Saturday, December 17, 2011

Buttons Ribbons and Bling Hong Kong Style



The last morning of our stay in Hong Kong was spent totally engrossed in the delights of Sham Shui Po a retail area situated on the Kowloon Peninsula.
Electronic goods and tools are sold as well as fabrics, buttons and crafts.
Mr redroses sauntered off to the electrical end of town while my daughter and I hit the crafty end to source bits and bobs for her jewellery creations. I cannot begin to describe the wonder that engulfed our every turn. 
Let me tell you, in Australia we are starved of variety! Next visit we are spending a whole day in this Aladdin's cave. My home town seems to be devoid of descent buttons and I had been trying to source four large black textured buttons for a knitted coat. Well I finally got lucky in Sham Shui Po. 
The reels of ribbons were a sight to behold. Truly. 
Shop after shop selling beautiful buttons, ribbon, crafts and embellishments for jewellery and artworks.





    Bling as far as the eye can see


                      Bustling busy and happy shoppers


    Take a deep breath Annie. No you can't bring every reel home


    The phone camera quality is not great but you get the idea


    Imagine this business holding a 'guess how many buttons are in the store' competition!


 
Just thought I would throw this pic in for dramatic effect. Yes that's right it is a snake in a cage. On the footpath.

You can understand why my daughter and I enjoyed this area immensely. A small suitcase will accompany us next time so we can literally fill our boots!
Have you visited this dynamic area of Hong Kong? Better still...is there anyone out there who actually resides in Hong Kong and shops at Sham Shui Po?

Annie xx

20 comments:

  1. Oh the bling, the bling. I would love that part of Hong Kong. Hope you stayed all day! Love the dramatic twist to the story.... a snake always does it for drama! A-M xx

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  2. A-M.. yes thought the snake pic would get attention. Sooo many sights...

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  3. Wow...I have never seen so many spools of ribbon in my life! I agree about good buttons being hard to find.

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  4. I loved this post.... Until the snake.
    Ribbon heaven, I hope you bought plenty home with you.

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  5. LR.. my dear mum instilled in me the delights of a decent button

    Deb.. this snake was not on his own!

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  6. My head spins with ideas when in a store like this and I always overspend.
    Thank you for sharing these images
    Helen x

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  7. Helen.. my pleasure. I refrained from spending but did enjoy watching my girl immerse herself in it all. Actually our heads were spinning too.

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  8. Oh my gosh - I have a thing about ribbons - I would be in heaven!
    x
    Melissah from coastal Style

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  9. Buttons, ribbons, and bling - am totally drooling here, and that will go on my list of Hong Kong must-sees. You must have had a fantastic time.

    Now, about the snake: Yikes!! - does one have to brave the bad snake in order to access the treasure???

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  10. What a great opportunity to stock up on ribbon and wrappings!
    Alas my raffia is looking rather sad by comparison. :(

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  11. Melissah.. we were in seventh heaven and utterly gobsmacked!

    Patricia.. the seamstress in you would be oohing & ahhing. The snakes were outside shops selling handbags made of....!

    Hostess.. nothing wrong with raffia...it's versatile and goes with any colour

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  12. Wow, that is what you call a sewer's paradise. I don't think I have ever seen so many textures and patterns of ribbon in my life. Do you sew Annie? If so I hope you went crazy! Fifi x

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  13. Fifi.. I no longer sew but love ribbon for gift wrapping. Unfortunately I had literally no luggage space left! Next visit I'm going to make sure I do.

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  14. I can imagine it was sheer delight for both of you too see all the ribbons and crystal drops, bling ,buttons and so much to choose from. I would have gone crazy too.
    The snake..ohh!! but then its Hong Kong.
    Great photos of Hong Kong and your holiday..
    thanks for sharing
    best wishes
    val

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  15. Ive been to this area a lot and always love it. My sister goes often (altho she does not like to leave her suburb as a rule)!

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  16. Val.. that's exactly right, it's Hong Kong and what is an unusual sight to us is perfectly normal to the locals.

    FF.. it's a great area isn't it and worth making the subway ride to the other side. Your sis must love having oodles of choice at her fingertips!

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  17. Oh my! First to mind was "do they sell online?" That was quickly followed by "imagine stocktake time" with all those buttons! And the snake would have me jumping in fear, dead or not! Thanks for the lovely pics - i'm off to google online shops in hong kong :) B. xx

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  18. House of Dust and Fur.. hello and thanks for commenting B.
    Precisely..just what I thought too re stocktake. Imagine it! Good luck with online research.

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  19. LOVE Sham Shui Po, Willow and I have spent hours down there - we get custom RPE ribbon made there!

    L
    xx

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  20. Lotus.. I felt you and Willow would know this area well.
    I'm kicking myself now that I didn't stock up on pretty ribbons & buttons. Next time!

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