Tag: Hong Kong

How to make your eyes pop without makeup: Eye Studio by Spa BPZ

The last decade has seen Asia’s beauty sector grow exponentially. The region’s biggest beauty obsession? Bigger, wide-awake eyes.

Makeup effects: Achieving bigger eyes

But what if you don’t want to spend half an hour everyday applying all that eye shadow, false eyelashes, eyeliner and contact lenses? Nigar Qureshi of Spa BPZ, one of Hong Kong’s longest running beauty establishments, thinks she has the answer. And no, it doesn’t involve surgery.

“Getting bigger eyes isn’t solved by getting just one treatment,” she says. “It’s a culmination of several effects: properly arched and defined eyebrows, curled or extended lashes, and even what we call ‘permanent makeup’ for those who want to go all the way.”

After working with Hong Kong clients for four decades, Nigar realised that what the market really needed was a comprehensive product that enhanced eyes semi-permanently without the need for makeup. She then decided to launch Eye Studio, an up to 7-in-1 full service, covering a combination of the following:

  • Eyebrow shaping, threading
  • Eyebrow 3D microblading tattoo
  • Eyelash perm
  • Eyelash extension
  • Eyelash / eyebrow tinting
  • Moxa Bustion for dark circles & fine lines (Traditional Chinese medicine therapy using moxa made from dried mugwort)
  • Caci Ultra eye treatment which works to lift and firm the muscles around the eye area and smoothens the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles

“The results are remarkable,” she says. “People always underestimate the little details, but they add up.”

Spa BPZ’s Eyelash perm kit

“There’s no one solution fits all,” Nigar qualifies. “That’s why we have an initial consultation to see what look would suit your face.” Being primarily a makeup artist, Nigar uses the “face card” to determine and customise each service.

When your faithful writer came in to try the eyelash perm, Nigar immediately spotted a downward angle on the outer edges of her eyes and recommended to add an exaggerated curl in the ends. She had been meaning to ask for it, but Nigar identified the problem before she could even broach the request. Clearly, the woman knows what she is doing.

There was only time to do one treatment that day, but your writer wished she had more to do the whole Eye Studio package at Spa BPZ. Her previously existing eyebrow tattoos definitely needed a touch up, while her eyelashes are sadly still short as ever. Thankfully, the perming alone already made a dramatic difference.

Eyelash perm at Spa BPZ: Before and After

What makes the eyelash perm at Spa BPZ different from those at other salons? According to Nigar, others normally use hair perm for clients’ eyelashes, which is too strong for such a delicate area. “That’s why you get swelling, and if you do it often, your eyelashes get burned by the chemicals,” she says. “We use a very mild but effective plant-based solution from Germany.”

Additionally, while other salons also use standard cotton pads to cushion your skin, Nigar’s team uses collagen under-eye patches, dabbing in even more cream for added measure. “I make a lot of these organic products myself,” says Nigar. “I typically use aromatherapy oils and natural ingredients.”

When asked whether she intended to commercially produce them, Nigar said no. “It makes more sense for me to keep them exclusively for Spa BPZ customers.”

Try it for yourself at Spa BPZ. 12/F Sea Bird House, 22-28 Wyndham Street, Central, Hong Kong. (852) 2524 1272 / 2522 5945 / 9364 5271.  www.spabpz.com

 

Written by: Julienne C. Raboca

This mountainside apartment gets a makeover in fifty shades of grey

A 2,800 square foot apartment halfway up The Peak gets a makeover in fifty shades of grey

Unless you’re a die-hard bachelor, dark colours wouldn’t be the first prescription you would give your interior designer when renovating your home. Most want light, bright and airy – the aesthetic ruling today’s concept of ‘clean’ design.

Step into this minimalist trove in Mid-levels, however, and you might change your mind. Black metal was used to clad doors, stairs and cabinets. The living room carpet – sourced from Pakistan – was dyed in Hong Kong by the designer herself in shadowy casts.

