During my recent visit to Hong Kong, I was agitated after the perfect “8-hour-rest” in the hotel. I decided to pay Tom Hung a visit, I was told this man will take me to everything I would be interested. A little stroll in Milk magazine’s HQ, there stood Tom Hung, a noble gentleman, a brilliant writer, an uncompromising collector.

Tom Hung spent 18 months traveled across China in search of objects that represent what I called the “Made In China for Chinese People” era. There is a long period of time I was sick of hearing the -“ Made In China” cliché. Tom made this beautiful book that brought me to the time when products were designed and made for Chinese people. It is very different from some foreign brand came to a Chinese factory and made exactly what they are selling in its home country, using possibly less quality materials and assume Chinese people will be aspired to anything western.

Tom Hung’s “ Made in China” book is a collection of product that was produced from the 50s to 80s. From everyday household products, toys, and fashion to music instruments. Each chapter tells you the historical significant of the object.

Tom’s office is cluttered with magazines and some of his objection of heritage objects.

I wish I can buy this very first issue of Japanese magazine “Relax” off him, dated back September 1999 with its original name “ Relucks”.

Thank you for the kind words Tom!

For more on Tom Hung check out his blog: http://www.milk.com.hk/milkblog/Tom/index.php

Once Upon A Time…“Made In China” is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

A 119-room hotel in an old factory building, was said to build for “built for Austrian carpenters, Swedish models, English rockstars, Japanese businessmen, German racing car drivers and American dudes.” I guess that’s just about every kind of people we know.

The 119 rooms offer a wide range choices for every visitor:

“Cozy”: Special for in-love couple;

“Loft” : A super-kingsize high bed with a sofa which could also be an extra bed. For a couple who want a bit more space for their lovin’, or two people who want to sleep in separate beds, or for three girlfriends;

“Band”: 4-5 Single Beds for your Families, Rockstars or Carpenters on the road;

“Michelberger WG”: the most economic choice and also an excited adventure, as you will never know who will be your roommates and spend nights with you~

Michelberger Hotel is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Back in my London days, I would organize a gang of 6 or 9 for dim sum on Sundays, it has to be 6, 9 or 12 due to the dim sum portions, but that will be another chapter another day. A regular stroll to the Chinese supermarket was important to complete the Sunday, and I often get asked about century egg, it often ended with some disgusted onomatopoeias. Whoever named it in English must be a dreadful PR person, or he or she just loved it so much and felt resentful to encourage non-Chinese potential century egg eaters.

Growing up with Cantonese food, we put Century Eggs in congee, sometimes we cut them up to top tofu and sprinkle flossy pork on top. In general the subtle fermented taste is not for everybody, and its appearance certainly does little favour to itself.

Last night I got home and the chef handed me a bag of “Ji Pi Dan” (Chicken Century Eggs). Century Eggs you see in the market are made from duck eggs, these are a lot smaller and the muddy coatings were different colour.

I was told a kitchen staff brought these all the way from home-grown-run-around-sporty-extremely fertile chickens. It was so intriguing that I decided to make a cucumber century egg salad in the midnight hour.

The inside of the chicken century egg is a lot more appetising. The flavour is a bit stronger though. Therefore I put a little bit more vinegar and chilli in the mixture and cut them up into smaller pieces.

I doubt it is the healthiest midnight snake, but it was mighty good at the time.

I also found the preservation formula for Chicken Century Egg from Hei Long Jiang Poultry Institute, for those who happen to have time of century in their hands: NaOH4.8—6.0%,NaC l5%,PbO 0.2%, Black tea4—5%.

Run-around Chicken Century Egg is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

MIDI music festival-Shanghai is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Six years well-spent once you take a look at the collaboration list:

Kook keith and Tom Waits!! David Byne, Chalie 2na, Gift of Gab and Z-trip!!!! Blimey… also Method Man, Spank Rock, MIA alike…It’s like a wicked dream that you can’t wait to go to bed for. North American DJ & producer Squeak E Clean and Brazilliant DJ Zegon are responsible for such extraordinary collaborative music project. Six years musical effort well-deserved the six album covers, designed by artists such as The Date Farmers, Shepard Fairey, Sage Vaughan etc.

Today I want to be in America.

N.A.S.A Dream is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Maybe is Obama, maybe is the economy… my American friends start loving being American again and looking at things that are making them proud. I’ve been asked to write something about American Items that I like. It’s kind of ironic for a Chinese person to write about American product as most of these are made in China…

Some American items that are important in my life…

Appliance: APPLE – I have 6 different models of ipod, Apple invaded my life when they released their imac G3 in 1998. Over the last 10 years Apple has enabled me, disabled me, multiplied me, lost me, tortured me at times but never forget to seduce me and tell me that it loves me.

