Finding Beijing’s WUHAO, And Loving It

I was supposed to blog about this last year during my trip to Beijing with CNNGo CNN Travel, but with everything happening at the end of the year, and with the sheer density of all the other posts I had to do for CNN, this post about Beijing’s most fantastic fashion exhibition space, WUHAO, just kept being pushed back.

Well, Spring 2013 is here, and I was reminded by an email from WUHAO and its founder, Isabelle Pascal-Pons, that they are now open and ready for business in the year of the Water Snake. 

Actually it was Brew&Post pals, Jason and Denise, who introduced me to the studio. Their friend, Vincent, came along to check it out with us as well. If you already read my Beijing post on the Nanluoguxiang Hutong, you can get a sense that Beijing has full of interesting surprises unique to the city in terms of shopping and cultural destination offerings. Amazing bars, cafes, boutiques, and gift shops line this historic commercial corridor, and are preserved within low single story courtyard structures.

It’s within this context that WUHAO is home. No signage. No visible marking. If you go to WUHAO, you are here because you know what they offer and you know exactly what lies behind the red door.

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Living It and Loving It; A Christmas To Be Thankful For

Christmas 2012 has come and gone, and all I can say is that i’m thankful… thankful that the so-called “End of the World” never really happened and thankful that instead of that, this year closes with friends, family, and most importantly, Peace. Tomorrow I’ll be off to Thailand to celebrate the wedding of dear friends from University and celebrate the incoming year on some beach somewhere. 

That said, if you’re reading my blog, that means you’re plugged in, and you must know that the news of the last few weeks leading up to Christmas has not been a good one for many. There’s been plenty of pain and grief from the families of Children who were killed by a shooter in Connecticut and on the same day… a stabber in China. In addition there’s continuous strife in the Middle East, in the weeks leading to Christmas there’s been terrible fighting in Gaza, flooding in New York City, and a rocket launched in North Korea. I’m writing all this not because I want to be a downer, but more importantly to highlight that a supposed “End of the World” is generally what the masses anticipate because consciously or subconsciously, people are willing to see a different reality, a different world from the one that bombards us everyday in the media. And hopefully when the morning of December 22 came around… turning into the same day as it was the day before, rather than be depressed that Armageddon didn’t arrive, I know a few people, me included, were actually happy that the world still existed the way it had always been… and  more cognizant of the fact that endings and beginnings actually start from heart and mind.

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Back To Black

Brew&Post was recently invited by PUMA to check out the A/W 2012 Collections for The Black Label brand at the W Hotel Hong Kong featuring new looks from longtime collaborators, Alexander McQueen, Miharayasuhiro, and Hussein Chalayan.

This season, the looks by Chalayan (a fashion designer inspired by Architecture and its theoretic frameworks), looks towards Outer Space as a narrative. Everything from the construction, streamlined details, and choice of fabric, aims at increasing functionality for this winter, while nodding to science fiction influences. The Space Jackets are completely water repellent, yet breathable and lightweight so you dont ever feel too sweaty and hot.

Other styles by Chalayan include this quirky shoe called the Urban Swift which was also on display, but I believe belongs to last season. It’s an update on PUMA’s own iconic Clyde shoe.

Meanwhile the McQueen collaborations with PUMA never ever disappoints.

This year, the non-seasonal annual collaborations with the House of McQueen reflect a direction that’s inspired by  the pomp and pageantry of “English medieval warfare”. Via this concept, the shoes are sometimes metallic, sometimes accented, and other times layered with different colors to represent “tattered flags” which reflect team identity in war.

The designs are completely new inventions, but one can’t help but recall iconic paintings of generals in snowy battlefields when we see a shoe like the one above for example.

Overall we had a great time checking out the collection at the W Hotel. We were also there to suss out the WOOBAR venue for the Brew&Post Launch Party.

Im wearing a PUMA by Hussein Chalayan Polo Shirt and shoes by PUMA for Alexander McQueen. The cobalt slacks are by the GAP.

Love these shoes and the electric yellow sole! I had to pair it with my hot pink Jack Wills Socks!

Most of the gang went…

Denise and Jason.

As well as ChristingC. who attended the preview with her brother, Tim.

