Trip to Hong Kong retrospective...

I've just got back from Hong Kong and had to fly back via Bangkok which added on quite a few hours.  Hong Kong was fascinating and exciting. I've never been there before, my stopovers to Europe have always gone via Singapore before. I look forward to going back to Hong Kong some time but maybe avoiding the both European New Year and Chinese New Year as the accomodation prices skyrocket at those times. We ended up staying in a small apartment in an area called Mong Kok which is the most densely populated area on earth (or so I am told). I can well believe it as it was a struggle to walk back to our apartment at night through the crowds. We booked the apartment through WIMDU after finding all the hotels and hostels put their prices up 80% over New Year.

Hong Kong is a shoppers paradise especially if you are a size 8-10 and have small feet (which I don't). Fabric is very cheap and I bought mostly silk to keep the bag weight down. Silk organza was about NZ$7 a metre as opposed to $20 + in New Zealand. The area for fabric, sewing supplies and trims is Sham Shui Po. In the same area is Dragon shopping building which was great for shopping and had wonderful gibberish t-shirts for kids.

 On my first day in Hong Kong I was struck by the contrasts I saw in different areas of the city.
Down near the Star Ferry there are lots of very expensive shops, and this Christmas tree made of Fererro Rocher Chocolates. The attendants were replacing a few that must have been broken or eaten the night before.

Tiny old ladies pushing heavy carts along the roads on Hong Kong Island while fancy cars whizz by.

 

Snoopy bike leaning against a wooden carving made of what looks like a gnarled root.

Man Mo temple seen between older apartments with new apartments towering above.

In fact many of my photos over the 10 days were taken of apartment blocks.

At New Year we attended a banquet for the shibori symposium then watched fireworks from the roof of a large hotel. It was a good way of avoiding the huge crowds of people on the streets that night.

A few days later a group of Shibori Symposium people went on a boat trip around the harbour to see the nightly light show.

This was the best photo, most of the others look like I was a bit drunk but it was a sailing junk so I have an excuse :-)

Imagine the amount of electricity used in this nightly light show, not sure why I bother going around the house turning off lights each evening.
At the end of the symposium we went on a walking tour of an area of Hong Kong lsland. Hollywood Road and some of the market areas. The most interesting bit for me was the shops where they sold paper food and money to buy for the dead so they will have stuff in the afterlife. At least I think that is the story.

 Paper cakes

 paper seafood

 Paper gold bars

 Paper meals including tofu blocks

Paper ducks and chickens.
There were also paper Ipads, Ipods, cellphones, cars and much more. I did think about bringing back some paper Ipads for my sons but thought that would be a bit mean.

 Above - Chinese New Year decorations including Dragon Puppets as the new year will be the Year of the Dragon.

A market stall in 'Cat' Street which has many years of items piled on top of each other. Would make a good archeological dig.

The next post will have more about the Shibori symposium itself.

Hong kong

I have just spent the last few days at the shibori symposium in hong kong.there have been some very interesting sessions including a short workshop on laser engraving of fabric and a natural dyeing workshop by MIchel Garcia which demystified indigo. I am keen to try his version of an indigo vat which uses indigo , lime and either fructose, henna or fruit peels. all are way nicer to use than the nasty chemicals in most other recipes.

New years night was quite fun as we bought tickets to a cocktail party on top of a hotel where we could se the fireworks which came out of the tops of the skyscrapers down at the waterfront.

I have some nice photos but I don't seem to be able to find a way of putting them in the blog using my iPad.

I have finally stopped rushing around sightseeing and shopping as I have caught a cold and feel rather miserable and drippy. Tomorrow we are doing fabric shopping for silk and I don't want to miss that! sham shui Po apparently is the place to go for fabric and trim.

The shops here are amazing but I haven't bought much as the sizes are a bit small. I have bought a few antique bits and pieces, heaven knows whether they Are authentic but they didn't cost much so it probably doesn't matter. Of course I have also bought books which is usually my downfall.

I wish I could include photos but I can't find a way so will post some after the 5th of January when I get back to new Zealand. I recommend hong kong as wonderful place to visit.

.clare

Hong Kong trip

I have spent the last week booking a trip to Hong Kong for 10 days over Boxing Day- New Year. Aren't airpoints great! I'm going to the World Shibori Symposium in Hong Kong from 28th Dec to 3rd Jan. The tickets were easy, it was finding accomodation at that time of year that was difficult. Who would have thought that backpacker hostels would put their prices up by 80% over New Year's night and the 1st of Jan! It isn't as if it is Chinese New Year or anything.

Last year I spent a lot of time learning how to dye wool and playing with wool shrinkage and shibori on merino knit fabrics. Then I had this year off for the costume course but now I seem to be going back to wool. I'm nearly ready to combine the two.

Yesterday I finished the capes for the pre-school circus class. The first two I made had a certain wizardish look about them. I discovered that screenprinted random stars makes a cape look like it is for a wizard and that circus has organised stars instead. They are stars in rows. Not something I had ever thought of before.

Extreme Craft

A favourite new blog called Extreme Craft. Learn about how food photographers build catapults to fling the food in the air for ads or consider glazing pottery plates with the aid of a paintball gun.

Indigo

While I am researching websites and blogs for the Websearch article I write for New Zealand Quilter I often find things that aren't appropriate for a quilting magazine but are still amazing.

This is from an exhibition called Japanese Suppleness

Then Deb Donnelly sent me a link to another website which had indigo dyed clothing. Called
Heartwear.

Above is an installation called 'Universal Blue' which was at a shop in Paris.

Hand Eye magazine has had some great articles in Indigo. Here is an article on their blog which I subscribe to. Hand Eye. 
Hand Eye is a great magazine and I used to subscribe to it but unfortunately the price for a subscription has gone up a lot since the beginning so now I just buy the individual magazines from Minerva Gallery.

Fabrications

This saturday

Fabrications 
10-4pm Horticultural hall, Lower Hutt.
30 Exhibitors/vendors, craft and textile supplies, exhibits of works, classes ,  café, lots to do, buy and see.

Costumier and textile Artist!

I found the little quilt above while tidying up my sewing room. It won a prize at Coast to Coast Open day last year and is called ' Going to Nana's at Christmas'. In New Zealand we leave for our summer holidays at Christmas and it is always sad to have to leave the Christmas tree, presents and decorations and go off to some other part of the country. I have made Christmas cards using this image on Snapfish.


So I've graduated from the Drama School costume course. I feel like I only went through orientation week a few weeks ago but I started  in March and finished last week and the year has flown by.

So now of course I am looking for work and I have my first little costume job. I am  making some little  capes for  pre-schoolers.

So now I have to make decisions like - do I gather the cloak at the neck or make a half circle cloak and what fabrics can the client afford while still paying me actual money to make them?

Whew, so many decisions...

And then I am designing some quilts for exhibitions and writing my Websearch article for New Zealand Quilter for the next edition.

One of my quilts is on the cover of the last edition. I can't find a picture of the magazine online so here is a picture of the whole quilt. On the magazine cover they have the quilt on the table as a table cloth.

It is called Granny Smith's Airing Cupboard and is made of doileys and placemats.

I have also spent the last 3 days tidying up my sewing room. There is a big wide bench in there which I haven't seen in a couple of years. I usually end up working on about a 30 cm square area because I can't find any more space. The photo makes it look quite cluttered but there is enough space to actually make something now.