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It's towards the end of August in Hong Kong... summer heat and sticky weather collide with Typhoons Hato and Pakhar all in the space of 5 days - perfect timing for my trip to this shopping mecca of fashion, food, electronics, and (what else?) crafts! Prickly heat or sleety rain can't stop me, though, from exploring several places for my crafty fix.
I had only 3 full days in the city and while not all of them were devoted to the arts, I went to a few places where crafters like us can find common and hard-to-find items, or at least, less expensive stuff than back home. Here we go!
MONGKOK
A usual destination for fashion and accessories, Mongkok is no stranger to crafting goodies. Instead of prowling the open street market, I decided to venture into the shops and kiosks nestled in the buildings on either side. I chanced upon a novelty shop that had no English-translated sign and found myself in sticker land. Buy 4 sheets get 1 free of all stickers possible. But the real gems were on the 2nd floor where party event planners can spend a satisfying hour or two browsing everything. Some notable items I purchased were the dirt-cheap rolls of foam tape (HKD4@), the wooden signs and ready-made die-cut stickers.
Mongkok Craft Haul
CN SQUARE @Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon
Just two stops away from TST (in the direction of Tsuen Wan), you can't miss the bright green signage that lists every floor of this amazing shop. Imagine this: four levels of a well-stocked National Bookstore, without the books, dedicated to graphic design, sewing and paper crafts plus writing and other office/school supply essentials. It's officially my happy place in Hong Kong 😄 Stuff you can't find (at least I haven't) in Manila are the UHU glue made in Germany (which paper engineer & Youtuber Duncan Birmingham of the Pop-Up Channel swears by), puffy paint made in Korea that is supposed to puff up after applying dry heat, Kuretake and Tombow brush markers that are about 20% cheaper, adhesive mirror sheets and rhinestones in every color!
LIVING PLAZA @HKG Interrnational Airport
This is really just Daiso of Japan but honestly, the craft selection here is simply hands-down the nicest I've seen compared to the one in Manila. They sell imitation leather sheets, soft wool cut felt and paper doilies useful for greeting cards.
CN Square and Living Plaza Craft Haul
THE CRAFTIES
I was so curious to see this craft space but was slightly disappointed to find the website photos did not match the actual workshop. Nevertheless, the general manager Sky was accommodating and told me they had moved in recently from the old space and were still fixing up. Despite the clutter, the place was packed with 3 workshops happening simultaneously- crocheting, calligraphy and sewing. After a quick walk-through and an enlightening conversation with our OFW kababayans who happened to be there, curiosity satisfied!
Got lost finding the space but made it!
The Crafties
This is my first intentional crafting trip, meaning I wanted to explore a destination for its crafting potential. Hong Kong did not disappoint and there is still more to explore such as i-Square, K-11 Art Mall and Sham Shui Po market. I'm saving that for next time. Care to share YOUR craft travels with me? Write or leave me a note, I'd be happy to learn from you. Until next time, happy crafting ❤️