Dear Mr. Know-It-All,
I’ve recently moved to Hong Kong, and am in the lookout for shops that sell or rent reasonably priced props for use in a potential short film. Where in Hong Kong could I find such services? In particular, I’m wondering if there are any shops that could custom-make reasonably good looking college ID cards or possibly passports—good enough so in a close up shot they don’t look like a fake prop, but aren’t so good that they would be considered illegal, of course.
– Wannabe Director
Sure. You want "college ID cards or passports" for a movie. Nothing suspicious sounding about that. Ahem. But what I can tell you is that you can find items good enough to use as props on the stalls lining Pottinger Street in Central. They have all kinds of funky-colored wigs, glasses, feather boas and glittering hats. You can also get an array of plastic masks such as wolf, rabbit, avatar, clown and fox masks and masquerade masks as well as full costumes. Most prices are negotiable if you buy more. For more professional props, check out Pholance Creator Studio (3568-5721, pholance.com.hk) which offers a range of custom-made props, costumes and more. They have an unstated minimum order; get a quotation by first calling up.