Happy Easter

We’re taking a short Easter break and we will see you on April 5!

However, you can always shop on line or contact us by email if you have any problems or design emergencies!

Our new store front

We had a lovely Chinese New Year break, despite a bad cold which I am still trying to fight off.   However, we are full steam ahead in the store and are busy restocking with new products and showing more of our furniture collections.  In addition we have revamped our store front.  Isn’t it cute!

Come in and take a look at our Eclectic Cool range of linen.   We have them in stock in around 8 colours but we are able to order them in around 23 colours.  Our napkins are HKD90 each, runners HKD 210 and tablecloths HKD 845.    We also have some cute fabric baskets that are great for inside or outside alike.  Fill with bread and fruits for a casual al fresco lunch , or use to store veggies in the kitchen.  The small is HKD 135 and the large is HKD 255.

They will be able for purchase on the online store very soon.

See you at the store!

cool..h + m Home

Last year, during  my last trip to Copenhagen, I came across the H+M home store in the centre of Copenhagen.   It was the only non-Danish design that I saw on my whole trip.

Like the clothes version of H+M, everything was super cheap, including linen sheets for around HKD300 for example.  The display of the goods was the most interesting thing-there was only one sample of everything and to buy you picked up a tag and took it to the counter.   I had seen a catalogue previously, but unfortunately the real thing didn’t look as good.   Rather like H+M clothes, I suppose.

However, the styling of the catalogues are the best thing about the designs.   I would totally love to live in a bedroom like the first image if I was a little girl. I’ve got a thing for fluoro pink, pom poms and balloons.    I’m not a huge fan of black walls but the second image makes those cushions look great.   Loving the sparkly silver.

you can check out H+M home online here, not sure if they deliver to HK yet, but I am sure the home section will be here soon.

Cool…Paul Smith for Leica

I had a chance this week to see the new Leica X2 customized by designer, Paul Smith.  This is not a camera for the under-the-radar street photographer.   Everything about it screams attention! From the orange and yellow green stripes to the little whimsical touches ( a handrawn bulb on the pop-up flash), it is more Tim Walker than Robert Capa.

That’s not to say I didn’t like it.  Nicely balanced, all X2s feel great in your hand and that 24mm f/2.8 lens would be great for candid photojournalism type shots.    Those leather accessories are pretty nice too and could possibly tone down those rather vibrant stripes.

Only 1500 have been made and I am sure will sell out, once it hits HK at the Paul Smith boutique in November.   Not sure what the price is here but if you have to ask, you can’t afford it.

Cool…Shanghai Tang Bike

Long gone are the days in China when the most common mode of transportation was by bike.  These days you will most likely be traveling by Bentley.   However, this new collaboration between Shanghai Tang and Colossi Cycles has us (thinking about) throwing away our car catalogues and wishing that HK wasn’t so darn hot and hilly.

This bike is an homage to the classic Chinese black fixed gear cycle. Single speed bikes have clean lines and a spare beauty which comes from their simplicity.

And best of all it comes in 2 colours: a pretty girly black and pink and a hermes type orange.  Even if you don’t ride it- it would look great hanging up on the wall.

Cool…morphē

Lucy McRae, the Australian born but Amsterdam-based artist and self-titled, Body Architect, has long been interested in the human body.   In fact, she views the body as a canvas, manipulating  the body’s natural structure  to invent  new and different anatomical forms and adornments.  Recently Aēsop, the skincare brand, recently commissioned her to make a film inspired by the theme of the science and beauty.

This ethereal movie obviously alludes to Shelley’s Frankenstein and Perrrault’s Sleeping Beauty, as the ‘body’ lies prone beneath a chrysalis of film while the scientist works her.  However, McRae describes her Scientist as inspired by Hermann von Helmholtz and his research on human perception.   ‘Everything’, wrote Helmholtz, ‘is an event on the skin’.   As is the emphasis in Morphē, Aēsop too marries science with nature.

The release of the film coincides with the global relaunch of Aēsop’s new website, which you can check out here.

Cool..Apple + Pie Shoes

One of my most hated chores is shopping for shoes for my kids.  Due to the lack of shoe options in Hong Kong, a shopping trip usually ends in disappointment.

It seems I am not alone as Apple + Pie founders and HK mothers, Anita Klaus and Shamsa von Keulen joined forces to launch their new kids’ shoe store.    I have to confess that I have not visited the store myself but from what I have seen on the website and having a good look at their brand list, it seems that we will be spoilt for choice.

The range includes school shoe staples such as Startrite together with a large fashion range means your darling will be spoilt for choice.  They are also having a grand opening on November 25  (call ahead for an invite to their  champagne reception from 6 to 8pm)  so try and make it then!

Shop# 206, 2/F One Island South
2 Heung Yip Road
Wong Chuk Hang
Hong Kong

Opening hours

Mon-Sat 10 am – 6 pm
Sun & public holidays 11 am – 6 pm

Cool…Olivia von Halle Silk PJs @ Sheer

Don’t you wish that you could wake up looking fabulously elegant?  Well, I am looking forward to investing in a set of the new Olivia von Halle silk pjs that have just been launched at Sheer.    Made of 100% silk and featuring lots of delicious detailing such as silk piping, mother of pearl buttons and a daring lower neckline, these pajamas were modeled on those worn by Coco Chanel.

You can’t get more elegant than that!

The pjs are launching today & limited stocks are available so make sure you rush into Sheer immediately.

Cool…Fine Cell Work

I have always been a bit of a stitcher so I was thrilled to come across the pop-up store of Fine Cell Work.   Taught by volunteers from the UK Embroiderers and Quilters Guild, these pieces are stitched by prisoners who use their time to learn a new, paid skill.

The pieces are finely crafted and worked.   Interestingly, most of the needlework is made by male prisoners who find the work calming and meditative.   On average, prisoners in the UK are locked up for around 17 hours per day so small cushion not only  represents hours of work ( approximately 80!!) but also means that prisoners are spending their time productively, earning money that can be used to support their families as well as teaching them a skill.

You can learn more about Fine Cell Work via their website and if you are in London, take the time to visit their new pop-up store in Grosvenor Street, Mayfair open now until the 30th September.  You can also commission a piece of  needlework via the website.   It is a great way to commemorate an event and you can join the V&A, the Tate and the Prince of Wales in commissioning a piece.

You can also donate money to support this fine enterprise.  It really is a worthwhile cause.

Fine Cell Work

5 Grosvenor Street , London, W1K 4DJ