As you know I spent the better part of last month in Hong Kong completing Book of Deer's Spring Summer collection and getting ready for a new selling season. I thought I would share some snaps of what I got up to... The city was abuzz with the happiness that Chinese New Year brings and there were loads of festivals going on. My favourite is the Flower Market in Victoria Park, a couple of decades ago the market was dominated by flower stalls. Now the majority of stalls sell icons of pop culture in cushion form! I'm not kidding, you can find a cushion of every phone game under the sun. I resisted the urge to fill my suitcase with stuffed toys though as I knew I would be bringing back loads of fabric samples.
Every season I visit an old neighbourhood of HK called Sham Shui Po which is dedicated to fabric and trimmings for garment production. It's a fashion designer's heaven, each shop has walls lined with fabric swatches that are yours for the taking! I loaded up on an array of summer fabrics for SS15 (yup we're developing that already!) and picked up some inspiration along the way.
It wasn't all shopping and eating though, we squeezed in 3 photoshoots during my visit. AW14 was shot in a studio with the intention of creating an interesting collaged effect in post production (to be revealed soon!) It's always exciting photoshooting a finished collection as up until that moment I never feel convinced that it will all come together! I'm always pleasantly surprised that I can put an outfit together.
In between photoshoots I was delivering stock to our stockists.
Daydream Nation, who were the first shop to ever stock Book of Deer will always hold a special place in my heart. I always make sure they get stock first!
Amelie Street in Causeway bay has been stocking us since last September and I was delighted to visit their shop and check out all their new fare. I particularly liked their new range of quirky stationery by Korean brand
Ooh La La!. Our latest new stockist
GumGumGum is another Causeway Bay boutique situated in the stylish Fashion Walk. They stock a variety of women's and menswear brands that lean towards a handmade, unique look.
Lastly, I don't like to miss the opportunity to explore the creative scene when I'm back in Hong Kong. A friend of mine makes his own jewellery inspired by and crafted from antique cutlery and coins -
The Polska Traveller. His workspace is one of many situated in an old apartment block that has been converted into artist's studios. I got a sneaky peek at some of these spaces and was lucky enough to meet an illustrating duo who work under the name
Dirty Paper. They had created a wonderfully homely and bright studio that perfectly complemented their detailed illustrative work. Dirty Paper's work is mostly inspired by Hong Kong schools and is a humorous observation of local adolescent culture. It is always wonderful to see that if you scratch just under the surface of Hong Kong's metallic, urban veneer there is a burgeoning creative community that is completely organic.
So there you have it... I can't wait until next season when I can do it all again!
Stock is limited so be quick. Shipping is free if you buy in addition to anything else in store!