“I like to use these inky colours,” says Parisian interior designer Peggy Bels, who has been reviving properties in Hong Kong, Thailand and Bali since 2008. “Dark backgrounds allow light colours to pop and create more contrast and deepness. Rough textures also give character to a space.”

Despite Bels’ penchant for deep hues, the apartment maintains its luminosity and spacious atmosphere thanks to the “warm grey” palette – Bels’ signature colour scheme – and her use of strong brights. Graphic elements like splashes of red add dimension, mostly found in the curated artwork decorating the ‘milky’ walls.

Graphic elements with splashes of red add dimension

“I mix water into the cement finish to get that effect,” says Bels. “When you do that, you get a milky colour that feels cosy and warm.” She also balances out the dark wood (see: dining table) with soft fabrics and white marble (see: kitchen counter) continuing her contemporary theme of minimalist contraposition.

In 2014, a French couple approached Bels to renovate their 2,800 square foot flat in Mid-levels. They were looking for a modern restoration, and asked Bels to free up the living and dining areas.

Before Bels came in to do her magic, the flat had already been partially renovated 10 years ago. The partitioned layout and Chinese flooring remained, however, and that had to go. The French designer converted the flooring with grey oak, and removed the walls between the kitchen and living spaces.

Bels also balances out the dark wood with soft fabrics and white marble

Getting in her way, however, were structural beams between the entrance, living room and kitchen. “We had to keep them there, but I covered them with the same cement finish to make them interesting,” she says. “The effect is seamlessness, that’s the key to keeping that open sensation.”

This is Bels’ favourite part of the flat: the flowing space of kitchen, dining and living area is without a doubt the house’s standout feature spilling out to a 400 sq ft open-air balcony. The lofty view of sea and mountain makes you feel like you’re on top of Hong Kong.

Private quarters: Plush sanctuaries with leafy views

Departing from the communal zone, we walk through a narrow hallway to seek the private quarters. Round mirrors combat the cramped effect, as do large rectangular frames of varying themes; there’s not one inch here that’s over or under decorated.

Light pours into the master bedroom, a plush sanctuary with leafy views. A map of Paris’ metro hangs over the couples’ headboard – or used to, as it is not known if the flat’s new inhabitants have kept it there. Over a year ago, the house went up for sale.

We’re sure, however, that the floor-to-ceiling closets of the intimate quarters’ dressing room have been kept. The wardrobes, which line both sides of the lavishly carpeted space, would certainly not be out of place in the world of Carrie Bradshaw.

Bels’ six-month-long renovation finished in May 2015. Her original included a nursery for the French couples’ daughter; a chic princess’s kingdom that somehow fits in with the rest of the décor despite its pink pastels and quirky rocking sheep.

This tour finishes with the TV room-cum-study across the way, furnished with a stingray leather writing desk and vintage leather loveseat. The mounted flat screen is camouflaged among the charming assortment of picture frames hung all over the white-painted wall: an oval portrait here, an overexposed Eiffel Tower there.

Subtlety and simplicity

While Bels’ approach is far from the earthy and warm tones that others utilise to create a homey glow, hers is a cooler comfort that relies on subtlety and simplicity. Her idea of home is completely free of clutter, making use of texture and light instead to round the edges.

If you like what you see, then you might find her advice useful: “Let light circulate; use a combination of floor lamps, table lamps, and down lights from a false ceiling. Use a directional recessed spotlight to bounce reflected light off walls, in order to open out the space.

“Put all these lights on dimmer switches to allow for flexibility, depending on the time of day, event, or mood. Lighting fixtures are essential in adding character; don’t overfill the space with too many furniture and accessories.”

Bels’ homes, seemingly designed as if from a Coco Chanel collection, also happen to reflect her countrywoman’s philosophy: “Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.”

Words: Julienne C. Raboca

Aveda launches thickening “Eclipting” colour for fuller-looking hair

Aveda’s newest service thickens and colours with only plant-based products

Ummm… how?