We met Charlie from Taipei for the first time, she’s W Hotel Hongkong’s newest addition. She’s the Whenever Whatever Wherever concierge who’s on staff to help all W guests with whatever, wherever… whenever.

We also said “hi” to DJ Has Sidik, the Artistic Director of W Hotel Singapore who was in town to play one of the hotel’s pool parties. Next to him is the F&B Director, Simon Cote, without him our launch would not ever have gotten off the ground running.

We also met up Adrian Toy, Head of Marketing for PUMA Asia Pacific, and TVB Celeb, Matthew Ko, very nice guy.

My girl Teresa from PUMA Asia Pacific was there as well to say hi. (Thanks Cecile for introducing us.)

Tim was using his new 500HKD Canon camera… which only uses film. I wonder how the photos turned out.

Everyone was playing with it.

I on the other hand… wanted to run off with this hot PUMA Bike. I couldn’t go very far since both wheels were busted. Oh well. Nice try.

Thanks PUMA for my PUMA Black Label Gear! Thanks to Denise for photos!

WEAR PUMA Black Label / FOLLOW PUMA on Weibo / LIKE PUMA on Facebook / STAY W Hotel Hong Kong / PARTY Woobar

JJ.

A Taipei Story; Brought to you by Brew&Post (Part 2)

fOur Taipei trip with the Brew&Post team was extra meaningful because on top of celebrating the formation and launch of Asia’s first Style Blog Network, we were also having one last gathering before the kids of ZTYLISTAS, Derek and Melinda, were about to depart for London to finish off their last year at Central St. Martins.

Goodbye Melinda! Seen below at Park Hotel with Carmen.

The second day of the trip was marked with a last epic meal with the stylish duo of ZTYLISTAS at Ban Mu Yuan 半畝園 (as per Derek’s request), an amazing and popular Taiwanese Beef Noodles shop and then some a few doors down from the Park Hotel where we were staying. For the rest of the day the crew checked out the exciting new CBD (Central Business District) surrounding Taipei 101 as we went to visit Eslite, Taipei’s epic giant bookstore and gifts mall. Carmen and I then took a short cab ride to Simple Market, Taipei’s own version of the Weekend Market in the vicinity. That night we chilled out at one of Taipei’s most popular Food Markets, the Shida Night Market 師大路夜市, for some fresh bao and street food!

But first we spent the morning exploring the quaint low rise residential neighborhood around the hotel. Taipei’s streets are defined by lush trees, open sitting spaces, parks, and small scale road networks.

I was envious of its quiet urbanism. So many places here I can take my bicycle for a spin, whereas in HK you’ll die riding a bike because everyone will be honking a horn at you, which never happens in Taipei.

It was a great time to take my new light-weight Palladium shoes out for a spin. Also, I was wearing my new comfy shirt from UNIQLO x Jun Takahashi/UNDERCOVER Collection.

Taipei’s buildings make heavy use of red bricks and if not bricks, clay colored ceramics which blend easily with buildings which use traditional bricks to clad their facade. This is also a nice change from the crazy use of “bathroom tile” aesthetics that HK buildings rely so much on. 

My stomach was feeling weird from the previous night’s hotpot… thank goodness for Yakult… the traveller’s best friend. Thanks Denise for the snapshots.

But soldiering on, if you only have to eat at one place in Taipei, it would definitely have to be Ban Mu Yuan 半畝園. The ZTYLISTAS kids are in heaven. We were full on all the appetizers before we even got to the main course! Additionally you can get noodles in soup or dry without soup. It was heaven.

At foodie blogger, Charmaine Mok’s recommendation, Carmen and I went to check out the historical buildings of the Xinyi Assembly Hall House near Taipei 101 for some coffee at Good Cho’s and crafts market shopping at Simple Market. Needless to say, we were impressed by the variety of goods and foods sold at the market, as well as the great live music by local singer-songwriters entertaining the crowd that day.

Here you can enjoy the contrast of old and new since the Taipei 101 tower cant be missed from the market’s grounds.

Good Cho’s sold tons of amazing muffins, cookies, cupcakes, and great coffee to help people relax after a busy day of market shopping. I really appreciate the natural design sensibilities of the Taiwanese. It’s evident in how everything was laid out and presented here.

