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Berlin Happened Awhile Ago /  by Billy Potts

Yes, I've been a little slow with the posting so I'm continuing with the update.   I went to they DMY Design Festival in Berlin with Ambassadors of Design - that happened in June. The Handsome team decided to do something a little bit different from usual – we had a tiny bit of funding and about 2 weeks so we made some simple slide projectors out of leftover plastic from a sign maker in Fortress Hill, some lenses from a laboratory glassware shop in Wong Chuk Hang, a few metal rods from a hardware store in To Kwa Wan and some Ikea lamps (Causeway).

We made our own customized slide format!  (Thanks to Elise Bourdeau and Ali Van for helping out with that).  We were hoping for traditional slides from those old school slide projectors but apparently nobody does that anymore.  Ours turned out beautifully.

The exhibition hall was brighter than I had anticipated so we built a tent out of material from taxi seats – thanks to Martin Cheung and Topaz Leung (notice that the main supports are photographic light stands), Amus Leung, Gladys and Janko.

I hung out by the tent and people came over to play with the projectors and ask  about Hong Kong.  Some curious people stayed and chatted for over an hour.  One person said it was like the storyteller's tent they used to have at country fairs.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eureka Design and G.U.M. in Perspective /  by Billy Potts

Our friends, Annette Chu, Joey Man, Philip Heung and Raymond Leung, are featured in Perspective magazine this month.    This bicycle shop was designed by Annette and Ray and we collaborated with Philip and Joey on a folding bicycle last year- there is a small photo of the bike in the article.

At the Kowloon Taxi Owner's Association Annual Banquet /  by Billy Potts

We had the pleasure of being invited to the Kowloon Taxi Owner's Association new year banquet last weekend- it was great fun and kind of cool to see all the different people that make up the industry- drivers, owners, radio dispatchers, advertisers, radio disc jockeys, mechanics etc. etc. We donated a taxi watch to the raffle- I wonder if a taxi driver is now wearing one in a taxi...

 

 

Our Lamp Giveaway - Or Gone in 45 Minutes /  by Billy Potts

We gave away all our lamps yesterday.  You may be able to see from the photos that I brought a chair.  I actually thought that I'd be sitting around all day begging people to take them- what a fool I was!  ALL those lamps went off to good homes in about 45 minutes.  They weren't just adopted by people who wanted 'free stuff', these people were genuinely interested and wanted to stick around and talk and learn about how these lamps had been made, the concept behind them and why they are so special. Not everyone agreed to take a photo but some did and here they are!  Lots of respect to these guys and girls- they woke up super early on a Sunday to get their lamps - one even admitted that they were fighting a bad hangover.  Enjoy!

Handsome at the BODW Gala Dinner /  by Billy Potts

Just a couple snap shots from the BODW Gala Dinner that we went to with Julian Chow and Kent Wong from Zixag last week.  Met lots of great up and coming designers and also Dieter Rams!  Awesomeness. Sorry about the grainy pictures- it was dark and I only had my phone

 

 

The Ng Family from Tung Chow Sofa /  by Billy Potts

This morning we filmed two interviews with two separate film crews at the same time- one with Dim Sum TV from Taiwan and one with the Shue Yan College film students. We got the chance to interview Mr. and Mrs. Ng (not Joseph's parents), who run Tung Chow Sofa with their son.  It is from this little family business that we get many of our taxi seats.  They gave us our first seat covers and without their support and patience there would be no Handsome Bag Co. and therefore no Handsome.

Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Ng.

The Porcelain Has Landed - Thank You To The Whole Team /  by Billy Potts

After one car crash, one replacement van, 2 storage spaces, 2 trips to Shenzhen, one successful trip through customs and a taxi ride the porcelain shells have finally made it to Hong Kong and are now safely at Detour for installation - we weren't sure it was going to make it - thanks to our new friends and co-workers: Victor who made the molds and fired the porcelain and went well out of his way to make sure that it got to us in time, Julian and Mr. Cheng, who helped us order and hack the NUD lamps, Mr. Lam, who transported our setup materials to Detour,  Tammy, Nickleby and Jayne, who helped with display materials and set up and my Mom (Clara Potts), who dropped me off in the car and waited while I moved the crates. An especially big thank you to the Shue Yan Student film crew and their dedicated teacher, Joanne, who helped me with carrying 2 hefty crates across the border last night- couldn't have done it without those guys.

