First Person: Prudence Mak
Fashion and accessories designer Prudence Mak opened a store in SoHo with her first collection, Chocolate Rain. Now her adorable products are in every corner of Hong Kong and beyond, even appearing in the British Museum. Mak tells Emily Wu about how she went from an aspiring designer to a noted local entrepreneur.
I come from a traditional family. My dad was a translator at the Stanley Prison and my mom worked in a garment factory.
I knew how to sew when I was three. I turned a bag into a Bruce Lee doll.
I admire my mom. When I was young, she brought home a few fabric scraps from curtains, pillowcases and t-shirts. [She] patched them together and made my dresses and everything.
She even worked for Donna Karen. When she brought home old branded clothes, I took the label, cut it out and sewed it onto my shirt.
My dad found out that I liked drawing and he bought me colored pencils.
But he kept telling me that I definitely couldn’t live on my talent alone. I hated him because he often stopped me from drawing.