d+a | Issue 123 • 2022

/ BEST PRACTICE / 86 WORDS LOW SHI PING H ave a hobby unrelated to design – one which you can take inspiration from. Design is not just about making things beautiful, but also adding value and meaning to the world. For me, my hobby is learning about Chinese culture. As a result, I started to research about chairs from the Ming Dynasty and other traditional ways of making Chinese furniture. All that led to the creation of the Chairplay collection, where I collaborated with a master craftsman who specialised in creating Chinese-style hard wood chairs. What made the series even more meaningful is how I am motivated to use it to bring Chinese craftsmanship back to Hong Kong, where I am based. This is in response to how many of the Hong Kong factories and craftsmen who traditionally made Chinese-style hard wood furniture have moved to China in recent years. I hope people can see how I drew inspiration from my other love and combined it with design to create a piece of art that is unlike any other. I highly recommend others do the same and see where it takes them.” Freeman Lau, Founder of KL&K Creative Strategics, Winner of the DFA World’s Outstanding Chinese Designer 2021 “ ALTERNATE PASSIONS