Set Up At Detour - 23 November, 2011 /  by Billy Potts

Victor managed to get our porcelain artifacts down as far as Shenzhen and I'm going up there to get them tonight - after I give a guest lecture on design research at Polytechnic University with Erica Young.  Really looking forward to the lecture!

Luckily I've got some help down here in Hong Kong with Mr. Lam, our contractor, the Zixag guys and Tammy - we set up our display stands at Detour last night.  I think we shifted it about 15 times but finally decided on diagonal.  We're lucky because we've got a whole car parking spot to ourselves on the ground floor - completely unobstructed and next to Kacey Wong and Wong Tinyan's sculptures.

I've also got three student film makers from Shue Yan College shadowing me - with all these helpers and a student film crew, we're starting to look like a funny little parade.

Giving these away for free at Detour 2011 /  by Billy Potts

This is a sneak peek at our submission for Detour (25th of November to 11th of December) - we're making 21 of these 'Artifacts'.  They're made of porcelain and were made in 景德镇 (Jingdezhen). They were fired in the same kiln that Ai Weiwei used for his Sunflower Seeds.  They've each been fitted with a white porcelain NUD lamp - each with a different coloured chord and an energy efficient bulb.  They can be used as a number of things - we're displaying them as lamps.  Make of them what you wish:  soap dish, pencil holder, plant pot, just as long as it's useful- they'll be available to take on a first come first serve basis on the last day of Detour, that's Sunday the 11th of December 2011. So what is this all about?  Read on if you're interested

Detour is an annual event that celebrates design in Hong Kong.  This year Handsome was invited to design something to exhibit at Detour in our Designer Exchange with Berlin (remember when we sent our chair to Berlin?). We were given the themes "Useless" (Use Less) and "東西" (a pun on the word "Thing" which literally means "East West").

We've taken a very ubiquitous industrially produced shape (I don't think we need to say what it is) and re-interpretted it as an artifact that says something about our  culture.    There was a time when objects were treated with respect.   They were made to last and taken care of.  In today’s consumer culture, objects are made to be disposable and consumers are wasteful; they don’t see the value in things.  Often craftsmanship,  thought and attention to detail are overlooked.  We want viewers to rethink what they might otherwise have regarded as disposable or useless.   We invite viewers to take these objects, free of charge, and to do with them as they please- as long as they put them to some good use.

We chose to make our artifact out of porcelain and in 景德镇 (Jingdezhen) because of the historical significance of this material and because of its connection to local craft and culture in that area.  Porcelain was invented in China and was widely traded as a commodity with the West.   Jingdezhen has been producing porcelain for 1700 years and used to craft it for Emperors.    Using an ancient Chinese invention to re-create a modern Hong Kong (read Chinese) icon in a dialogue between East and West is interesting to us and (I think) fits the bill for "東西" (Object / East West).

 

Dressing Like Grownups, Acting Like Kids /  by Billy Potts

We did our second shoot with tcny yesterday- this time we featured Nigel Ong, film maker and stalwart on the Hong Kong skateboarding scene.  We caught up with Nigel yesterday  in Chai Wan so Justin and Lincoln could fit him for a suit. A few years back, Nigel made a film called ‘That’s I.T.’ – a documentary about the skateboarding scene around Immigration Tower.   It seems like yesterday when my friends and I were watching That's I.T. on our holidays from school so it's kind of surreal that we're now working with this guy.

We know this project might look a little random at the moment but just wait!  This is going to look great when it’s done!

 

tcn:y A Brand New Project /  by Billy Potts

Handsome is now officially 1 year old - what a year!  Since Joe and I started this project we've been to Tokyo and Berlin, designed bags, watches, bikes and furniture, hired our first intern, spoken at numerous events and moved into a new studio. The best part of all this is all the great people we got to meet. SO  with the start of Handsome's second year we're doing several COMPLETELY different things.

The first completely different thing is we're working with tcn:y a clothing company that is from Hong Kong and proud of it - they make classic made to measure suits and we're going to be following them along the way- click the photo for an example of some of the stuff they are doing!

As for the other different things... they're secret!  For now.