If you thought contouring strictly belonged to the territory of make-up artists, you were wrong. Aveda’s global artistic director for hair color, Ian Michael Black, came up with a way to translate the makeup technique into hair art using strategic colour placement. “Eclipting” is the new buzz word in the beauty world, after years of “balayage” domination. 

We know – there are so many concepts to grasp when it comes to this new trend. Let’s start by slowing down and taking it apart piece by piece.

Step 1: Thickening with Invati Advanced

Aveda’s thickening + colour/highlights service is a new body-boosting hair treatment designed to contour and alter the shape of your hair. The first part lifts and volumizes thinning, lanky tresses for maximum fullness using the award-winning Invati Advanced™ line, which powers the process via three products that promise to reduce hair loss by 53%. 

Price: The Invati Treatment for Thinning Hair starts at HK$500

Step 2: Eclipting – Colouring your way to fuller-looking hair

The second part achieves optical illusions by way of ‘eclipting.’ The technique makes thinning hair appear fuller through ‘hair contouring’: incorporating balayage techniques to effect gradients (although eclipting uses starker contrasts for a more distinct change).

Black’s method keeps the root area a little darker to “make hair look more solid at the scalp,” he says. “It works well with the darker-root trend right now.”

Strategic highlights are then placed: finer through the top and chunkier underneath. “This gives hair a bulkier look overall,” according to Black. Finally, the ends shouldn’t be lighter than the rest of the hair as bleached ends look especially thin.

“But nothing makes hair look better than being shiny and conditioned,” warns Black, so keep those locks healthy! Remember: chemicals at the minimum, hence Aveda’s success as a company that sticks to naturally-derived ingredients.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Be1cSKtBYmB/?tagged=ecliptingcolor

The Hong Kong experience

Among Aveda’s several Hong Kong locations, we decided to check out their Lifestyle Salon & Spa at The Loop in Central. You can enter via a separate door from the building lobby; skip the spa and salon on the first two floors to get to the colouring station on the third. 

Since you’re going to be in here for a good three hours, best make yourself comfy with complimentary tea and settle in with some reading material. If your eyes need a break, there’s a streetview to Wellington Street below, or the mirror to check on your colorist’s progress. 

Aveda Lifestyle Salon & Spa at The Loop in Central

A colour assesment begins the session, followed by a soothing head and scalp massage which releases any tension or pre-colour worries you may have. If you need lightening, the bleaching for highlights goes first to add depth, followed by a thorough shampooing and conditioning. The toning stage brings in the colour application, and finally a treatment to offset anydrying or damage. 

What do you think?

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbRM9Q2BsvG/

Aveda has multiple locations in Hong Kong. Check out www.aveda.com.hk for more details. 

Written by Julienne C. Raboca

Mr & Mrs Fox relaunches its Foxy Pub Quiz

Think you’re a smart cookie? Then prove it. Mr & Mrs Fox dares you to vie for the grand prize of its Foxy Pub Quiz, which just relaunched last 30 January 2018. Located in the downstairs all-day-dining Mrs Fox (Mr Fox upstairs serves food from the finer end of the spectrum), the friendly competition invites groups of six to rack their brains for answers to trivia questions the likes of “Which country consumes the most chocolate per person?” (Answer: Switzerland)

So what’s new with the Foxy Pub Quiz, which took a 6-month hiatus from August last year? We ask JP Lizot, Quizmaster and Senior Operations Manager. 

“The pub quiz had been running for about a year at Fox, but we decided to take a break to brainstorm. We wanted to come up with a more concise and interactive concept,” he says. “We’re going to hold it every two months from now on, so keep your eyes peeled for our next one in March.”

JP Lizot, Senior Operations Manager at Swire’s Mr & Mrs Fox

This time around, the Fox team is also promising a time limit of 2 hours for five categories: F&B, Technology, Love and Romance, General Information and Music. We don’t want to divulge too many of the new format’s secrets, but we will tell you this: be prepared to identify dance moves and sing if you must. If this sounds like torture to you, make sure you have a stand-in to suffer in your place!