Be sure to stop by midori homecrafted ice cream before you leave!

The rest of the evening we explored the Shida Night Market 師大路夜市 to get our dinner, food stall by food stall!

We all began with fresh Bao Burgers! I had Ham and Egg. Soooo Delicious!

Mr. TOUGHLOVE had this really awesome grilled corn next!

While I had garlic sauce hot dog on a stick…

This lady made me a freshly baked potato with all the fixins.

Carb fest anyone?

Thank you Taipei!

Check out these great shoes I got from Taiwanese bespoke cobblers, Vanger at Eslite. #ONLYINTAIPEI

Can you tell i’m happy with my purchase?

For more photos of my Taipei Trip, check out my FACEBOOK PAGE, http://www.facebook.com/theWanderlister.

EAT Ban Mu Yuan 半畝園 / DRINK Good Cho’s / SHOP Simple Market / EAT Shida Night Market / WEAR Palladium / WEAR Vanger Shoes / STAY Park Taipei Hotel

JJ.

A Taipei Story; Brought to you by Brew&Post (Part 1)

Our not-so-little blog network, Brew&Post, is now in business, and within a week of our celebratory launch party, this band of bloggers jetted of to Taipei, Hong Kong’s cuter and quite charming next door neighbor, for a bit of much needed rest and relaxation.

Taipei, the capital city of the Republic of China (Taiwan), is home to more than 2.6 million individuals, most of whom are quite fashion savvy in their own way, and who love shopping and eating in trendy establishments defined by current styles and interiors which reflect a fusion of the latest in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean design culture… but all uniquely Taiwanese.

Taipei 101 Tower, shot from Simple Market (via theW+ INSTAGRAM)

The energy and the development growth visible in Taipei’s urban and rural fabric represent an economic progress present all over Asia, which is very much evident when you’re on the ground seeing things for yourself around this generally low-rise city.

Road to Taipei from Airport (via theW+ INSTAGRAM)

Taipei’s close proximity to Hong Kong, inexpensive flight and hotel options, and its stature as a regional pop culture and design capital made it an easy choice for a Special Brew&Post group weekender.

We decided to catch a very early flight in order to get started in Taipei as soon as possible. Unfortunately we spent a long time at the airport because we overestimated the departure time as hardly anyone was checking in so early in the morning. Moreover the flight was delayed by about an hour so it was direct to to the Plaza Premium Lounge where we were invited to just chill out and have a warm snack before the flight.

People were NOT happy about the delay. There were a few Youtube worthy customers having end-of-the-world-tantrums spotted… and rightly so… everyone wanted to get to Taipei ASAP including us!

The last time I went to Taipei was about a three years ago. And for sure the airport didnt look like this when I last visited!

(via theW+ INSTAGRAM)

Finally the gang settled in at the Park Hotel, a nicely designed contemporary hotel that is big on service, perfect for location, good enough on design, and overall more than a great value for the price. We were surrounded by strong free wifi in every space and room… it was heaven.

Around the corner from the hotel was a mom and pop beef noodles operation that came strongly recommended by the concierge. A good thing too, the meal was absolutely divine.

Every meal came with unlimited amounts of grass jelly drinks. The noodles were Taiwanese style, very chewy and thick. The beef tendons were superb.

Food is a big deal in Taipei. Everyone who visits the city knows that you cant say “no” to any and every offering available. Derek of ZTYLISTAS was super excited about this pastry shop which served all types of Taiwanese/Japanese Sesame Flaky Shortbread Pastries. They gave out unlimited amounts of free samples to try. It was intense.

The shop, in english called RED SAKURA, is filled with sweets and treats, from Hello Kitty themed buns, to pastries stuffed with anything from almond paste to yams. Plenty of gift boxes to bring back home to friends and loved ones.

I was such a big fan, I bought loads of boxes, and was willing to even hold up the free tastings sign out front.

Trip Advisor and general guidebooks will tell you to go to shop and hang out at Ximending Japanese style shopping district. But if you read this blog and you generally like what I like and hate what I hate, chances are, you’ll hate Ximending. So don’t waste your time there and check out the neighborhoods and side streets that branch out Zhongxiao East Road instead, home to Taipei’s coolest and newest independent clothing boutiques.

