The FT’s Weekend columnist Tyler Brule held another of his street parties recently, outside his Wan Chai Monocle shop. It rained, but that didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits and none of the weighty banana yellow tomes he was launching got wet. Never backwards in coming forwards when it comes to extolling the virtues of stylish living, his book is entitled The Monocle Guide to Better Living. Nothing ambiguous there: either you swallow the Bible according to Brule, or you don’t. And an awful lot of people do: the fan base for his cafes, retail shops selling classy accessories and chunky lifestyle magazine Monocle stretches from San Francisco to Seoul and Tokyo. A self-confessed Japanophile, Japan looms large in the book, but then so does Hong Kong.
Why did he feel the need to burst into print? His publisher thought there was a “book in the brand”, so he thought why not. He refused to pose for a photo because the weather was “so disgusting.” But top marks for not minding that I brought along my dog Kipper. In fact there’s a special section in the book dedicated to stylish pooches.
You get the impression Brule’s commercial success has taken him by surprise – he says his funky retail business now delivers one fifth of his total revenue. His new canary-coloured cloth-bound book is inviting and readable, and though I totally subscribe to his mantra that digital media is not the total solution and that there’s plenty of life left in print, there’s only one snag – it weighs a ton. You can’t have a relaxing read because your arms ache after five minutes.
Raising our game
The Greatest Living Canadian describes his guide as a chronicle of the “people, places and products that aim high and deliver value, challenge convention and force us all to up our game.” No round up on the best cities in the world for doing business would be complete without a spot on Hong Kong. Building on its established reputation with a developing creative scene, there’s a place here in Hong Kong for everyone, from renowned multi-nationals to fresh-faced entrepreneurs,” we read.
Why Hong Kong works
Our city works because entrepreneurial spirits run high and there are enough people with spare cash to make sure that good ideas can find investors, we learn. It’s odd reading about the city where you live, seen through the eyes of someone who clearly doesn’t. It is a regional hub, there are 13 daily flights to Tokyo, 32 to Shanghai and 22 to Singapore, it goes on. If the writer lived here, he would know few people want to go to Singapore once a year, let along 22 times a day. Organisations such as the World Bank often give the city top scores for ease of doing business on a global scale, it continues. I’m not sure of the last time anyone paid any attention to the pontifications of the world Bank, either.