“For the first pub quiz, we decided to give each group a line from Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, and make them sing it in exchange for points,” says Lizot. “People took it to another level, it was hilarious. For future ones, we’re looking into cocktail making, maybe food assembling, Pictionary, and other answers based on physical interaction. We want to take the experience of team laughter, and for people to talk more about it.”

And finally, the question we’ve all been waiting for: What do you actually get if you win?!

Last month it was a HK$1,000 bar tab for the evening, six red bottles from a guest supplier, six bottles of white wine, an engraved 1.5-litre bottle with the winning team’s name and a Valentine dinner for two worth HK$1,100. (Read: 3 Different venues to try this Valentine’s Day).

In a heart-warming turn of events, the winning team decided to share their spoils with other players because “they don’t like wine”. Now that’s something to boggle the mind. 

The next Foxy Pub Quiz (prizes: gym, beverages!) will be on Tuesday, 27 March 2018 from 7-9pm. Mr & Mrs Fox, 23 Tong Chong Street, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong. +852 2697 8500. dine@mrmrsfox.com. www.mrmrsfox.com

Text: Julienne C. Raboca

Multimedia artist Natalie Wong collaborates with The Hive for first solo exhibition

Just in time for Hong Kong Arts Month, British Chinese mixed media artist Natalie Wong is set to open her first solo exhibition in partnership with arts venue The Hive Spring. Entitled “Neon Rap Portraits”, the series features glowing depictions of today’s biggest hip-hop stars the likes of Kanye West, Jay-Z and Drake.

The Hong Kong twist to Wong’s artworks is her use of electroluminescent wire: a nod to the city’s iconic neon imagery. Wong also neatly links the ‘freestyle’ concept of her continuous line method to the essence of rap, saying “my lines are improvised in the moment, and it mirrors what a rapper does when he freestyles.” 

 

Wong when viral when pop culture giants Hypebeast and Missbich covered Neon Rap Portraits. Her pieces have since received enquiries from several international buyers. “There have also been multiple collectors interested in the same pieces which have resulted in a price increase in some of the work,” said Wong during the first week of release.

Wong’s traction among art buyers marks a departure from the traditional gallery route that many of the last generation’s artists had to struggle with in the early days of their careers. “Through the production of high quality digital content I have been able to reach buyers directly,” says Wong. “Galleries rarely take on new artists, so I have online channels to thank for the opportunity to showcase my work and reach a far wider audience.”

Wong says online exposure has allowed early-career artists like her to break into the market and build their own client lists.

Catch this up-and-coming artist in the flesh on February 22, 2018 at The Hive Spring in Aberdeen. 

Event Details

Date: 22 Feb 2018

Time: 7-10pm

Address: The Hive Spring, 3/F Remex Centre, 42 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Aberdeen

Tickets: Free – register here

If you can’t make it on the soft opening, you can still pop in to see the exhibited art, which will be on display up until the 22nd of March in the same location. (And while in you’re the area, why not drop by newly-opened restaurant Komune for deliciously playful cuisine?) 

About the artist

‘Street Pop Cubism’ pioneer Natalie Wong first made waves in the art world with her project 100 Paper Sneakers, a showcase of Nike Air Jordan 1 sculptures made from thickly textured paper and card. Since then her work has been featured in several international publications including GQ, Esquire, HYPEBEAST, IT Fashion, LifestyleAsia and Popbee. www.natmozzie.com

About The Hive Spring

The Hive Spring is the newest addition to the network of the Hive Co-working spaces; it also functions as an arts and culture centre, providing a platform for a wide discipline of emerging artists. 

5 Hong Kong startups to watch this year

On 25 January 2018, Sheung Wan based investment accelerator Betatron held its ‘Demo Day’ – a culminating event for the second cohort of its intensive four-month programme. The private, invitation-only affair was held at The Annex in Nan Fung Place, Des Voeux Rd Central, attended by more than 360 entrepreneurs, investors, strategic partners and the media. 