Taiwanese people love to dress up and get their photos taken on the streets here in Zhongxiao.

Western shops that want to make a name for themselves yet keep their “it” factor, operate flagships in this neighborhood. Justin Timberlake’s WilliamRast store has a flagship here.

I love this shop. It’s a boutique outlet that sells everything from high concept fashions to homewares. French scented oil candles from Cire Trudon, were dirt cheap this weekend. The store is called WOW Outlet and is located where the old TaipeiUC (Undercover by Jun Takahashi) store and noodle shop used to be.

A few doors down, is a boutique wasteland of cool art and design books, plus knickknacks and goods, cheesy yet sublime, called VVG Something.

The amount of vintage wares in there was completely impressive. In addition the books were mostly of the intellectual coffee table variety with subjects focused on style, art, design, and photography, titles which are generally hard to find and source in Asia.

A copy of Visionaire to the left, as well as a Ryan McGinley book to the right. You may remember the cover of the McGinley volume was used for a Sigur Ros album cover.

ChristingC. was exhausted.

For the rougher gentlemen, we discovered the Red Wing Shoes flagship store around the corner. Jason Lam TOUGHLOVE was ecstatic.

Taiwanese shops and boutiques have a very good sense of aesthetic focus. Most all places we’ve seen don’t rely on faux flash and pizazz to make a statement. Palettes are generally kept neutral and clean with barefaced concrete and timber finishes. All keeping a down to earth yet natural vibe.

This is the Red Wing Shoes store facade. So nice.

After a long walk around, we settled into one of the coffee shops in the district, Coffee Tree, for a re-group and a general team meeting.

The space was clean, nice, domestic, and very much a Taiwanese coffee bar experience.

I had the rose lychee tea.

Jason had a manly mango slushy drink worthy of the moniker “TOUGHLOVE”.

We ended the first day at a famous hotpot joint, Tai Ho Dien, with ChristingC and her cousin, a popstarlet named, Katie of ROOMIE, a girl pop act.

The yin-yang style hotpot was extremely delicious. One side was served with a spicy pig’s blood and the other was a non-spicy house stew.

Delicious. We filled the hotpot with dumplings, tofu, beef tendons, and steaks. It was a perfect way to end our first day, in true Taiwanese fashion.

However a day in Taipei doesn’t end without a nightcap drinking local-style! The hottest place at the moment is apparently Fourplay were the city’s party crowd go for a quieter and more intimate drinking atmosphere.

We were treated to shots of caramelized pineapples, oranges, and strawberries, and cocktail concoctions that at this point, I cant even remember what they were. I was beyond my limit for the night.

A few shots of some B&P’ers on the streets… Denise of SUPERWOWOMG and Jason of TOUGHLOVE.

And a great one I took earlier of my roommate Carmen of HIMYS.

Other images… I love Taipei’s low rise urbanism. It’s a really refreshing change compared to Hong Kong.

And lastly viral KPOP video, Gangnam Style, hits Taipei’s taxis.

What a perfect city.

REFRESH Plaza Premium Lounge @ HKIA / STAY Park Hotel Taipei / GIFT Red Sakura Pastries / SHOP VVG Something / SHOP Red Wing Shoes / DRINK Coffee Tree / EAT Tai Ho Dien / DRINK Fourplay

JJ.

Brew&Post; Style, Multiplied By Six. Get Ready World!

Introducing…Brew&Post! from Brew and Post on Vimeo.

By now most of you have seen me type Brew&Post so many times on this blog without really going into much detail about it. Trust me, it’s been very difficult to keep a lid on this project. But as you can see in the video above… happy to say… after months and months of planning and preparation… this week everyone in the Brew&Post blog network are now FINALLY allowed to make the big REVEAL!

Friends and readers… this is Brew&Post!

Brew&Post is a close network of tastemakers and influencers based in Asia from six different backgrounds around the world, with six stories to tell, six perspectives, and six sharp points of view when it comes to fashion, style, and design.

From left to right, we’ve got Derek Ho and Melinda Wang from ZTYLISTAS.COM!

My girl via London, who just moved to Hong Kong, Christing C. of FASHION HEDONISM!

