Tea Party

KAI-YIN LO’S FORMER FAMILY HOME WAS A TREASURE TROVE OF COLLECTIBLES. “IT WAS EASIER BACK THEN BECAUSE ANTIQUES DIDN’T COMMAND SUCH HIGH PRICES,” SAYS THE ART LOVER. UNDER BRITISH COLONIAL RULE, LOCAL CHINESE PEOPLE WERE ONLY ALLOWED TO BUILD PROPERTY IN CERTAIN AREAS, AND LO’S FAMILY HOME, ON THE SITE WHERE THE HOPEWELL CENTRE STANDS TODAY, WAS “AS CLOSE AS THE CHINESE COULD BUILD TO CENTRAL IN THE 1900S.” BEFORE THE HOME WAS DEMOLISHED TO MAKE WAY FOR DEVELOPMENT, HEIRLOOMS WERE PASSED ON TO ALL THE GRANDCHILDREN OF THE FAMILY. LO’S INHERITANCE INCLUDED A COLLECTION OF MULTICOLOURED PORCELAIN TEACUPS AND SAUCERS FROM THE QING DYNASTY. “MY GRANDFATHER BROUGHT THEM FROM SOUTHERN CHINA IN THE 1880S,” LO SAYS.

WHILE MOST PEOPLE WOULD KEEP SUCH PRICELESS PIECES BEHIND LOCK AND KEY, LO USES THEM REGULARLY. “THEY ARE MADE FOR EVERYDAY USE AND TO ENHANCE EVERYDAY LIFE,” SHE SAYS, “NOT TO HIDE BEHIND CABINETS.” IN FACT, SHE ADDS, THEY ARE “DURABLE AND GEARED TO MODERN-DAY LIFE.”

HOWEVER, SHE DOESN’T FEEL THE CURRENT GENERATION UNDERSTANDS THE RELEVANCE OF HEIRLOOMS. “THEY HAVE A DIFFERENT WAY OF LIFE,” SHE SAYS. “THEY DON’T APPRECIATE THESE PIECES AND HAVE A DIFFERENT SENSE OF AESTHETICS.” AN AWARD-WINNING DESIGNER, LO DRAWS INSPIRATION FROM HER HEIRLOOMS AND FROM ANCIENT CHINESE CULTURE. “I MAKE HISTORY CONTEMPORARY,” SHE SAYS.