I feel truly honored to be counted amongst these highly talented and extremely qualified lecturers in the founding group.
Go check out my profile and some of the amazing short courses that are on offer, starting in November. The first intake of the Diploma course will be late next year. So…if you’ve been interested in changing careers but couldn’t find the right course…or you know someone else who may be interested – head on over to the webiste HERE and check it out.
If proof were needed that Hong Kong is well and truly on the art, antique and design map, then Gresham’s would be it. Gresham’s is Hong Kong’s only mid-market auction house – a welcome addition, or alternative, to Sotheby’s and Christie’s.
Gresham’s was founded by long-time Hong Kong resident, Steve Freeman, (you may recognise his name from his profile as co-founder of the HK magazine that we all know and love) and opened its doors on June 22 this year.
“In recent years, Hong Kong has become the world’s third centre of arts and antiques—after New York and London—attracting thousands of collectors every year. As a part of that scene, Gresham’s aims to offer the best quality arts and antiques at prices that are affordable to a wider audience,” says founder Steve Freeman.
Categories sold at Gresham’s include contemporary art, western and Asian furniture, ceramics, Asian art, Chinese painting, mid-century and modern design, fine silver, watches and jewellery, carpets, maps, prints, posters and much more. Gresham’s is scheduled to hold Saturday afternoon auctions at least three times a month. Each auction aims to showcase 200+ lots with pre-auction website listings and public viewings available. With two successful auctions already under their belt, the third – scheduled for tomorrow – will focus on Arts of China and Asia.
Doors will open this Saturday 12 noon, with the auction commencing at 3pm at Gresham’s lovely 6,000 ft2 saleroom in Ap Lei Chau.
I have my eye on these lovely silver Chinese miniature teapots. Super cute.
Gresham’s is open for consignments and bidders, and provides free and confidential valuations.
The latest name on the tip of everyone’s tongue in this city is Duddell’s, located in the floors above Shanghai Tang in their new Duddell street manse, was brought to us by the F&B wunderkind team who are also responsible for favorites such as The Press Room group, Jia Boutique Hotels, Duecento Otto & 22 Ships.
Duddell’s 10,000 square foot interior, which is spread over two floors, was designed by the one and only Isle Crawford, who seems to be another favorite around here.
I finally stuck my head in yesterday and can say that the space is rather lovely, and surprisingly quite minimal. The lower level is a Cantonese-cuisine restaurant, while the upstairs bar / lounge area facing the lush looking 2,000 sq ft terrace has more of a private-club-like ambiance. In typical Crawford style all of the spaces are decorated with a mix of classic 20th C designs and apparently custom designed furniture.
In addition to the food and drinks on offer, the space doubles as a space to showcase local art. They apparently have plans to launch a continuous programme of talks, performances, film screenings and other events and there’s also talk of a rotating, guest-curated exhibition programme, and rumours Ai Weiwei may be a possibility to take on that task.
I think this might become the new regular haunt for dim sum and drinks with out of town guests!
Folks, I’m not in town, but if you are in Hong Kong over the weekend, make sure you check out the huge warehouse clearance sale Manks is having!
Any thoughts, comments, suggestions or feedback is much appreciated, as I endeavour to plan the future of the blog and our studio, and what the next 6 yrs may bring…