Hong Kong Stories: Master In The House 2

With the extension of tram tracks along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island 120 years ago, the distinctive silhouette of this small island has been outlined.
Upon the opening of the Whitty Street Tram Depot in the end of 1980s, the tram company has started its in-house production of trams. Currently, the 165 trams travelling through the Hong Kong Island were all made in Hong Kong. The production line is mainly manually operated, with the components from roof racks to wooden armchairs being made by the skillful hands of 25 masters.

Over the past century, trams have undergone evolution and constant changes. Nevertheless, in renovating the teak trams, the masters would certainly preserve the equipment such as foot bells, brake levers and hand-operated destination signs. Based on the design of 100 years ago, the chassis of some trams are still in use today. This means of transportation, which has great historical value and symbolic meaning, is being safeguarded by every master in Whitty Street silently.
With the progressive retirement of teak trams in recent years, aluminium alloy trams have been launched. In the depot, many masters who have reached their retirement age are also waiting for newcomers to take over their duties. Times have changed slowly amid trivial and ordinary days, yet trams have kept travelling for a hundred years. With the gradual changes of all things, fortunately we still have a group of tram masters who use their hands to preserve the beautiful landscape in a corner of Hong Kong silently.

...

The once thriving shoe-making industry has declined due to the northern migration of industries. Marco grew up hanging around his father’s shoe factory, learning on the job and hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps one day. Unfortunately, the factory later closed down due to a fire, and Marco switched to making handbags. Even though handbags are also made of leather, he found it much more challenging to make handbags, because there were countless methods and structures to reduce a three-dimensional handbag to a two-dimensional paper pattern. The steps of shoe-making that Marco learned in the past were all the same, with the most important steps being “lasting” (fixing the leather on the shoe last to shape the shoe) and painting by hand; whereas the paper pattern design of a handbag changes depending on such factors as the complexity of the structure and assembly, as well as the amount of leather used, so paper pattern design is the most important and difficult aspect in handbag production.

Having worked in the handbag industry for more than 30 years, Marco has opened his own workshop and organised leather goods making classes in the hope of unleashing his creativity at work. Unlike general leather goods workshops, Marco’s classes teach the methods employed in professional leather goods production, attracting even the practitioners in the field to enrol. He believes that it is important to arouse people’s interest in the craft before it can be passed on. Approaching his middle years, Marco is still holding on to his aspiration, and has created a handbag brand with all he learned in the past. Although the brand has yet to be launched and the results are unknown, he remains optimistic because, just like drawing a paper pattern, the finished product will not be merely acceptable with careful planning beforehand.

...

Is a pair of eyeglasses an ancillary tool? An accessory? Or does it signify the first impression on the wearers?
Rif LAU is a “tailor for eyeglasses”, specialising in making eyeglasses for customers with his own hands. From the style, colour, arm length to the wearing position, eyeglasses can be customised according to the wearers’ needs. When studying toy design in the university, Rif happened to participate in an eyewear design competition, and was given the opportunity to visit the studio of the eyewear brand in France, which changed his views on eyeglasses and even his life path ever since.

After returning to Hong Kong, Rif worked as the designer of an eyewear factory, but this could not fulfil his bigger dream for eyewear design. After making efforts for several years, he eventually set up an eyewear studio. Rif searched for various kinds of production tools, and devoted himself to studying every process of making eyeglasses in the studio. As a result, he has the skillful hands to realise the whimsical ideas of his customers perfectly. And fortunately, having been influenced by his father who was a renovation master since his childhood, Rif is well aware that his hands are the strongest weapon. As long as he has the skills and imagination, he can make many things with his hands. His father repeated all the time, “tools are usable only if they are made by oneself”. Therefore, even though it was difficult to purchase the equipment suitable for small-scale production of eyeglasses in the market, he could still make them by himself.

Apart from producing the eyeglasses ordered by customers, Rif will take time to continue exploring new design, materials and technologies. He hopes to go further on the road of custom-made eyeglasses, because to him, eyeglasses are not only vision correction tools, but also artwork that can be worn on faces.

...

Bamboo theatre is a unique wonder of Hong Kong. In many local festivals, temporary bamboo theatres made of bamboos and Chinese fir will be built in different places to stage Chinese operas for enjoyment by both men and gods. Though bamboo theatres are temporary and mobile in nature, every construction process is detailed-oriented. Apart from attaching importance to mechanics, consideration has to be given to aesthetic design, which demonstrates the pursuit of craftsmanship. Traditional bamboo theatres are all built by hand and have a history of over 100 years. Bamboo theatre building technique has been inscribed into the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hong Kong.

Master LEE Ka-chun, Kenny has over 30 years of experience in the erection of scaffolds, and is one of the few masters in building bamboo theatres in Hong Kong. Originally, he had joined the building maintenance industry. Later, he was recommended by a friend to learn how to build bamboo theatres from a great master. Since then, he has started his “life in the bamboo theatres”. Ordinary bamboo scaffolds for building maintenance are completely different from bamboo theatres in terms of their erection methods. The former is used for facilitating building maintenance work, while the latter is an independent structure used as a stage, encompassing performers and traditional cultural customs. Although Master LEE was experienced in the erection of scaffolds, he had to start from the very beginning to learn about the structure of bamboo theatres while erecting them.

The 23rd day of the third lunar month is Tin Hau Festival. Master LEE and his colleagues will visit Po Toi Island, the southernmost part of Hong Kong, and build a bamboo theatre for the inhabitants on the island. The theatre is erected at the edge of a cliff, and so is “the most challenging” theatre to build. Master LEE said the positioning of each bamboo pole and fir beam requires careful thought in order to build a stable shed. As he reminisced about the moment he first set foot on Po Toi Island over 20 years ago, Master LEE said he had thought of giving up because of unfamiliarity with the technique of building bamboo theatres, but his love for bamboo theatres had kept him going.

Master LEE started off as a novice, but having accumulated many years of experience, he has now become the leader of a group of masters. In his view, becoming a master requires a willingness to learn and go the extra mile, but the most important element is striving for improvement. Every time the audience is engrossed in the Chinese opera performance, Master LEE continues to stay at the theatre to seize the final opportunity to look for areas of improvement.

...