learn chinese

This past weekend, I finally convinced myself to explore some cultural events in Hong Kong. Don't get me wrong, I'm a super fan when it comes to supporting design and cultural activities in my bustling hometown. It's just that I've been a bit of a hermit lately and a little crowd-phobic, especially since everyone, and I mean everyone is out Christmas shopping these days, so it gets quite suffocating and overwhelming to wander around on the streets.... Anyhow, this Saturday I spent an afternoon at Detour HK, a design event that acts as a platform for a variety of creative units and local talents to showcase their works and exhibits together at a unique location. This year's host site is the former Police quarters/ dormitory, which has been an abandoned ground until this. It sort of reminded me of Warm Up at New York's P.S. 1, where the outdoor courtyard served as the "play" area and each room of the heritage building hosting a different exhibit.
I learned a lot - there were showcases from visual artists, furniture designers, creative agencies, graphic artists, fashion designers, local talents, artists-in-residence.... One of them was the handbag brand, hoiming, which is, I suppose, in the avant-garde category of accessories as their designs are not your ordinary Speedy bag look-alike. Each one of the bags is cleverly handcrafted and has an unconventional shape. The exhibit itself didn't appeal to me so much, but its look book was what sparked my interest. Designers Hoiming Fung and Baldwin Pui shot their collection of handbags on a set of cards, each resembling children's learning cards -- with a word on one side, and its meaning on the other.
I really love this concept - the words match perfectly with the quirky shapes of the bags, and the old-school local playground provides the kind of nostalgic feel that these learning cards usually evoke.

Are you ready to flip ("fan"), jump ("tiao"), and turn ("zhuan")?