I was walking on Star Street to meet my friends for dinner when I came across this store. I was so shocked to see a local handicraft in such a location full of posh design brands from overseas.
I immediately walked into the store only to find a middle aged man with a beard sitting at the end of the store. This was unusual as most of these local handicraft stores in Hong Kong were owned by some young “Hong Kong Hipsters” wearing crazy hats or a tie-dyed dungaree.
On the right side of the store, there were refrigerators and cupboards selling the “normal groceries” like cigarettes, sodas, beers and snack etc. On the left side of the store, there were clothes racks hanging vintage clothing and handbags. And there were cupboards that display cute boxes and post cards that were nicely illustrated by local graphic designers.
While I was checking out the vintage clothing, the middle-aged man walked over and introduces every product enthusiastically. He told me that his daughter had sourced all the vintage clothing from overseas and that some of the clothes were hand dyed by her. The other cute products that are displayed were made and designed by his daughter's friend too. I feel so delighted to see him so proud and supportive of what his daughter does.
Just when I was about to leave the store, a girl stood behind the old man and smiled at me. She was the talented daughter who created most of the products in this shop. We had a short chat and I’ve found out that she is actually my senior in my university in London, and she has started a dyeing workshop in Lantau Island.
It was such a nice experience to have met them.