Then to my right there’s Carmen Chan, style photographer and blogger of How I Met Your Style (HIMYS)... Image below taken at the Converse Launch at Linguini Fini. And the one after shot by Carmen in Brooklyn of Jeanette Lai… sister of our next blogger…

Denise Lai of SUPERWOWOMG! She’s our resident it-girl next door!

Last but definitely not least… our tough guy, Jason Lam, of TOUGHLOVE.HK… He seems tough, but he’s a good solid guy, a great friend, with a natural sense of true “dude” style.

And then there’s me for theWanderlister+ which makes SIX!

The video for the Brew&Post launch above was shot earlier in the summer at Hotel ICON. From all of us at Brew&Post we owe a big thank you to Hotel ICON, Hong Kong’s art based and creatively independent boutique hotel… for hosting us and letting us film the video in your wonderful spaces.

Here are some behind-the-scenes shot from my INSTAGRAM account:

We started the day with coffee and chats at The Market, designed by Terence Conran based on wet markets in Hong Kong…

Then we proceeded on over to GREEN for cupcake and more carbs, with an amazing green feature wall designed by French landscape architect, Patrick Blanc.

If you follow my Instagram, you’ll see plenty of #FOODPORN photos like the one above. NOTICE: My Instagram is NOT for Dieters.

Great times. This one a photo of me with Jason of TOUGHLOVE. I’m wearing my new shirt I got from the LEE Flagship in CWB.

And with Denise. She loathes this photo, but I think we look cute. (We’re known as the Grandpa and Grandma of the group.)

Anyway, Hotel ICON’s Mandy Soh took this shot for her Instagram. We kept using it ever since!

Follow on us Twitter @brewandpost and press “LIKE” on Facebook.

Who knew starting this style blog would enable me to meet great friends like these guys!? Feeling #Blessed about the whole venture. More to come most definitely. 

http://www.brewandpost.com

JJ.

The Power of (RED); LVMH’s Jane Dee Talks (BELVEDERE) RED, Bloggers, Fashion, and HIV/AIDS Research

Earlier in the summer, Five of Hong Kong’s top style bloggers (including we here at theWanderlister+) were invited by Belvedere Vodka and their regional brand manager, fellow Filipina of Chinese decent, Jane Dee (who DOESN’T know Jane Dee), to help participate in a push to promote (BELVEDERE) RED. 

We wrote about the collaboration in a previous post, but basically the gist of the whole campaign is for the bloggers to creatively work with Hong Kong’s independent movers and shakers in fashion, mainly designers of HILL Menswear, Magnan & Tse, and MISCHA to work with notable photographer, Ricky Lo, and iconic hairstylist, MAREK WAN, to create a set of images that promote the aggressive power of the (RED) Campaign in the fight against the spread of HIV.

Bloggers x (BELVERDERE) RED. L-R, theWanderlister, Vernonica Li of VNIKALI, Amanda Lee of FASHIONOGRAPHY-X, and fellow Brew&Post Blogger, Denise Lai of SUPERWOWOMG.

To learn more about this campaign we had a quick chat with Jane Dee about her own thoughts on (RED)… while wearing RED for an exclusive photo shoot by Paul S. for theWanderlister+ Asia! Not easy to grab 5 minutes especially since Jane juggles responsibilities as not only brand manager to Belvedere, but to other LVMH Spirits and Wine brands such as Grand Marnier as well. 

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theWanderlister+ Asia INTERVIEW WITH JANE DEE, REGIONAL BRAND MANAGER AT LVMH . Exclusive Photographs by PAUL S. / Summer 2012

W+: Thanks for getting all us style bloggers hooked up with the (BELVEDERE) RED Campaign. Love the photos by Paul S. I see you’re wearing the red gown! What do you like about the color Red?

JD: In my opinion, the color red means fierce and fabulous! Whenever a lady puts on red lipstick, it shows that she’s got major confidence and ready to rock the town!  

W+: Sounds so much like you! Tell me about your look for these photos.

JD: These red heels bring instant glamour to an outfit and of course. Plus, red couture gowns, especially this Valentino, are so red-carpet worthy you can never go wrong wearing them to any high-fashion events. 