Drinks: Coca Cola – I was the first Coke addict in my primary school in the 80s, I loved it so much that I’d bring one to school every day to accompany my school lunch. I thought Coca Cola’s red tin went perfectly with my “Shao Xian Dui” red scarf… so it’s not only a brown colour adult drink but also an accessory (back then we were not allowed to wear any accessories in school, and we all had the same haircuts!).  The red scarf was the symbol of the Communist party, of the people’s country… it was the only bright colour in school… everything else was white and khaki green etc. One time I remember getting told off in the school principle’s office, telling me stop bringing Coke to school and to stop using imported stationary such as mechanical pencils. At the age of 6 I didn’t know Coca Cola was an imported good and that it was considered a symbol of capitalism. I put up a big fight with the teachers and my parents.

2 years later I was in my school sprinting team which was sponsored by Milo (a chocolate malt drink by ” Nestle”), we drink Milo, wear green uniforms and white socks (the colours of Milo). I guess the anti- capitalization feeling had kind of moved on by then… but I still prefer Coco Cola Red…sigh.

Apparel:
Stussy – Inspired me to get into Streetwear and youth culture. I was never a skateboarder or graffiti artist, but my fascination with street culture and graphics began with a Stussy tee. An affordable price with bold statement, they were also a brand that grew from the streets to become a multinational company. I customized tees to fit or add on some bits… so my Stussy is really ME.
Nike – I was a sprinter and I like bright colours… air max 90 in the best colour ways…  “Just do it” is an amazing campaign, it simply sums up the life I want to have, it’s now or never.

Food: Aunt Jemima : I always find the presentation of pancakes appealing… but I’m lactose intolerant, so I make my own pancakes… they are mini and uniform and stacked up just the right way…  people in like to put on maple syrup but I only want Aunt Jemima. There is something hearty and nostalgic about Aunt Jemima, brown bottle and red cap with her (is she real?) picture. I don’t know if I should say this, it’s probably considered racist in America, but I really like Aunt Jemima’s white teeth and red lips… she’s happy like the smily face on my tooth paste ” Darlie ” , by a Taiwan-based company Hawley & Hazel:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darlie
Anyway, food to me is a lot about presentation… and uncompromising taste.

Teenage Dream: Victoria’s Secret – I lost my virginity in it.

Television: Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm  – accompany me when my party pimple “Genevieve” comes back to me…

Movie: Before Sunset – gives me hope in my love life.

Maybe is Obama, maybe is the economy… is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Little talk by little me, if you are in Beijing… more info:

http://www.ucca.org.cn/portal/activitie/view.798?id=152&menuId=28

The UCCA musem is currently showing an amazing exhibition:

Christian Dior and Chinese Artists

click here for my post on the topic :

http://slamxhype.com/blogs/christian-dior-chinese-artists-ucca-beijing-798/#more-29332

or the UCCA webiste: www.ucca.org.cn

My Little Talk @ UCCA meusum Beijing is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Showcasing Christian Dior couture pieces from 50’s to present time in a hall of mirrors and bamboo forest. Huang Rui’s “Timeless White Cloud” made up the heavy pearl curtained entrance with Chinese characters: “白”，“云”，“无”， “尽” (white, cloud, infinite, end), beautifully done but following visitors tend to get slapped by the pearls.

The separate rooms and the main hall are different aspects of Christian Dior as interpreted by Chinese artists. Xu Zhongming’s 3D stop frame animation like installation shows the process of a skeleton to a well-dressed lady. Represent the eternal cycle of Samsara.

My favourite was Zhang Huan’s gigantic horror baby sculpture, that made out of dead cow skins, secured with some really large staples. The dramatic creepiness dominated the main hall of the show, I kind of wish it is in a darker room that goes with the more theatrical couture collections.

“Hole in the Wall, Hope in the World” is also a really nice piece that created by artists Wen Fang, transferred prints from magazines, propaganda booklets, Chinese product catalog and newspapers on to bricks that made up a destructing wall…

We are doing a lecture in UCCA for China Central Academy of Art early January, more update soon…:)

Christian Dior & Chinese artists @ UCCA Beijing 798 is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

New Pants/ 野人也有爱 Ye Ren Ye You Ai is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Creative Social 2008 this year is hosted by Profero (a digital agency) in one of the most beautiful historical building in Shanghai 1933 (www.1933-shanghai.com) . It gathered creative directors from advertising agencies, creative medias from around the world in one place to inspire each other.

