#curiobysvb

It was a couple of months ago that we decided to make Repulse Bay the end point for one of our Sunday hikes, and we were happy to see how much it has changed since The Pulse opened. Located on the beach front promenade, to our delight it is occupied with cafes, restaurants lifestyle and interior shops, as well as Pure Fitness. A much needed indoor/outdoor beach side destination for weekends in Hong Kong.

We now seem to head to Classified most Sunday’s post hiking, to sit, people watch, dog watch and eat a yummy brunch. The interior is pretty simplistic, but I love it - from the open front with two big swinging seats piled high with black and white scatter cushions (my favorite spot) to the marble and wood tables, leather seats, cushioned benches, and great selection of pendant lights. A particular favorite detail of mine are the Dragon Boat Paddles pinned to the back wall - as we’ve just joined a Dragon Boat team I can’t help but feel these paddles would be a good addition to our own interior….watch this space.

I love the indigo blue and white used on these gorgeous textured works of art. The colours remind me of iconic blue and white china. When you get up close to Joshuas work you become more and more aware of the incredible texture and layering he has used to create the work.   

Kyoto - Smith's Creek, 2013

carved paper with shellac

Falling Water - Yeoman's Bay, 2013

Tucked away on the back corner of a market street in Sheung Wan, we were intrigued by this place well before it opened. Even when the the windows were still boarded up it was clear this was going to be a place worth visiting. Dark navy blue wall tiles, brass lettering and signage, custom made windows with brass edging - it was enough to get our attention.

Designed by Substance www.aworkofsubstance.com a Hong Kong, Parisian, and Stockholm based design agency, Bibo is an ongoing project that works with artists from around the world and displays their work in the high end French eatery. A new concept in Hong Kongs dining scene where you can eat the finest French food, whilst drinking the finest French wine, and taking in the masterpieces from an eclectic array of global artists. So far Bibo has shown works by Vhils, Invader, JonOne, Stohead, Kaws, JR, Mr Brainwash, Ella & Pitr, Mist, MadC, Banksy, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Damien Hirst, Daniel Arsham, Jeff Koons, King of Kowloon, Shepard Fairey, Takashi Murakami, and Yayoi Kusama.

I must admit it is a little surreal to nip to the ladies room and see pieces by the likes of Banksy or Jeff Koons tucked around the most unlikely and unassuming corners, but its nice, and certainly makes for interesting conversation over dinner. 

The interiors are opulent, glamorous and understated all at once. Raw concrete, dark wood, reclaimed Parquet floor, navy leather upholstery, brass objects, exposed brickwork gives you an idea of the eclectic range of materials used.

We also found Gabriel Moreno in Retrospect Gallery. Gabriel is a based in Madrid. Perhaps best known for his work as illustrator for advertising campaigns, where his experience and reach is remarkable (having been responsible for hugely successful campaigns for the likes of Nike USA, Rolex and Coca-Cola), in the last few years he has also successfully developed his personal line of art. 

His pieces make striking statements about female beauty through graphic imagery. Usually comprised of flowing and precise fine black lines, over which he deploys shocks of color accenting on clothing, faces, or environments. He uses dramatic gradients of colors and multiple layers that emerge from the images and involvement of the figures.  

Evoking feeling of macabre, we instantly fell in love with his huge artworks that really do capture female beauty combined with a with raw darkness where they are entwined and merged with animals, tattos, colour and texture.  Its Gabriel’s use of mark making that I really love - honesty of material including pencil, Biro, and ink, combined with layers of paper, varnish and white space which give each piece its own unique quality.

If they would have fitted into our flat I have no doubt that we would have taken one hoe with us. 

We visited the Asia Contemporary Art Show once again last week, and for the second year running a stand out favorite was Spanish/Australian artist Alberto Sanchez, who was being represented by Retrospect Gallery. 

Alberto‘s series of work feature Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, and apparently London is on its way in the 2015 collection. For me, my favorites have to be Hong Kong.  

Alberto is a photographer and multi-media artist based in Byron Bay, Australia. Sanchez has pushed the medium of photography, developing a unique hand-colouring technique that enables him to create imagined scenarios from everyday moments. This heavy use of hand-colouring and texture results in a conceptual masquerade and ultimately creates an improbable landscape, in which us, the audience, are invited to participate in the struggle of modern life. The images fluctuate between the narrative to the matter-of-fact photographic record, resulting in a hybrid reality, of physical and imagined worlds.

Last night we were lucky enough to co-host an event with the fabulous Fort Street Studio. Their beautiful showroom based in Wong Chuk Hang was the venue for the event, celebrating the launch of the second edition of Design Anthology, a high end interiors journal by designer Suzy Annetta. 

I was looking forwards to visiting their showroom, and it certainly didn't disappoint. Fort Street Studio make the worlds most luxurious hand knotted silk carpets. Founders Brad and Janice from New York are both painters by background, and a journey into China 20 years ago led them to translating their beautiful paintings into these silk rugs. I felt that they should be recognised as works of art in their own right, but chatting to Janice she was insistent that they didn't want people to be scared to use them for what they were made for- as rugs. The showroom felt more like an apartment or gallery- the rugs hanging like delicate, textural paintings on the walls, the luxurious beauty being off-set perfectly with the industrial style exposed concrete ceilings, and limed wood floors.

The delicacy of colour and tone in their rugs is breathtaking- achieved by using wild Dandong silk, from northern China, each individual thread being hand tufted. Brad told me it takes about 4 months of solid work to physically make each rug. Harvested from the wild oak forests in Northern China, the harsher climate results in a silk fiber thicker, stronger, and heavier than most. 

With showrooms in New York, Los Angeles, and now Hong Kong, their collection is extensive, and they sell to a very exclusive clientele- you will find these beauties in the most fabulous homes around the world. 

Truly the most beautiful carpets I've ever seen, I can only dream of one day being lucky enough to own one. 

www.fortstreetstudio.com

If I lived in Auckland, I’d want to live in Ponsonby. We spent about three days there earlier this year, and fell in love with the cool vibe, the lifestyle/interior/fashion stores, and the amazing and delicious cafes and bars all dotted down one street.

Ponsonby Central had recently opened, an open plan, newly renovated complex with a very industrial feel. Its home to a gourmet green grocer, several super cool bar/restaurants and a well chosen selection of lifestyle stores.

Weekend Trader was a great little shop, one of our favorites, they curate and collect crafted pieces for the modern world.

Pieces inspired by yesteryear, yet designed for today. Their concept is to hunt and collect. To uncover oddities and curiosities from around the world. Discarded treasures, handcrafted lighting, furniture and accessories. Objects of design and desire.... and then display them for us to explore and re discover.  www.weekendtrader.net 

Duck Tape Workshop, is a phone store with a difference. A super well styled set up, with a carefully chosen set of merchandise, work benches with phone technicians wearing classy workmans aprons. Along side the second hand repaired phones that were for sale, were exquisite leather accessories such as IPAD cases, phone covers, lap top slips. One of my favorite touches was the custom wallpaper they had designed for the space with a selection of work tools as illustrations. It made a nice change from walking into the phone shops that I'm used to in the UK.