Today, a home isn’t just a place to live; it has become a space to express oneself. For our 35th anniversary exhibition, At Home in Hong Kong, we enlisted creative personalities from Canto-pop singer Hins Cheung to Michelle Lai, founder of handbag brand Mischa, to offer a peek into their homes. In this exclusive web series, we delve deeper into the minds of these local leaders.
What is your favourite part of your home? Besides my bedroom and my bed, it’s my combined living room and dining room area. This is where I spend so much of my time. After work, I crash on my sofa. It’s important for me to nest and hide away at the end of the day or weekend. I also like to have people over for dinner and to cook for them.
The five words that you would love people to associate with you: This is very vain, but I would say authentic, intelligent, creative, spiritual and funny.
Hong Kong is…? My home and my base. I moved here when I was 13 years old, so my formative years were spent here. Even after I went to university in London, I came back straight away. I have a special attachment to this place. I also love doing business here – people are very entrepreneurial. They make connections and are not afraid of connecting you to other people, so I try to do the same.
What is the most underrated virtue? Humility. Hong Kong is a very social place, and a lot of quiet, humble and talented people do not get recognised. I feel a pressure to function as an extrovert, because as a quiet person it’s very difficult to succeed. Many of my closest friends have this quality and it inspires me to be a better person.
If you could replace one of your talents for another, what would it be? Some people tell me that I have a good smile? In all seriousness, I’m a traditional creative in that I’m very irrational, emotional and out there. So if I could, I would replace that with a more analytical and logical mind. Having a business helps to ground me, but I always feel a bit weak with numbers and logic.
The one thing you would never ever change about yourself: I think I’m very nice and forgiving. That means I am taken advantage of a lot, but I wouldn’t change that. I believe it’s good karma.
The definition of good taste is… I like natural elegance; in people, places and things. As Paulo Coelho says: Elegance is usually confused with superficiality, fashion, lack of depth. This is a serious mistake: human beings need to have elegance in their actions and in their posture because this word is synonymous with good taste, amiability, equilibrium and harmony.”
The pet peeve that you have tried to tolerate but cannot: I hate it when people are late!
What is the most overrated quality in modern society? Having a lot of great ideas or are being overly creative can be overrated. Many people have these amazing ideas, but it’s also about realising them and having the focus to bring them to life. A balance of everything is very important, so it’s important not to get stuck inside your head.
What is a quote, saying or truth that defines your life: I love collecting quotes, so I have a lot that I like. There are some that speak to me more at different phases of my life. At this moment, one that stands out is you are exactly where you are meant to be. If you read into that, it means that though you can be in a stressful period with work or life, hard times can shape your character and push you out of your comfort zone. It also asks you to be creative and to find new solutions to old problems.
The moment you feel most at home: When I return to Hong Kong after a very long trip. This year I’ve been travelling a lot every month and hardly spend any time here. I feel at home when I’m back at Hong Kong airport. There’s usually a very grumpy taxi driver who greets me with rude service [laughs]! I find it quite funny actually, because it’s such an iconic reminder that I’m finally back home.
Take a look into Michelle’s home at our At Home in Hong Kong pop-up exhibition, running from October 23 to 24.
Read the rest of the web series here: Arnault Castel, JJ. Acuna, Vicky Lau
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