With an estimated worth of US$32 Billion, Hong Kong’s startup ecosystem – the world’s fifth fastest growing – is definitely one to watch. Let’s take a look at some of the exciting new players in this up-and-coming sector, as presented in Betatron’s event last month:

Pakt: The Smart Wardrobe

Asia’s most innovative clothing storage service

Shopaholics, rejoice. This “wardrobe away from home” offers pristine storage conditions and a digital platform so you can browse your clothes anytime, anywhere and always know what you have in storage. PAKT also helps property developers like JLL innovate; they think smaller units should become smart homes and that means a smart wardrobe.

The startup also holds occassional Preloved Fashion and charity sales and works closely with bridal dress designers, retailers, beauty / fashion bloggers and more. www.pakt.hk

Pixofy: Interactive furniture shopping 

The augmented reality furniture shopping experience

Moving into a new space? Forget hours of going through different home stores only to realise they don’t match with your home or office in the end. Pixofy is focused on providing a next generation interactive shopping experience that allows consumers to visualise products in a different environment via augmented reality. Pixofy aims to enable furniture shoppers to make enhanced purchasing decisions and works with design studios and furniture manufacturers. www.pixofy.io

IC Workshop: Product testing, Inspection and factory certification

​An international compliance platform

It may not be the sexiest of startups out there, but this B2B solution promises to deliver solid returns with real added value to the supply chain industry. IC Workshop enhances the efficiency in the procurement process; as of late 2017, the startup had over 100 enterprise users, generated 700 projects and US$6.3 million in revenue. Its vision is to make Hong Kong the international centre of global product testing, inspection and certification. www.icw.io

KidHop: All You Can Play

Discover and book amazing children’s activities

Parents, this one’s for you. The entrepreneurs behind KidHop understand how hard it is to navigate through the myriad of education centres and activities providers in Hong Kong. How do you choose which ones are best for your kid?! With KidHop’s aggregator, you only have to go to one platform containing a comprehensive list of curated activities for children, categorised by time, location, age, etc. Kids can explore a different activity everyday, or take up to 3 visits per month to the same provider for drop-in classes.www.kidhop.com

Trip Guru: Authentic Travel Experiences

A platform for travellers to discover each other through the best group experiences

Who said solo travel has to be lonely? There’s nothing better about travelling than the people you meet along the way! (Read: Gafencu’s travel section) This Hong Kong based startup – headed up by a team of Italian and Argentinian travel enthusiasts – is the millennial answer to the dusty travel agencies of the past. Their first batch of destinations cover Southeast Asia, but with more funding they are hoping to expand to China, India, Myanmar and Latin America. thetripguru.com

 

Written by: Julienne C. Raboca

FRANCIS brings Tel Avivian food culture to Wan Chai

2018 is looking to be a strong year for Hong Kong’s F&B scene with so many new restaurant openings in the first month alone – FRANCIS in Wan Chai being one of them. The neighbourhood hangout opened its doors on January 22 in the up-and-coming St Francis Yard section of Wan Chai (just down the road from Pici). 

The airy 30-seater concept celebrates Tel Aviv’s vibrant food culture with curated wines and an inspired menu of mezes. As soon as I heard about it, I immediately booked a girls’ dinner to get the 411. Tel Aviv is one of my favourite cities in the world for many reasons, and the cuisine stands out in my memory as the best of any trip I’ve ever done. (Read: 10 Reasons Why Tel Aviv Should Be Your Next Holiday)

Stuffed Mussels (HK$110)

Refreshingly, FRANCIS is not ‘just another brand’ adding to the roster of some big dining group. It’s the first venture for a trio of young entrepreneurs led by James Ward, former manager at successful venues Aqua, Zafran and The Ocean in Repulse Bay. His partners are Israeli-born chef Asher Goldstein and sommelier Simone Sammuri.

