Monthly Archives: September 2016

J J Acuna, Architect & Interior Designer, blogs about his experience at Insight School of Interior Design

Leave a reply

Founder of theWanderlister+ JJ.Acuna talks about his experiece teaching at Insight School of Interior Design.

Part of what I do besides running this website and practicing Architectural and Interior Design in Hong Kong and the Asian region with my own studio, is teach design part time at the Insight School of Interior Design.

This adventure with the Insight School started just this year, as soon as I quit a decade of working corporate. It was a good opportunity for me to extend my skill-set to a new generation of would-be designers, Old and Young, while at the same time allow myself to make a living as I establish my young practice, JJA / Bespoke Architecture.

Insight School is a really wonderful design institution located in Hong Kong’sChai Wan Industrial District, and was founded by Eve Mercier, an Interior Designer and Art Historian with over 15 years of experience in the business within both Europe and Asia.

Staff at student graduation with, founder Eve Mercier (third from right.)

The purpose of the school is to arm students with an aesthetic and creative eye (if they don’t already have an innate sense of it to begin with), and give their vision an added boost of practical skills from instructors who have strong ties with the design industry in Hong Kong and the region at large. Unlike other design institutions, students at the Insight School work on real-life projects with real-life industry clients, like H&M, HKIS (Hong Kong International School– the studio I thought last semester), the Marriott Hotel Group, Ritz Carlton, and Shanghai Tang… to name a few. Lecturers come from Design, Arts, and Fashion industries, like professionals from Cartier and Hermes, plus industry leaders like Douglas Young of G.O.D., and gallerist Boris Vervoordt of Axel Vervoordt gallery from Belgium and Hong Kong.

Boris Vervoordt, gallerist, visits Insight School during Art Basel week

All graduating Diploma students who wish to be part of the school’s Internship program, are allowed a 1 month internship with industry partners, such as Marriott Group, Timothy Oulton, Infrastructure, and HBA.

The school offers part time and full time courses in intimate classes. There’s an 8-week introduction to Interior Design Course, and a Residential Interiors Certificate course. Short vocational courses on specific subjects like Lighting Design and Small Space Design are also available. Actual Industry specific Diploma courses, like the interior Design Diploma, which is a combination of Residential and Commercial Interiors Certificates, are also available at Insight.

Some of the classes I put together for Insight is a course instruction on the history of Wicker Furnitures, with specific focus on the Philippines (which I loved). This led me to the Philippines where I was able to take some of the students on a trip to Manila to meet celebrated designers like Kenneth Cobonpue and Ito Kish (photos below).

Additionally, these same students had the opportunity to visit one of my Manila residential projects as it was a part of their final studio research. My project manager, Boni, was able to have a real-world Q+A chat with the students on-site regarding local building materials and construction methodologies.

They had such a great time in the Philippines.

The final output of that project resulted in a wonderful presentation for Residential Certificate students.

I also ran a studio focused on a site for the a Kindergarten at the new HKIS (Hong Kong International School) building near Repulse Bay. Each of the students presented their final work to the School’s administrators, who were generally impressed with the breadth of the student’s design solutions.

I begin teaching again next Spring (so maybe you can be one of my students as well!) However, if you’re really keen to learn now, you can definitely check out the 8-week Introduction to Interior Design course which starts next week, October 6th.

LEARN MORE at Insight School of Interior Design . 24F, Federal Centre, 77 Sheung On Street, Chai Wan, Hong Kong Island . T: 21142021

JJ Acuna is a Hong Kong based Architect / Interior Designer, and Founder of his boutique studio, JJA / Bespoke Architecture based in Hong Kong and Manila.

EXPAT LIVING HK SPEAKS TO EVE ABOUT SETTING UP A HOME IN HONG KONG

Leave a reply

Tips, tricks and interior design courses for making a home away from home

22 September 2016

Do you have a passion for interior design – colours, lighting and textures? Hong Kong spaces can be challenging so we spoke to Eve Mercier, a Hong Kong based design master and globetrotter who knows how to help you make a stylish home away from home – she can even help you to become your own design guru!

Parisian Eve has moved 13 times in the last 20 years. Through Europe and twice to Hong Kong, Eve has sent her family’s belongings across the globe, a lot! But as an interior designer, she knows how to adapt when she arrives in her new home.

Eve’s “Jack-of-All-Trades” background, which includes stints with Christie’s and Shanghai Tang, among others, helped her build her career as a designer. Her design school, she says with a laugh, was “born out of frustration”. When Eve returned to Hong Kong in 2012 architects and designers told her there was lots of work for interior design professionals but not enough of them. And so began ‘Insight School Of Interior Design’, a school that creates professionals through courses that combine creativity, academia and practical experience. It caters for everyone. “You don’t need to be talented to start with” she says. You just need to be curious, passionate and think outside the box – “The rest, you can learn.”

Provence Family Home

Bathroom in Provence Family Home

Eve’s Southside Home

The school’s courses range from an introduction for those interested in design, to short courses in specific areas like lighting or textiles, to full certificates and diplomas. While this is clearly a labour of love, Eve and her colleagues mean business; over 80 percent of graduates from the school end up being successfully employed in the industry.

Her latest introductory course starts on October 6th, runs for eight weeks and requires attendance just once a week.

In the meantime, Eve gave us some quick design advice for making a home away from home.

Plan your space

“When I moved back to Hong Kong [this last time] I didn’t have the chance to go and see the apartment I was going to move into, I just saw the plan. I was living in London at the time and I was able to see, by looking at the floor plan, which pieces of our existing furniture would fit into the space and which pieces I could leave behind.”

Don’t rush

“Very often when people arrive they decide ‘I want everything now so it’s done and I can concentrate on other things’. I think it’s good to spend a little bit of time to get the pulse of the city, to get to know which shops are right for you instead of trying to do everything in one go.”

Beware of copies

“People get very excited about going across the border to Shenzhen to buy things because it is cheap and very quick. Bear in mind that after six months the copy is going to look, feel and age like a copy. So it’s not always your best option.”

Don’t overlook IKEA

“This may seem obvious but IKEA is still the cheapest option if you want to buy interesting furniture. Lots of new designers contribute to their collections so you can buy some really interesting stuff there.”

Buy one good piece of furniture

“Take your time, compare. Buy your piece with a reputable source and try to buy something older than 20th century. Buy an iconic piece that will stand the test of time and that you can mingle with other furniture.”

London artist’s studio turned into an Italian family pied á terre

Mayfair Duplex - Residential Project

This article appeared in Expat Living HK homepage in September 2016.

 

Introduction to Interior Design course student: Jennie Ho

Leave a reply

Meet Jennie!

Insight School student Jennie Ho is one of our many talented graduates from the Introduction to Interior Design course. She took the course whilst running her family’s very successful digital surveying and measuring tools company. So we thought we’d ask her a few questions about her study journey with Insight School.

What is your background? What were you doing before coming to Insight School of Interior Design?

My family business has a long history of making home improvement tools and equipment for architects and home builders. As I took over the business I focus largely on understanding user experience and developing new products.

What did you study at Insight School and what key skills did you learn?

Throughout the Introduction to Interior design course, I got a glimpse of the fundamental techniques on interior design and architecture. Both Eve and Enrique are not only great lecturers, they are also two very prominent designers in their fields. The course itself was very hands on unlike any other design course in Hong Kong. We even got to use some of my tools for some surveying projects.

Where are you working now?

Beiter Laser. It’s a hardware company supplying digital surveying and measuring tools and equipment.

Jennie preparing for her presentation

Jennie’s moodboard