Hong Kong Stories

Revitalising Handicrafts (37x5)

Fecha de emisión: Oct 16, 2018

As one of the fastest-changing and ever-busy cities, Hong Kong enjoys its reputation for its efficiency. Yet this extraordinary speed of growth and development doesn’t come without a price. While the city benefits from the fruit of its economic success, many traditional handicrafts, be they neon signs, hand-written minibus plates or hand-carved mahjong tiles, are on the verge of extinction as they are either being replaced by new technology or no longer needed. Joyce, who works at a digital marketing consultancy, noticed that Hong Kong people, like herself, tend to lament over the loss of yet another traditional handicraft shop only when they see it on the news. Having pondered what else she can do, she started a social enterprise named “Eldage”, and with her employer’s support, she made use of social media to tell the stories of those handicraft masters to raise the awareness of the public and sell their products online. Meanwhile, she let these artisans share their skills and stories through workshops which in turn attract hundreds of participants, many of which from the younger generations. The platform also draws the attention of aspired young people who offer to be volunteers in reporting, filming and even bladesmithing! Although it may seem impossible to have these handicrafts passed on as it used to to the next generation, by letting more people know about what they are and the beauty behind these craftsmanship, Joyce believes they can be revitalized in some other form one day.