Goldstein, a native of Tel Aviv, crafted a seasonal menu of shared plates using organic produce in addition to fresh seafood and vegetables. In fact, the night we came we dined meatless: Baked Halloumi with pomegranate molasses and wild oregano (HK$120), Smoked Carrots with almond and spiced honey (HK$90), Cauliflower with yogurt and tarragon (HK$80) and Raw Tuna with kohlrabi, anchovy and tomato (HK$140). 

Ward, Goldstein and Sammuri
Grilled Octopus with harissa, burgul potato cake (HK$140)

If I were to go back, I would try the Hummus (HK$80), Falafel (HK$50) and Sweet Potato with paprika and feta (HK$90); they ran out of the latter when we were there. For dessert, we had a delicious modern take on the Palestinian knafeh, a crispy pastry with melting mozzarella inside topped with orange blossom and pistachio (HK$80). This one was definitely one of my favourites at Shuk Ha’Carmel.

Word of warning: I was eating with a girlfriend and neither of us has much of an appetite, but we had to order at least five plates between the two of us (dessert included). We had to shell out around HK$450 each in the end (counting the wine), which is no small price to pay for only half-filling our stomachs. 

Baked Halloumi cheese – excellent! (HK$120)

What should you expect at FRANCIS? Refined versions of your Tel Avivian classics in tiny portions. The wine selection, on the other hand, is altogether another matter: the vintages are excellent and you can get a bottle of red from HK$180.

FRANCIS is definitely a great place to catch up with friends over casual bites and drinks (we loved the vibe!), but for a sit down dinner I would recommend eating somewhere else (first). Shalom!

FRANCIS G/F, 4 & 6, St. Francis Street, Wan Chai (852) 3101 9521 hello@francis.com.hk www.francis.com.hk facebook.com/francishkrestaurant/ instagram.com/francishongkong/

Finding Hong Kong’s new crop of urban farmers

Can agriculture and urban growth find a way to coexist? A new generation of urban farmers is reinventing the meaning of concrete jungle in Hong Kong

From helipad to sky-high farm: Bank of America Tower x JLL

Care for a Malaysian durian? That will be HK$600, please. Too expensive? How about Tasmanian cherries? HK$550 only. These were the going rates of ‘exotic’ fruits at the Yau Ma Tei market in last year’s expensive fruit fad, which made news all over the world.

“On the shelves of City Super, a single Japanese strawberry recently fetched a whopping HK$168,” reported AFP. “Each strawberry was nestled on a paper pillow, encased in a glossy cardboard box.” The “appetite for pricey fruit from far afield” reflected “a quest for clean, fresh produce” from anywhere but China.

Food safety and contamination have been sources of concern and alarm in Hong Kong and China in recent history. The 2008 milk scandal in China’s Gansu Province terrorised young parents when toxic melamine was found in baby milk powder. Last year, Hong Kong faced a shortage when livestock from Jiangxi (supplying 20% of the city’s pork) was found to be tainted with illegal food additives: asthma drugs used to artificially enhance growth and leanness. These scares have driven local consumers to take action and become more vigilant about the sourcing of their produce; “never mind the extra cost, as long as I’m sure it won’t kill me.”

Harvest from The Fringe Club’s rooftop farm

Back to nature

Hong Kong’s return to farming has been driven in part by such food safety issues. Up north, in the New Territories, ‘rural’ farming was once thought to have become extinct. Little over a decade ago, there was barely any agricultural activity to be found in those parts. However, in the last ten years organic farms have resurged, and today they number in the hundreds – closer to 500 and growing.

“I tried to work in the city for almost three years, but I hated it,” says Becky Au, who runs the Ma Po Po Community Farm in Fanling. “I realized that I want a job that is close to nature and to my home. Some of my friends suggested that I should build a farm… so why not?”

