mylifestylenews

2012-10-03

Starbucks Hong Kong @ Passion For Art 2012 EXPRESSO Photo Exhibition

Starbucks Hong Kong has always been active in promoting local art development and education to accomplish the mission of contributing to the local community. Encouraged by the great enthusiasm towards the “Passion for Art” debuted last year, Starbucks partners up with Hong Kong Arts Centre once again this year and held a “Starbucks Passion for Art 2012 -- ESPRESSO Photo Exhibition” at Shouson Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Centre.

Four local renowned photographers and art lovers, namelyTK Mak, Man Lim Chung, Chapman To and Wing Shya showcasing each drawing inspirations from the theme of EXPRESSO, putting together their own distinct, impressive and instantaneousphoto visuals that record different stories to create the “Starbucks EXPRESSO notebook”.

This inspiring notebook serves to raise fund for Hong Kong Arts Centre in aid of the art education program “Higher Diploma in Fine Art”. For every purchase of the limited “Starbucks EXPRESSO notebook”, Starbucks Hong Kong will donate HK$50 to Hong Kong Arts Centre.

ARTE FW2012 @ Oriental Collection

ARTE FW2012 Oriental Collection was inspired by Chinese folklore and ethnicity and melded with Spanish flair and Oriental beauty. The clever use of elements from the East and chicest of fashion trends reinterpret the prodigious flavours of contemporary and quintessential tradition in this collection. Two years of arduous researching was spent to extract the crème de la crème in ancient Chinese culture. Eventually all this were inspirations for the burgeoning designs that is further accentuated with Spanish artistry.

The Oriental Collection is a symbolic interpretation of good fortune with the “Auspicious Series”, “National Treasures” which symbolizes Chinese folklore while “Love and Bliss Series” exhibits traditional Chinese symbols such as love and good fortune.

The “Auspicious Series” features the dragon and phoenix which signifies Chinese aristocracy. Amongst all jewels the Phoenix is the most representative and is demonstrated by ARTE’s brand ambassador Miriam Yeung by harnessing the grandeur of this series using the traditional symbols to accentuate the antiquity of China’s culture in language. It signifies longevity, good fortune and happiness. In ancient Chinese history, the dragon is the king of all creatures and possesses paranormal powers.

The phoenix, on the other hand, is the king of all birds and exhibits opulence and good fortune. In contrast, the dragon represents authority, whilst the phoenix symbolizes beauty. Flamboyance is exhibited when the dragon and phoenix are married together, thereby, making it a symbolic representation of marriage and blessing for newlyweds on their big day. A pair of dragon and phoenix face each other and dance to delineate prosperity with their long tails that stretch afar to form the shape of the necklace.

The “National Treasure Series” denotes the enormity of the Great Wall of China, as well as other precious traditional art and ancient coins and patterns, etc, all of which pays homage to ancient Chinese history and The Oriental Collection is designed to evoke originality and meticulous craftsmanship, as well as ingenuity of the craftsman of ARTE. This collection best represents a blue print of the Great Wall – noble and strong. The necklace features 288 square stones weighing at 231 carats. Channel setting techniques via superb craftsmanship is used to create this necklace, and is an exact replica of this formidable structure. White stones combined with champagne colour stones add simplicity and detail to the necklace.

HACKETT LONDON @ Launches in Hong Kong

Hackett London continues its expansion plans and brought the brand to Causeway Bay Hong Kong. Hackett introduces the whole Hackett London range from casualwear, to formal suiting and kidswear. It will also include garments related to Hackett’s sponsorships ranging the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race to summer and winter polo.

The quintessentially British brand has been flying the Union Jack high around the world for many years, so it is fitting that in this, a Jubilee year, the Queen has honored Hackett with a Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade. Hackett’s commercial success has been linked to the export of its ‘Essentially British’world to countries around the world, which will now extend to Hong Kong.

The opening of this new space is in line with Hackett’s approach of opening flagship stores in key cities throughout the world. The Hong Kong flagship store will be split across two floors with 150 sq metre on the ground floor and 300 sq metre on the first floor. Conceived as a series of ‘rooms’, the ground floor will house the casualwear and kids while the first floor will adopt the atmosphere of a gentlemen’s club with a sequence of luxurious rooms showcasing the Hackett Mayfair and formal wear collections.

The 4th Beijing International Polo Open Tournament @ The Beijing British Polo Day

The final of the Beijing International Polo Open Tournament and The Beijing British Polo Day took place at the Beijing Sunny Times Polo Club recently. The British Exiles team was there to defend its trophy that it won in magnificent fashion last year. The Beijing International Polo Open Tournament begun in 2009 and has been built by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports. It is the only authorized international polo tournament supported by the Government of China (in the form of both the General Administration of Sport of China and the People’s Government of Beijing Municipality).

For the second year running, the final day of the tournament combined with the "Beijing British Polo Day", a celebration of Sino-UK relations. Leading British businessmen with Chinese friends and business colleagues was luxuriously transferred to and from the polo in a fleet of 20 vehicles from Land Rover. A quintessentially "British Afternoon Tea" was exclusively served by the Intercontinental Financial Street, Beijing with Taittinger Champagne. The British team itself is comprised of players from some of Britain’s most well-known institutions, including players from Oxford University and the British Cavalry. They were dressed in polo shirts designed by Hackett, another iconic British brand and competing for prizes donated by Ettinger, the London based luxury leather company.

His Excellency Sebastian Wood, British Ambassador to China, said of last year’s event, "I was very happy to attend the British Polo Day in Beijing. It was a great success featuring some spectacular polo and Mongolian horsemanship, all on a perfect, sunny Autumn day with a distant view of the Great Wall of China. The event was also a great showcase for UK luxury brands which are increasingly popular among the most discerning Chinese consumers."

COWSHED @ New Spa Treatment Products

In 1998 Nick Jones - founder of Soho House UK Ltd purchased an estate home set on 18 acres of land in Somerset, England. The intention was to create a home-away-from-home venue offering exquisite food, luxury accommodation and breath-taking views of the English countryside.

In addition to various athletic facilities, charming treatment rooms were created in the small, formerly working, cow shed. The idea to create the Cowshed product range came about when sourcing natural products to use in the house rooms and spa. No products on the market seemed to fit the Sohohouse personality, so the custom range was created. Ingredients were hand-picked from Babington’s famous walled garden and infused with pure essential oils sourced from around the world.

Cowshed uses a combination of organic and wildcrafted essential oils. Wildcrafted oils are derived from plants grown and cultivated naturally in the wild. Experts regard wildcrafted herbs, to be the best source of essential oils. 100% pure essential oils are used in the products and thoughtfully created to boost your mood and benefit your mind and body. Cowshed products were created in Somerset, England for Babington House & Cowshed spa. To this day, all of our products are still made in England.

Cowshed is all about mood-boosting products. The names originated to make it easy for consumers to know what product to use when they feel a particular way. For this reason, the Cowshed planogramgroup products by mood rather than by category.