Hong Kong’s Kalacove reinvents the bean bag

What are Kalacove’s guiding principles? Christine Wong Cheuk-yee: “To make beautiful things that lend a sense of positive energy and calm, and make the spaces [around them] places of comfort and colour for both thoughtless lounging and mindful meditation.”

HOW DO YOU CREATE THE PRINTS? Philippa Ho Wing-yin: “We get together for art-jamming sessions. Some days we feel like Jackson Pollock, dashing out paint on a big canvas. Other times we’re quite contained, experimenting with media such as pastels, lino and found objects. Our patterns are born from handmade designs, which are reworked digitally, layered, enhanced and repeated. Our beanbags are designed for indoor use and are coated to be water-resistant – they clean easily and they’re durable enough for outdoor use, although they are not weatherproof.”

DESCRIBE YOUR DESIGN VISION. Wong: “In Hong Kong, so many forms feel rigid, so we feel there is a call for abstract visuals. We like to think the fluid nature of our patterns serves as a nice contrast to the city’s typical structures, inspiring the imagination and promoting ease.”

WHAT OTHER PROJECTS DO YOU HAVE ON THE GO? Ho: “We are planning to host community picnics or pop-ups to share our products and vision, and we’re reaching out to people and building connections with more artists and collaborators to create new aesthetics in home interiors.”

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOUR PRODUCTS ARE MADE IN HONG KONG? Wong: “We’d like to keep it as local as possible. This is our home and we’d like Kalacove to feel at home here, too. Our friends at Stimulus Design Group made it happen. It’s a cool experience to work with friends on business ventures and we hope to keep up this kind of network.”