In 2011, Becky Au was in the midst of a Post-80s movement that saw a return to farming amongst Hong Kong’s denizens disillusioned by corporate life. [Post-’80 refers to the generation born between 1980 and 1989 after the death of Mao Zedong and the introduction of the One-child policy]. In an interview with Emily Wu for now defunct HK Magazine, Becky told her tale of growing up on a farm in Ma Shi Po, getting a job in the city and then choosing to go back to her roots.

According to Becky, she feels luckier than her peers as she gets to “eat the best and freshest food” nurtured by her own hand. “I have everything I need here,” she says.

Sky’s the limit

Meanwhile, on top of one of Central’s iconic skyscrapers, a decommissioned helicopter helipad enjoys a new lease on life thanks to Rooftop Republic, a local social enterprise. The five-year-old company provides agricultural services to rooftops all over Hong Kong’s concrete jungle, including the stunning site on the 39th floor of the Bank of America Tower.

“I realised the potential of urban farming to transform the way we currently grow, consume and think about food,” says Rooftop Republic co-founder Pol Fàbrega. The sky-high farm rotates crops by season: sweet potatoes and Chinese spinach in the summer, and radishes, lettuce and kale in winter. The team sometimes donates its harvests to a local food bank where it’s cooked and sent to the poor.

Now with 34 similar projects in Hong Kong, Rooftop Republic has gone a long way since 2012. Businesses have been hiring them for services from site assessment and customised farm design to seedling delivery and edible green wall installations. Everyday folks are also invited to participate; the company holds events on a regular basis, such as urban farming for kids, microgreens workshops and nutrition talks.

The future of agriculture?

According to Matthew Pryor at the Division of Landscape Architecture at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), there are around 60 such rooftop farms in the city. Pryor is currently working on a model estimating the total space for potential rooftop farms in the SAR. “There’s more on the roof than there is on the ground,” he says.

Pryor, a landscape architect, hopes to persuade the government to integrate rooftop farms into city planning. He reasons out that green ceilings can provide thermal and sound insulation, potentially saving buildings’ overall energy consumption. If you want to see proof of concept, you can visit his rooftop farm in HKU, which he founded with fellow staff and students out of recycled materials from construction sites.

Many may tout indoor / vertical / urban agriculture as nothing but a passing fad, but those in the know stand their ground on it being inseparable from the future of humanity. “With hundreds of millions suffering from under-nutrition, anything that helps to bring nutritious food closer to the urban table can only be worth pursuing,” says Laurie Winkless, physicist and science writer.

In 2015 science fiction film The Martian, Matt Damon plays a botanist who survives being stranded on Mars by cultivating potatoes on his rocket ship. It presents an interesting scenario: can the technology we are using for urban farming today be employed beyond the confines of earth one day? We wouldn’t be surprised if Elon Musk’s SpaceX were to onboard some of the budding hydroponic experts on his quest to colonise the red planet – would you?

 

Written by: Julienne C. Raboca

Yen Kuok on the shocking burglary of Guiltless’ pop-up store (Part I)

Yen Kuok has been typecast all her life. Whether it‘s ‘family black sheep’ for leaving father Robert Kuok’s Kerry Properties, or ‘spoiled rich heiress’ during her school days, she has lived in the shadow of her family name since birth. Over the past few years, however, Yen has taken great strides to break free of the stereotypes that have been attached to her by carving out a name for herself in an industry she is passionate about: second-hand luxury.

In 2015, Yen founded Guiltless, an e-commerce site targeted towards the Asian high-end market allowing people to buy and consign pre-loved designer items. Last November, the brand launched a pop-up on Queen’s Road Central that was so successful they ran for two months instead of the normal two-week duration for standard pop-ups.

In a disconcerting spin on events, last December the shop was broken into by unidentified burglars who escaped in a white seven-seater. The three felons ran away with fifteen Hermes and YSL handbags worth a jaw-dropping HK$1.44 million (US$184,000).

We were able to catch up with a less than chirpy Yen just three days after the robbery. Although gutted by the blow to her business, she showed up for the photo shoot and kept her composure throughout the interview, sending rapid-fire messages to her team handling the crisis every time she had a few seconds’ break.

