Local Macau designer gives a new lease of life to wasted wood
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To help Macau in becoming the world’s young and dynamic art capital, the government continues to steadily support the development of cultural arts. Thanks to a group of ambitious talents, Macau local design has caught the eye of international platforms, and Hylé Design is one of the pioneers of this growing interest.
Founded by Calvin Sio, Hylé Design is a company inspired by cultural life in pursuit of the pure essence of things. “We always believe everything has a use, and each thing has the specific value of its existence, even it’s disuse. By adhering to this business philosophy, we prioritise environmental protection in manufacturing.”
Wood, namely wasted wood, is the main component in Hylé’s products. “My uncle has a furniture factory in Mainland China. When I graduated from Taiwan, I went to his factory to help him for three months,” said Sio. “I found every factory created tonnes of wasted wood from furniture production. I asked my uncle how they handled the waste and he told me they would throw it away. This made me to wonder if it was possible to recycle this wood.”
Sio studied Product Design in Taiwan and used to be an intern for the top design company there. “When I returned to Macau in 2013, there were no professional product design companies. There were no competitors, which meant may be I could have more opportunities. That’s another reason why I wanted to set up my own company after I visited my uncle’s factory.”
The name, Hylé, comes from the Greek word for “raw material”, which in this case is wood. The Chinese name of the company is Yuan Zhi Dong Yu – “Dong Yu” means “the place of sunrise”, which sums up one of the brand’s goals: “I hope our company can boost the energy of the industry in Macau,” Sio explained.
The first product of Hylé Design was a customised Valentine’s Day autograph album, for which the cover of was made of wood. “I didn’t do this for too long, because I was the only manpower of the company and it took so long to finish a single album,” he said. Soon after, the design company went into mass production and created an array of stationery. One year later, the accessories collection came out.
As a Macau brand, the designer also infuses the unique sprit of the region in the products. “We do not use regional emblems or the lotus flower, or any of this kind of explicit elements in our design. If we did, our products would become souvenirs,” Sio states. “In order to create products that received worldwide recognition, it’s impossible to make things with such concrete elements and have people accept it.”
So how does Hylé express the feeling of the city? “Nowadays, there are few people still using stationery such as rulers and notebooks. For me, Macau was a simple, slow and tranquil city. I want people who use our stationery to slow down and write something with their hearts.”
Rise to fame
In 2016, Hylé Design launched a DIY digital camera, CROZ (which stands for crossover). Collaborating with Taiwanese digital camera company Paper Shoot, CROZ showcases creativity, simplicity and is environmentally friendly. Thanks to the help of Kickstarter, a global crowd-funding platform focused on creativity and merchandising, the company received HK$ 232,238 to produce the product. Once it came out, it quickly caught the attention of media from all over the world.
“Unlike other digital cameras, ours doesn’t have a digital screen for you to check the pictures. Instead of the buzzing functions, CROZ’s simple operation system allows you to simply focus on being creative and capturing the moment,” said Calvin Sio. “Nowadays, there are too many convenient products. For me, the joy of photographing is the excitement when I see the pictures. With the smart phone, I can’t find that joy anymore, because we can see the picture through the screen and even retouch the pictures afterwards. Allowing people to find the joy of shooting is my idea of a good camera.”
To enhance the happiness level of clients and give them a long-lasting feeling, the CROZ digital camera is designed as a DIY project that can be completed with just four to six simple steps. The set includes a camera board, a luxury brass frame and wooden case, a transparent case, a wooden leather strap, an SD card (8GB for over 4,000 shots), a Micro-USB cable, brass fastens, and fisheye and wide-angle lenses.
In addition to its simplistic design, the CROZ offers cool creative effects with its integral photo filters. These effects include Normal, Black & White, Sepia and Blue.
The CROZ camera can be found in Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Tokyo, at the Museum of Modern Art in the USA, and the Galeries Lafayette in France. “We went to Mainland China last year and it is still our target of 2019. China is too huge, it takes time and budget to secure the market,” Sio revealed. “Our philosophy is similar to Japanese brand Muji – clean and simple. But our goal is Chinese brand Xiaomi, so that our products can be used everywhere in clients’ homes,” said he added.
Giving back to society
In order to help Macau’s product design industry, Hylé Design also set up an array of workshop for local people to learn traditional handicrafts. Every year, the company collaborates with different charities, using their designs and products to help raise awareness for social issues.
“I think the most important thing that the Macau government can do to help the industry is improve the education system,” said Sio. “A vibrant industry always needs new blood, but at the moment there is not a lot to be seen. Because there are not many relevant subjects in Macau, from a design standpoint, most students are moving to other cities. There are few who can stay here to support the local industry.”