W+: Okay, now let’s get serious, tell me about (BELVEDERE) RED and the (RED) Campaign… 

JD: The (RED)™ Foundation was founded by Bono of U2 to raise proceeds for the Global Fund, the world’s leading financier of programs to fight HIV/Aids in Africa.  Last year, Belvedere announced the partnership with a Special Edition (RED)™  bottle with award-winning recording artist Usher and with Mary J. Blige at present  to help raise awareness for the cause. To date, Belvedere  (RED)™  raised more than 2,000,000 days of life saving HIV/AIDS medicine, provided 5,000 people with life-saving HIV/AIDS medicine for a year and aided more than 3,800 HIV+ women access to treatment to help ensure their babies are born HIV free.

For a fact, I know that AIDS is the BIGGEST global killer of women of reproductive age. More than 3,200 people die every day from AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. And about 3.4 million children are living with HIV. 9 out of 10 live in sub-Saharan Africa. 

W+: Those are serious numbers. How do you think a bottle of vodka can help? What is your stand about this?

JD: Well I believe we can deliver an AIDS Free Generation by 2015 (according to goals layed out by the Global Fund) and Belvedere is very proud to be a part of that.  

Every Generation is known for something and personally, I’m very happy to be in a generation that can and will eradicate AIDS in a few years time. That is such a tremendous achievement and to be involved in such a cause is truly exhilarating and life-changing. 

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A never before seen close up shot of our shoot with Ricky Lo, shot at the ultra cool, Hotel ICON.  I’m wearing a seersucker shorts suit by HILL Menswear and Veronica wears Magnan & Tse.

Amanda and Denise both wear Magnan and Tse with Denise holding a MISCHA Clutch. Styling by A Beauty Bar and Sense of Touch Spa. This drive was made possible by Medium.asia LTD, a pro-life boutique public relations agency for lifestyle brands that give importance to charity campaigns.

Just a few more exclusive notes… (BELVERDERE) RED Vodka will be launching a newest version of the limited edition brand this December 2012 just in time for Christmas! AND… Belvedere will be participating with our new blog network, Brew&Post for something cool in the next few weeks. Just watch for it!

Drink Responsibility. And Save Lives while you’re at it.

JJ.

Seen&Scene: Thomas Heatherwick’s Beauty Gallery… Designed for The Future, Inspired by Victorian Roots. August 2012

Let me put it bluntly, the reason why I went to the recent MAC StyleSeekers Party and the Pacific Place Beauty Gallery launch is really to hang out with my Brew&Post friends who were going already.

The Beauty Gallery at Pacific Place, designed by the UK’s Thomas Heatherwick

That said, demographically, the majority of my readers ARE female so, covering the recent trends in Beauty is not THAT much of a far cry from we at theWanderlister+ usually blog about.

What the MAC Party, Beauty Gallery Launch, and even the recent opening of HYSAN Place have in common is that the focus is on selling Cosmetics to the Hong Kong market. Pacific Place turned the what used to be the Lane Crawford into a new destination boutique atrium just for cosmetics, and Hysan Place has a floor just for cosmetics dubbed, “The Garden of Eden”.  According to China Daily, across the board retail and tourism in Hong Kong has slumped, mostly affecting the Jewelry market sector, which will not see a healthy third quarter at all this year compared to previous years. That said, Cosmetics and F+B remain strong markets underpinning a still solid retail sector.

And it seems from these recent launches and pushes by international cosmetic brands, the sky is the limit for Hong Kong’s Beauti-Full industry.

Tai-Tai’s go Wild at the La Mer Flagship.

La Mer’s VIP Lounge equates to $$$$.

I thought the party was going to be a drag. But quite the opposite actually… the designer in me was mostly impressed by the interiors by Heatherwick, who pretty much is the main aesthete for most to all of Pacific Place’s new “boutique-mall” concept of the future.

The sensuous curves, the lighting, the signage… all very welcoming… elite… and most importantly, accessible despite that it aims to cater to the higher end consumer. Rocheret Bayadaire stone floore from France are trimmed for the curved skirtings. Low-iron, curved glass shopfronts define the very fluid shopping corridor. 