We were asked to speak at the event with a host of other interesting local creative types including, DJ V-Nutz (he organized a mashup of Chinese traditional music and hip hop), Dodo, a product designer, 23 year old Hong Kong film maker Heiward Mak who’s first feature film ‘High Noon’ has just been released and Journalist and Shanghai historian Stella Dong who’s book Shanghai: the Rise and Fall of a Decadent City has recently been published.

• We want to be that spoon full of sugar that helps the medicine go down.

• Gary and his star pupil DJ and a band with Chinese traditional instruments of Pipa and Erhu.

• New York base historian Stella Dong discussion with 3 Fu Dan university students in Shanghai.

• It was a 12 hour full day event, little breaks were given by the host:)

We also put together a little exhibition for Creative Social, featuring 4 local brands Inky, CHairMAN, MRKT by TWOFS and At.Between.

• Inky, Shanghai Streetwear brand.

• TWOFS products.

• ChairMan, Shanghai streetwear brand.

Shanghai brand watches collaboration: Jellymon x Shanghai brand Watch x W+K Shanghai.

We also picked 3 Chinese artists/designers to work with on our New School Nankeen Sheets. The term Blue Nankeen describes a type of hand-printed fabric of artistic refinement and primitive simplicity which originated on the Silk Road over three thousand years ago.

• James Chang’s deconstructed pattern.

• Jellymon’s Shanghai psychedelic skyline landmark pattern.

This one is my favorite, Shanghai graphic artist Rubber Pixie’s intricate insect life.

• China’s female graffiti artist Sice’s ” Girls paint better!”.

Hand-carved stencils, originally made from wood but now from heavy paper, are prepared and a mix of soya bean flour and slaked lime is applied through the openings of the stencil onto the cotton fabric. When dry, the fabric is then dipped numerous times into the large tubs containing the indigo dye. After the right color is achieved and the fabric has dried, the paste is scraped off, revealing the white patterns on the blue cloth.

For our ‘New School Nankeen Sheets’ we wanted to take an art-form which is often viewed as traditional or old fashioned and work with 3 of our favorite Chinese designers to produce a new take on an old classic.

for a different opinion check here… Creative Review

Creative Social 2008 in 1933 Shanghai is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

UK Gay Times’ interesting recruitment campaign:

So we now know the sexy “Uncle Sam” is gay, and Gay Time is selling homosexuality to the straight community. Editor Joseph Galliano asked five ad agencies to help promote the gay cause…

“So I just thought that, if it were true and we were trying to and sell homosexuality, what would it look like? It’s a simple idea really. But the serious point is in highlighting just how ridiculous some of those kinds of attacks are and trying to answer them in a way that’s interesting and creative.”

Go Gay
Created by The King’s Arms Creative, Manchester
There are some scary British female celebrities, but no matter how fucked Amy Winehouse is, I still love her.

Guy Minds Think Alike
Created by Saint@RKCR/Y&R, London
This one won the campaign, but it’s my least favorite.

GA Why
I went gay for a bit when I was reading it.
Created by Iris, London

Anything She Can Do
Great idea, but trust me there are plenty men can’t do, bet you can’t bend like pretzel!
Created by James & Joe, Leeds

“Being straight isn’t normal, it’s just common.” is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Forever brand bicycle play a significant role in my childhood memories. My earliest memory of being on a bike was “Forever” brand, I remember it so well, I was strapped to my grandpa’s waist, the metal label embedded on the back of the seat often leave a mark on my chest, I was about 5 years old, and my grandfather passed away later that year.

I’ve been doing research on China state-run factory and heritage brands. Our collaboration with Shanghai brand watch is launching in China 24th this month. “Forever” is another important brand that is significant in China history, it is the most popular bicycle throughout 4 generations in China.

I like to share some of my favorite installations that base on “Forever Bike” done by Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei:

Ai Wei Wei is a Rock Star in China contemporary art scene who is base in Beijing. He was one of the pioneer artists who broke away from the Soviet realism and Culture Revolution propaganda. Ai Wei Wei was self-taught and famous for his provocative artwork. He went to New York in the 80’s to study at Parsons and returned to China in the 90s.

This one was done in 2003, reminded me of Chinese acrobat circus performance.

Hundreds of “Forever Bikes” were deconstructed then cut into smaller pieces.

This is recent installation consisted of thousands of cut-up pieces of Forever bicycles. Photos are Ai Wei Wei’s own.