Scroll down for the first part of the exclusive online Q&A precluding our March 2018 print coverage of the interview and photo shoot with Yen Kuok.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Balad-0AbVB/?hl=en&taken-by=yenskiboo

Last December the Guiltless pop-up shop was broken into. That must have been a huge blow to you – can you tell us about that? What happened?

In the early morning a few minutes past 6 o’clock on December 5, the CCTV showed three robbers breaking in via the mall’s interior entrance to the store. They used a giant hammer and literally smashed through the glass. They knew exactly what they were looking for, going straight for the bag cabinet where we kept all our Birkins. They picked out fifteen bags and made a swift exit.

It was quite scary because they clearly knew what they were doing; the robbers didn’t go for the exotic bags because they knew it would arouse more suspicion if they tried re-selling it in the second-hand market as they’re more easily identified. It’s also more difficult to bring those exotic Birkins overseas because all these skins are being restricted just like furs… the thieves made sure not to stir up any suspicion on the Queen’s Road Central main entrance side. They did everything inside the mall. It was a shocking experience.

Sorry to hear that. What’s the equivalent value of what they got?

The estimate is up to HK1.5 million. It’s difficult to put a price on the Birkin bags, it’s like trying to put a tag on a limited edition stamp.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaWCg9hABZR/?hl=en&taken-by=yenskiboo

I stopped by the pop-up just last Sunday, actually, and thought the branding was really well done.

We had only wanted to do two weeks in the beginning, actually. We didn’t want to compromise on a prime location as it was our first pop-up; we had to do it in a place that sets the standard. It had to be on the ground floor – none of those walk-up-the-stairs gallery space kind of nonsense – it had to be a main street location in Central. We had dabbled with the idea of doing it in Causeway Bay, but decided that for the first one we definitely had to do it in Central; we treated it like a flagship.

And did it work?

The results were really good, so we extended it for another month. The landlord was happy about that because it was driving a lot of traffic to the mall itself, us being right at the entrance. The window displays were interesting and fun – we had games inside the store. The management approached us to extend, and we said ‘Yes, looking at the financials it makes sense to do it.’ But in the end I don’t know if that’s a blessing or a curse since we got robbed!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbbdLzUlb6A/?hl=en&taken-by=yenskiboo

What were your demographics like? Who were your biggest fans?

A lot of the people who went to our pop-up have actually been the slightly older customers and tai tais who come in and buy like ten items at a time. They would say things like ‘Honestly I don’t really buy anything second-hand, but everything here looks so new, it’s wonderful.’

That’s the feedback that we get all the time, so much so that when we just opened the pop-up store, people didn’t realise it was second-hand and couldn’t figure out why we were so cheap. In the first week we had to print emergency store stickers saying ‘second-hand’ because unless you say it, people think it’s first-hand!

Stay tuned for the second part of this article, up next Sunday. Yen divulges tidbits from her personal life along with her fashion inspirations.

Interview by: Julienne C. Raboca

FUMI Opening Party: Japanese food culture comes to California Tower

Allan Zeman and Kuninori Matsuda, Consul General of Japan in Hong Kong, welcomed VIP guests and the media to FUMI’s launch party last January 18, 2018. The Japanese restaurant officially opened its doors on the 15th of January, inviting diners to enjoy seasonal menus, many created by celebrity guest chefs from Japan. 

The Japanese character for ‘culture’ was incorporated in FUMI’s name, a nod to the concept’s vision of educating and promoting traditions from the land of the rising sun. The restaurant is planning to host Japanese dance performances, calligraphy demonstrations, sake tasting classes and talks on culinary heritage in the coming year. Watch this space for a restaurant review coming soon!

 
6/F, California Tower, Lan Kwai Fong, 30 – 36 D’Aguilar St, Central, Hong Kong. Mon-SAT, 11:30-15:00; 18:00-23:00 info@fumihk.com. (852) 2328 3302. www.fumihk.com