Coming up this weekend is something brand new for Hong Kong. When I found out about the Rug Lane Vintage and Secondhand Clothing Markets, I was giddy with excitement. I knew I had to reach out and learn more about who was bringing us this idea. Thank you to Billie-Grace, the founder of Rug Lane, for sharing your responses.
What is Rug Lane? Tell us a little about yourself.
Rug
Lane is a concept destination. Just like laneways are popularly used to
house coffee shops, clothing stores, music venues and bars, Rug Lane is
a place to go to get your fix of music, fashion and lifestyle. We aim
to provide our readers with new music, interesting articles on lifestyle
and fashion and discussions on what it’s like living in a home away
from home.
The
idea started when moving overseas and I realised that it’s hard to stay
connected to things you love in a new city when you are unfamiliar with
where to find those things. I no longer listened to the radio to get my
fix of new music, I couldn’t pop down to the local farmers markets to
sponsor different local clothing designers and I couldn’t find a goddamn
coffee under $50hkd! I wanted somewhere for people to go to check out
new music because they are too busy to search themselves, read stories
about those funny moments when you move to a new city and learn from
inspiring people - so I created a platform to share that.
Rug
Lane isn’t just an online destination though. We don’t have a fixed
address which gives us the freedom to pop up wherever we like globally.
We apply that laneway concept and put on intimate events in spaces
encompassing the things we love - whether that be a gig, a vintage
clothing market, an art event or just a really good party.
What are your thoughts about the vintage scene in Hong Kong?
I’ve
always loved vintage and secondhand shopping and every time I travel I
try and find the local op-shop and vintage stores. As a Gweilo coming to
Hong Kong though it's quite hard to find a lot of stuff in the
beginning. Finding the local stationary shop is just as hard as finding a
vintage shop. Thing’s aren’t on the ground level because rental space
is at a premium so you really have to go searching for it. The
consignment-esk stores are around but they are mainly selling last
year's Michael Kors bag rather than a vintage Chanel or an old pair of
Levis. I have found some shops but mainly through social media more than
wandering the street. I think there is still a long way to go for Hong
Kong to ever have a vintage and secondhand clothing culture like they do
in the UK, Europe or America but at Rug Lane, we are hoping to start
getting people more familiar with the idea of selling old clothes and
swapping vintage pieces.
What is your vision for Rug Lane Vintage and Secondhand Market -- will this become a regular event?
The
idea behind the vintage and secondhand markets pop up started in
Australia when myself and a bunch of friends were trying to sell some of
our clothes before moving overseas. They were all going to London and I
was coming to Hong Kong and we had way too much stuff to fit in our
30kg luggage limits so we decided to run a couple of events to sell some
of our beloved clothes. It's hard to part with piece you love but
moving overseas is actually a really cleansing experience because you
realise what in your life you can and can't live without and there were
so many clothes we all realised we just didn't need but were too nice to
throw away.
I
really believe in second hand clothing and the concepts of rewear,
reuse and recycled. Hong Kong is a metropolis of waste and certainly not
the most resourceful city. It’s over-consuming and plastic driven! We
also live in teeny tiny apartments where our wardrobes or clothing racks
are not built for 100’s and 1000’s of clothes. People cannot physically
hold onto so much stuff and throwing them away just means they add to
the already full landfills so we wanted to provide a space for people to
be able to pass on pieces they don’t wear anymore or pieces they bought
and never took the tags off rather than throwing away. We are also
providing a service to the sellers to donate any clothes they don’t sell
by the end of the day and don’t want to take home to a charity who will
come and collect the old clothes. This way we know they go somewhere
with a good cause rather than the landfills.
We
definitely plan on running more of these events in line with the
seasons as we think that’s a good time when people are swapping their
wardrobes over, to have a good cleansing of old clothes and sell at the
event. It also works for the buyers in need of some new season pieces to
come pick up some unique secondhand pieces rather than heading to a big
chain and buying the “dress of the season” that every second person is
wearing around. Anyone can buy or sell, we just have limited spaces for
sellers due to space restrictions but hoping to expand to larger venues
over time depending on how they go.
What can we expect to see at the market on the day?
On November 12
there will be around 20 sellers at Ethos Gallery selling everything
from women’s clothing, shoes and accessories to men's and children's wear.
We even have a local designer who makes jewellery out of old recycled
leather. The event will run from 1:30-6:30
on a Saturday afternoon, so an easy time for people to come down, shop,
have a drink, stay for a chat and chill out. We are trying to be as
resourceful as we can and not providing plastic shopping bags to
customers so bring along your own reusable bag on the day. All details
are on our website www.ruglane.com/events and the Facebook event page.
Location: Ethos Gallery, 97 Hill Road Sai Wan (closest exit A1 HKU Station)
Time: 1:30 to 6:30 pm
Tickets: $35 early bird/$50 at the door (includes a free beer)
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Local brand The Mauve Hour will be selling as well! |
Location: Ethos Gallery, 97 Hill Road Sai Wan (closest exit A1 HKU Station)
Time: 1:30 to 6:30 pm
Tickets: $35 early bird/$50 at the door (includes a free beer)
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