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Blank
A Stationery Store hidden within an alleyway.

Hidden within an ordinary and humble alleyway, the store gate faces a small community garden, where a dark sided window frame holds a large glass, leaking out rays of dusky twilight in shades of yellow. You can secretly observe through it, and see that the two store owners are silently working in the corner.

Blank is a newly opened stationery shop which is located in an alleyway on Third Street, Sai Wan. The store owners, Tim Cheung and Vanessa Chik, were classmates at their architecture class, and has worked at the same architectural firm after they have graduated. Until last year, the two of them had decided to quit and set up this stationery shop within the older community. I asked Tim about their choice of location, and he said he always wanted to have a quiet spot. He didn’t like the busy streets, instead, alleyways appeal to be more suitable for his idea of a store. As for their products, Blank imports a lot of minimalist style stationery from Japan and Western Europe. Products by brands such as Craft Design Technology, Karimoku New Standard and Cinqpoints are displayed in their store, and it just so happens to be my favorite stationery brand, which was why I had a busy time shopping in the store myself.

Before I left I kept asking the owners, what products were their personal favorite. Vanessa immediately picked up the “Archimetric Notebok and Drawing Tool Set” sketch book by French brand Cinqponts. The grey pages within are printed with 1/100 and 1/50 white line grids, and it also provides clear white pages to be drawn on. The most special thing about this book is the accompanying scale cardboard, so when the user suddenly wants to use a ruler, he or she can directly snap it off from the sketch book. Having said that, for a person to immediately choose a piece of stationery which is related to architecture out of all these products, makes it no doubt that they are a pair of owners with an architectural background.

Shop no. 2, G/F, Fook On Building, 192 Third Street, Sai Ying Pun, Hong Kong