Main: Tai Ping Shing Street; bottom right: Xin Xin gallery
 
I often feel blessed to have lived in different cities around the world, which I believe helps me to be open minded about different cultures and people. Yet I have always felt like an outsider ( not always by choice), and never felt [...]

While poverty is a growing issue in Hong Kong, it is still a city of plenty for many. Consumption is a way of life, but the mindset for recycling is still not very popular nor widespread.
A few years ago, I started to change my buying habit and cut down my consumption on [...]

The beautiful ArtYard is a relaxing place for tea, coffee and craft shopping
 
Dadaocheng:
ArtYard ( 67, Sec. 1, Dihua St)- Converted from a historical building built in 1923 near the Xiahai City God Temple, the airy and relaxing ArtYard is consisted of a craft shop, art gallery, tea room and cafe. Some [...]

Top left: Dadaocheng wharf; top right: Xiahai City God Temple; Main & bottom: traditional shops and food stalls

 
After visiting the Lin Liu-hsin Puppet Theatre Museum, I decided to explore the flavourful and historical Dadaocheng district. Walking towards the museum, I couldn't help but notice the beautiful colonial architecture that are rare to [...]

Main: Tokyu Plaza Omotesando Harajuku; bottom left: Yuse's sandwich tags; bottom right: fun fish pencil cases
 
With so many cool and unique design shops all over Tokyo, it is almost impossible to give a comprehensive list, so here is an overview of just some of them:
Omotesando
Tokyo's Tokyo ( 4-30-3 Jingumae) - Located on [...]

Top left: Scai the bathhouse; top right: a temples in Yanaka; main: the nostalgic Yanaka
 
There are so many cool and interesting neighbourhoods in Tokyo, but my favourite is the area known as Yanesen ( including three neighbourhoods: Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi). In a metropolis where everything changes faster than the blink of [...]

My last Kyoto blog entry is on shopping...
Since I spent much of the time in the rural area exploring temples and gardens, there was barely time for shopping. The day before I left for Tokyo, I went into the city centre during the late afternoon and spent a few hours exploring the [...]

Drop by Tracey Neuls x Tord Boontje
 
For an ex-shopaholic like me, I am now buying only about 10% of what I used to in a year. I spent years using shopping as a means of stress relief from work, and it was only when I started selling all my unwanted stuff on [...]

Witty 'glamour and sophistication' at the gallery
 
How would you interpret the term 'dysfunctional luxuries'? At Paradise Row, a gallery behind Oxford Street, an exhibition/ pop-up boutique, Erratum: beyond utility examines what luxury means in the consumption-driven society we live in today.
 

 
London-based artist, Jeremy Hutchison ( with background in advertising) invited factories across [...]

A more prepared stand this year...
 
I have been so busy preparing for the show that I haven't had time to update the blog until now...
Last December, approximately 6 weeks after the launch, we did the first pop-up shopping event at East London design show. I was sick with flu, missed most of [...]