More work from: http://www.aiweiwei.com/html/works.htm

永久Forever Bicycles – Arists Ai Wei Wei is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

Sorry guys, I know I should be writing about design, art, fashion or culture in this blog, but I really can’t let this one slip through…

3 out of 5 men I met recently asked me if I’m gay or swing both ways, well I’m straight for sure but there are just too many cute girls in this city I can not help checking out. I got to tell you though, it’s really unfair to be a female in Shanghai, men get all the good options, girls are pretty and opened minded, now if you are healthy kind-hearted man who like to contribute to the Shanghai Sperm Bank, the girls will go that extra mile to give you a hand!

First you need to go for a health check, then 4 days prior your visit to the “free-hand-job-then-get-paid-paradise” you must abstain from sex and masturbation. You can go 4-5 times a month, and each time you will get maximum 3 hand jobs. You will also get paid RMB200 ( US$30 ) at the end of each session for your kindness.

Address for whoever wants to give it a go: No 145 Shan Dong Zhong Lu, Ren Ji Hospital, Building 1, 7th FL, near Fu Zhou Lu, Shanghai, China.

I might start a “designer-sperm-bank”, collect the best designers/artists sperm from around the world, so there will be more mix-race children, less racism, hopefully all artistic too… Ok I’ll stop now…

Shanghai – that Extra Mile… is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

I can’t remember which author once said, “No one can be more English than a Englishman who lives away from England.” I often tell people “ I’m 100% Chinese other than my English passport”. Despite this I always have my loose leaf Earl Grey tea, I like my sandwiches without crusts, adore the Mighty Boosh, won’t let go of The Streets even though Mike Skinner hasn’t come out with a new album for 4 years, I’m proud of my British education and dive deep into BBC documentaries.

More than 2 years in Shanghai and I haven’t lost my British qualities, but now I’m reading Dreams From My Father, Obama’s book, I’ve just celebrated Halloween, most of my good friends are American or had have American education, I have a slightly confused accent and NYC is definitely the apple of my eye…

Maybe it’s the economy, we drink and we party harder than we ever have. It’s no coincidence that last time there was a depression prohibition was introduced in the US. So yes Halloween we dressed up, even my English partner Sam who never compromises any outfit that doesn’t show off his brilliant taste, dressed up as a hipster vampire this year.

Shanghai can be Chinese, French, American, Swedish, even Jewish… A city that opens her arms to all nationalities. Beijing for all its openness still considers Shanghai as a traitor to China identity. I do not disagree how westernized Shanghai can be, but she also offers something that nowhere else in China does, a healthy curiosity and respect for all races and people who wants to live their own ways who,  (hopefully) provide their respect in return.

So here we drink Earl Grey, watch pirate DVDs, enjoy £6 foot massage, go see Kayne West on the Grand Stage, and celebrate Halloween…

Identity is a post from: SLAMXHYPE

If you ran things in sixties China, only one watch came along for the ride. Sported by Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and Zhou Enlai, The Shanghai Watch Company was the brand that told elite Communist Party officials what time it was. Men would check your wrists as they shook your hands. Women would glance to decide if you were worth talking to. Because of the limited supply, a Shanghai watch meant power. There was a well known saying that no girl would marry you if you didn’t have a Shanghai watch.

I came across Shanghai brand watch when I was doing research on China state run factories, I was fascinated by the story that one day sitting my friend MC Tang King down in my desk, who is looking for his ideal watch… we sat down in the geekiest way and we found this model that we both really like, Tang King was so stoned by the time he saw this and determines to get hold of it, but the factory stop producing this model since 1980. We got on Taobao ( Chinese Ebay ), and that’s how my whole obsession started…

Set up in 1955, the Shanghai Watch factory has produced over 120 million watches. Still in its original location, it has remained constant as the world moved on. Nothing digital is allowed in. It’s a place of pipes, valves, dials, rubber tubing, heavy machinery. And human precision. These days it’s a little run down, a bit shabby, but the workers continue to craft these legendary watches with pride.

I visited the factory four times, every time I learned something new. The last time Sammy and I took our friends Nick, Weiwei and Melvin from Weiden + Kennedy Shanghai office to meet Mr Zhang Xin Dong, who is in charged of product development. Along with the best planing director, art directors and photographer, I guess that time Mr Zhang finally gave up persuading me not to bother him…with my very short shorts…

One more week… one more week to go you will see our Shanghai Watch x W+K Shanghai x JELLYMON watches… 5 designes… 5 stories…. something I know if I don’t make it happen I will definitly slap my wrinkly face when I’m 50!

Knowing my shaky hands… Melvin’s pictures finally does my story justice!

Thank you thank you thank you …

Shanghai Brand Watch is a post from: SLAMXHYPE