SENSUAL REFUGE

A figure of Yoda from the Star Wars series mingles with Korean ceramic pieces and polaroids by Araki. The minimal, white master bedroom make Aida Makoto's Mt Fuji the star of the show.

情感天地

星戰的尤達玩偶與Araki寶麗萊和韓國陶瓷製品並列。簡約純白的主人房讓Aida Makoto的 the phone and called up the building management immediately. "I showed it to my family and they all walked in and immediately started discussing what should go where. That’s when we knew, okay, this is the place we’re going to rent. A week later, we moved in."

Marleen’s career in fashion originally brought her to the city – she was sent here during a stint with Esprit, going on to work for Warner Brothers, Benetton and Nike before establishing her own brand, Marleen Molenaar Sleepwear. But her experience with the arts made founding her agency an obvious next step. "I curate. I’ve done it all my life, so that’s why I made a business of it," she says. The agency works with emerging artists, providing them a platform to gain recognition with the goal of eventually connecting them with a gallery. The company also introduces more established artists to new audiences. While her network spans the globe – from New York City to her native Holland – she finds that Hong Kong, with its swiftly growing art scene, continues to be the perfect base. "Art gives me joy. I want to share it so that it can give other people joy," she says. The obvious love and care that she’s put into building her home collection is true evidence of that. //

Marleen和家人過去四年來一直定居於現宅，但卻絕非早有預謀──住近15年的山頂舊居大樓因被清拆而被迫搬家。能發現這精緻新家也不得不多虧有運氣──有人更會稱之為機緣巧合。「25年前正準備遷到香港時我看過此單位。」Marleen解釋：「[經紀]帶我四圍參觀，這就是她第二個帶我前往的物業。」那時候，她與男友決定搬近市區，但當她於第二輪物色單位的過程中聽聞大樓有空置單位出售，她隨即致電大廈物業管理處。「我們一家人走進單位，已經密密討論傢具物品要往哪裡放。這時就知道我們已找到安樂窩。一周後，順利遷入。」

Marleen的時裝事業是把她帶到香港的初衷──因與Esprit合作被派前來，後來前後曾於Warner Brothers、Benetton和Nike工作，接著才動手建立自家品牌Marleen Molenaar Sleepwear。豐富的藝術經驗促使她下一步創辦顧問公司，她說：「我處理策劃──一輩子也在做著同樣的事吧──順理成章以此為事業。」公司與新進藝術家合作，為他們提供爭取注意力的平台，希望最後能讓他們跟藝廊聯繫上，同時公司也把著名藝術家介紹予全新受眾，例如將歐洲藝術家帶到亞洲。她的網絡聯繫遠遍環球──從紐約市至家鄉荷蘭──她發現香港的設計界發展是如此蓬勃，絕對是完美的基地。她說：「藝術為我帶來喜悅。我想分享藝術，讓它把喜悅帶予別人。」她對家居收藏系列的喜愛與關懷的確顯然易見。//