For those who travel, if it all seems familiar, its because the height of the shops and the proportions are based on the classic 19th century Victorian arcade… namely its Heatherwick’s take on the Burlington Arcade… but for the 21st Century.

Expect to shop at brands such as, Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Joyce Beauty, La Mer, La Prairie, Nars, Natura Bisse, Shu Uemura, and Yves Saint Laurent… no SASA here yo!

We had a great time. My eyes went googly when I was introduced to Canto-pop star Kelly Chen who officiated the event with a Ribbon Cutting. 

We also bumped into fellow style blogger, Amanda Lee of Fashionography-X and our mutual hairstylist, MAREK, who did both our hair that week.

SPOTTED: Janice Jann, of Time Out HK.

The Huthart Sisters. Danielle’s lashes by Shu Uemura.

Socialite and HK’s Fashion Stylist, Tina Leung of TINALOVES.

Fashion Stylist/Blogger, Jasmine Webster, founder of HKFashionBloggers.

What is this guy’s name? I need him to do my iPad sketch portrait but I dont want to wait in line.

So that’s that.

Pacific Place The Beauty Gallery / 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong / Pacific Place ONLINE 

JJ.

Seen&Scene: Booze, Photography, Rock n’ Roll… Aiming to Hit All the Notes at WOOBAR, W Hong Kong

Gone are the Living Room days at W Hong Kong… and when I say gone I mean the cool chill bar next to the hotel’s main reception on Level 6 has been rebranded as an official WOOBAR; aimed to be the “city’s epicenter of new style, redefining the city’s nightlife scene in its’ inimitable progressive way”, according to the press sheet.

But what’s more exciting is that the WOOBAR Launch ushered in a photography exhibition titled ROCKED, featuring a selection of images by famed music photographer, Mick Rock a.k.a. The Man Who Shot the Seventies… which included the likes of David Bowie as Ziggy Startdust, Debbie Harry, Queen, Andy Warhol, and Madonna. We actually got to meet Mr. Mick at the event.

Mick below right, with David and Sharon.

The exhibition is on now until September 2012, so you have two months to still catch it.

Stephanie w/ her look alike, Debbie Harry.

Despite several snags, (ie. Mick addressing the crowd saying it’s his first time in New York City and loving it… Mick… we’re in Hong Kong… although I guess we’ll take it as a compliment)… the event went far better than I anticipated, actually drawing a crowd that was far beyond the “Tai-Tai/Banker” Scene that this hotel’s parties are generally known for… (Not that there’s anything wrong with that, #JustSaying).

My friend, W Hotel Creative Director, DJ Angus Wong brought in the cool hipster/fashion crowd tonight, which is a nice change for the hotel.

The party also had its share of local gay mafia (you cant have an epic party without the gays) and you know… your finance crowd and some photograph-ready Hong Kong celebs.

It was all a spectacle which included special guest indie punk band from Beijing, Queen Sea Big Shark… which is a great move on W Hong Kong’s part to be able to fly them in and perform. Their session just rocked the house… again different for the hotel… unexpected even. I loved it.

Overall it was a great show/party for W Hong Kong, and a great attempt to make the hotel a Destination hotel. It reached out to the right people that night and it was good to see some of my crowd of friends party there for a change.

Popcorn Network’s, Casey with his pal John Metcalf from Demand Analytics.

Dawn Austin with Wandergirl, Cheryl Rodriguez.

Gierdre giving me the “Face”.

W Hong Kong’s DJ Miss Yellow and Brew&Post Blogger, Carmen Chan.

Harry Potter is angry.

Bromance. Daniel of Hungry Hong Kong and Wanderboy, Andrew.

Brew&Post Blogger, Jason of TOUGHLOVE.HK and my sis, Bernadette.

With Vivian Chen, Scene and Style editor of South China Morning Post.

My friend Jade with her playdate.

DJ Angus Wong vs. DJ Lincoln Medley from New York City, both from the inaugural 2011 W Hotels DJ Lab which began last year in Ibiza and celebrated its second year this year in Bali.

DRESSMEBLOG and ELLE HK Blogger, Jasmine Webster.

Gents of Moustache, Alex and Ellis, who just returned from a fabulously successful pop-up launch of their brand in Tokyo!

Spotted, Mr. Henry Temple.

