Reminiscing the old HK airport

The other day, my colleagues and I went to buy a large photo of the old HK airport for one of the bosses leaving HK. People always talk about the airplanes having flown so closely to the apartments that it took away their laundries. Nice old HK style.

Recently, I feel there are a lot of people reminiscing the old HK and the good old days. HK still looks to have very ancient looking (worn out) buildings in the city, with grandmas and grandpas like from centuries ago. But more and more, it looks like it's getting difficult to live the old ways in the city with people coming from outside and local people being squeezed out, particularly with regards to the scarcity of real estate and public education for kids.



Photo credit: BenZ-fotos

Summer vacay shoes

I have been looking for cheap summer sandals that I can wear during my vacation. Happy to find these.

New cats eye shades

It's not 3D glasses. Thank you Lane Crawford!

Toilet paper on a roll

Did you read about the horror story toilet paper roll by Hayashi Corporation? The story is written by the author of the Ring, which movie honestly haunted me for years. And of course the story takes place in the toilet (I will not read this). The story repeats every 86cm, so you can let your friends use the toilet paper too.

Out of curiosity, I looked into other products they have. They also have sudoku and party line (like a toilet paper mask you can wear). The company also has serious products, like advertising about public messages including child abuse etc.

For me, I would rather have chic black toilet paper. I remember seeing one from Italy a while back, and swore I will use it in my future house.

Photo credit: Hayashi Corporation

The artistic and modern Hello Kitty

Did you notice that Hello Kitty turned pink and soft in 1996? Until then, Hello Kitty was red or yellow and always had black line/rim around her face, which made her look a little cold. The third Hello Kitty designer Yuko Yamaguchi (she is such a character! she has a blog) changed this, and successfully turned Hello Kitty into a global icon.

Did you also notice that Hello Kitty started to show up everywhere, in different shops in 2008? Apparently it was due to an HBS graduate who joined and brought in the idea of giving discretion to artists and manufacturers globally, to design goods everywhere, based on a licensing fee (and Sanrio's overseas operating profits is >US$0.1 billion).

Hello Kitty also gives much more flexibility in the design than the likes of Disney and Snoopy, which can allow for versatile products that keep the brand image really up to date. And they also started an office in Milan to headquarter all global products, with an all-Italian staff. From there, Hello Kitty is now moving to sell to men, starting with their KISS characters (a product of struggle by an Italian designer upon adding a tongue, because Hello Kitty must not have a mouth!).

Anyway, see below Miss Kitty White's profile. It's too funny.

Hello Kitty Profile:
- name: Kitty White
- born: suburb of London
- height: 5 apples piled up, weight: 3 apples worth
- pet: she has 2 pet cats!
- collection: candy

Do also check out these Hello Kitty junkies' blogs: Hello Kitty on real cat & Hello Kitty products.

Photo credit: Sanrio, Yuko Yamaguchi, Lady Gaga

Happy mid summer day!

A happy dog from Sweden...

LAB is having a major sale!

LAB in HK, the pop Lane Crawford is having a huge sale. While I think HK is always marked up, this is nice. I got a Hanii Y skirt as a start, and plan to go again tomorrow. Everyone, do go or come with me, and buy yourselves a nice summer vacation wardrobe!

Thai lunch at a private kitchen in Wanchai

Apparently, private kitchen in HK is a huge thing. It's usually nothing to be overly excited about, but somehow gives you a nice feel that you are the only one who knows. I went to a Thai place for lunch today, and as with other private kitchen, it says members only.

The funny/cute thing about this place was that the food apparently is not all good on the menu. But I very much liked the brussel sprouts dish and pad thai, and I diligently followed my friends' advice not to order any curry here. Do try this place sometime!



Sawali Club
2/F, Wing Cheong Building, 18-20 Hennessy Road, Wan Chai
+852 2811 2360

Hanii Y skirt I just got

I just got this from LAB, the funky version of Lane Crawford! Okay can't really see the pencil skirt, but it's really pretty. Sort of like a Project Runway type of skirt, in the sense that there is a lot of effort put in for such a basic piece.

Photo credit: Hanii Y

Finally, man shoes

Another lunch time purchase during business hours. Long awaited (for me) man shoes from SOGO in Causeway Bay. Pyramidis is Brazilian, and I think looks well made.

Photographer Kuichi Uchida

I just saw an exhibit at the Fujifilm Square in Roppongi Midtown. This photographer Kuichi Uchida accompanied Meiji Emperor's travels in the midst of Japan's modernization. They are taken around 1868 and it is really something, in particular the shift of old Japan to westernization and modernization. Men are wearing top hats with a kimono. Yokohama Station does not look like Japan. You can feel the excitement of people mixing western things and feeling liberalized from the old ways.

This photo was my favorite, of non-samurai/non-aristocrats hanging on the Sumida River. Before 1868, windows on a boat were not allowed to be covered if you were a commoner, and now they could have a small room with shoji (Japanese paper window). More photos can be found here.



Photo credit: Fujifilm