CIPHER’s Gregg whom I just met that night for the first time.

Natasha Kaye Whiffin with Designer, Johnson Chan.

The party REALLY rocked, I have to admit… and not just because Mick Rock hosted it. (Okay you dont have to laugh.)

And my mates. All Brew&Post Bloggers (without Carmen and Melinda Wang and Derek Ho unfortunately.)

What a night.

Jason with SUPERWOWOMG.

Hello?

Thanks so much to Angus who gifted me with this autographed copy of the exhibition’s booklet from Mick Rock!

This one is my favorite picture of Madonna before she was English and just a mere “Jersey Girl”.

The ROCKED exhibit will be open to the public until the end of September 2012. ROCKED will then travel to W Hotels across Asia. For updated information on the ROCKED tour, please check out www.facebook.com/whotels.

http://www.w-hongkong.com

JJ.

Gratitude

There are way too many blog posts to write. But of course I’m thankful for this... is my initial thought about theWanderlister+ Asia.

When I started this blog as a project to document the creative unraveling of the city, I imagined a little side hobby that would allow me to share all the great things about Hong Kong and Asia to friends, family, and the rest of the world… but because of the positive reception of theWanderlister+ Asia both locally and abroad, the hobby has turned my life literally inside out.

Of course my true passion, Architecture, still takes up the majority of my time and energy. But blogging does allow me a time to step away from the time limitations within Architecture (ie. not being able to see something tangible from all the work put in for such a long time or never at all), to be able to post reveries, thoughts, and reports about other creatives doing creative things in a real time format and seeing all these stories up immediately… it’s a relief. And in addition to get immediate feedback from the reports; via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Weibo, and Pinterest, is such a different feeling for me… and a nice refreshing change from the cloistered existence that is Architecture.

Blogging has also allowed me to meet many cool people and do very cool things I’ve never thought about doing, or collaborated on projects I never envisaged collaborating on beyond Architecture. Theres too many to name at the moment, but for one, meeting Art HK12 Director, Magnus Renfrew and being an “official” blogger for this year’s fair was definitely a Wanderlister highlight for me.

And meeting like minded friends… AND formulating a Blog Network, the-yet-to-be-launched Brew&Post was one of the best things that ever happened from working on theWanderlister+.

The Brew&Post Crew: L-R, Jason of TOUGHLOVE.hk, Daniel of HUNGRYHONGKONG, Christing C. of Fashion Hedonism, Denise Lai of SUPERWOWOMG at W Hong Kong Woobar Launch.

Okay anyway. I guess that’s all about my current thoughts on theWanderlister+. I would also like to say thank you so much to my contributors; my Wandergirls Elfie C. doing my “food shows” on the blog, Cheryl Rodriguez who does some on the scene lifestyle reporting for me, and the other contributors, Carmen Chan, Manyi Choi, Natasha Kaye Whiffin, Shana Beth Mason, etc.

Before I end this post I would like to extend gratitude to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) for covering “my closet”. I’ve said “NO!” several times because I thought it was quite weird to have my wardrobe photographed, but fashion editor Vivian Chen and fellow Brew&Post Blogger/Photographer, Carmen Chan made it really comfortable for me. Scan of the article which appeared in the first week of July 2012 is below. I think if you’re a SCMP member, you can still find the article online.

Next thank you goes to everyone in the Dwell Asia Magazine team for recently choosing the blog as one of their 88 Most Inspiring People, Products, and Projects for the July/August 2012 issue. 

Other websites that made the cut are Spoon & Tamago from Japan, Culturepush from Singapore, and China Design Hub. All more established than my blog and have been around longer I think. Anyway check them all out. It’s good company.

Lastly, I would like to thank the Vagabond Project, a new travel video blog website for kids like you and me. Will have a separate post on the interview but you can go direct to http://www.vagabondproject.tv to check out my interview and the other video journals with host Millana Snow!

Have a great Sunday all, and thanks for reading the blog and making it a success. Also comment! I know everyone is reading but no one ever comments! LOL dont know why. But I suppose I should be careful what I’m asking for haha.

Thank you. More cool posts to come most definitely. You should see my inbox!

PS. if you need an Architect… I do that too! :)

JJ.