Photography is not a new thing for me that I have only toughed on these two years. Starting in 1989, as I was keen on running around in the local area, travelling abroad and going on business trips, I wanted to record down my experience. Naturally, photography is my best tool.

When I first started with photography, I toke pictures of everything! From close-ups of teenage girls to snap shots on the street, as well as the marriage of friends and commercial products... I got hold on all books, magazines, exhibitions, talks on photography. From then on, I have been constantly building up my knowledge, as well as interest in photography.

Before August, 2002, I was still a 100% export financier. In an afternoon in August, I met my old friend Rebecca Tam when I had tea with my family in Siu Sai Wan/ Island Resort. She was responsible for promoting a "Sunday Market" stall named Montmartre. She knew that I love taking photos, so she asked me why don't I try to share my photos with the public, that more people can appreciate the beautiful scenery. She gave me an application form, which I took back to my office without much notice of it at that moment.

My original work was as a clothing exporter/local wholesaler and retailer. 2002 was a hard year. It had been difficult to do business after the Financial Crisis, no matter wholesale or retail. On one afternoon, I found the application form that I was given when I was flipping through some files. At that moment I thought: why not have a try? There won't be any loss at all even if I did not succeed! In the light of my personal interest, I filled in the application form and handed it back to Rebecca. My application was quickly approved.

On the first day of opening up the stall, I had only two tables(!!!yeah!!!), one red-and-white checked cloth, and one hundred and twenty 4R/5R photos. My photos taken all through the years! Being attentively packaged, on the back of each photo I added the descriptions of that picture as well as my autograph. Surprisingly, I attracted many passerby's to view my photos. I sold more than thirty photos in a short while. Some customers even ordered large-size photos, which made me very pleased and content.

From then on, I continued my fashion retail/wholesale business on Mondays to Fridays, and opened the photography stall on Saturdays. I never imagined the business of the stall would expand so swiftly. In the first two months, I had a playful mood towards this stall. With little pressure on my own, more and more customers knew my stall.

After working on Island Resort for three months, even my colleagues at Sino Group/ Gold Coast recognized my success in these small businesses. All my products are original and introduced to customers by myself. They thought me as creative and unique. And so they invited me to establish a stall at Gold Coast and reserved the best site for me. I was extremely excited to this. Business at Island resort was running well. Now that I had to open another branch at Gold Coast, I had to spend more time on this. However, my previous expertise and aspiration was on garments trade. My rational side reminded myself that garment-making was still my first priority.

In less than four months, I had already established two stalls, one at Island Resort and another one at Gold Coast. There were more local people and tourists at Gold Coast than Island Resort, and the business there expanded quickly. On the fifth month, the stock of photos had expanded from 120 to nearly 600. That was a growth of 5 times and business was continuously expanding.

It is under these circumstances that I finally allocated more time to Laurence Lai Gallery.

" It is difficult to start and to run a business, yet more difficult to bring up new ideas."

I was not in the photography industry in the past. I was only a fever fans in taking photographs.In my early years, I took part in the garment industry. I started as a merchandizer ( taking a part-time garment and spinning course in a technical school ) in a clothing manufacturer, and then as a merchandizer in an overseas exporting company. I also worked as the buyer of an acquisition company. I started my own business after gaining capital and experience. I set up a boutique at Tsim Sha Tsui. I woke up at 7:00 am everyday and worked till 12:00pm, wanting to make a career out of it. Then, I rented a small office at Kwun Tong and worked seriously as a fashion wholesaler and exporter to areas like United States and Australia. I created my on brand, Music Production and Oriental Art. In the beginning, I had only got a fashion designer, a sales, a writing desk, a computer and a facsimile machine.

I worked day and night, bringing newly designed samples for customers' viewing and hoping for new orders. It was difficult to find new customers in a highly competitive market. On one hand, I fought for new orders; on the other hand, I had to pay attention to production matters. I travelled a lot from Hong Kong to Mainland, working seven days a week industriously for my dreams in career.

I abandoned photography in that period of time. When my business was going steady, I picked up this hobby again on weekends. Photography fulfilled my spiritual needs.

My first business was operated under scarcely limited labour and resources. Once the factory delayed handling over the products. As the customer was in a hurry to leave Hong Kong, he threatened to cancel his orders. I could not sleep for 3 nights, worrying about this. In the end, I called the international line to inform the customer about the reasons of the delay and also to apologize. The customer was touched by our sincerity. Instead of cancelling the orders, he placed a large amount of orders in the later period, enhancing the development of my business. It was such a breath-taking process like ridding on a roller-coaster!

LaurenceLai Gallery 之歷史來由


LaurenceLai Gallery成立於2002年9月, 至今已踏入3週年, 回顧這兩年的創業道路, 並不易行! 透過不斷的努力, 摸索, 再努力! 從很多失敗的經驗中吸取寶貴的教訓. Laurence Lai 已慢慢地成長起來.

攝影對我來說, 並不是這兩年的事. 由1989年開始, 由於本人熱愛旅遊, 經常到處跑及外出工幹, 很想將所見所聞紀錄下來! 很自然地 - 攝影便是最好的工具.

早期的我, 初初接觸攝影什麼都拍! 由少女人像/街頭獵影/朋友結婚, 至公司商品......總之有關攝影之書籍, 雜誌, 展賢, 攝影講座......通通都不會放過! 由這時開始, 對攝影的知識便一點一滴地累積起來! 對攝影的興趣有增無減.

2002年8月前的我仍是一個不折不扣的出口貿易生意人! 8月份的某一個下午, 在小西灣/藍灣半島與家人飲下午茶之際遇上了舊朋友Rebecca Tam. 那天她在藍灣半島負責推廣一個叫蒙馬特的"Sunday Market"之類的攤檔! 她知道我是很喜歡攝影的, 而她問我為何不將自己多年來所拍攝到的照片拿出來與人分享! 讓更多人有機會欣賞到美麗的風景! 她拿了一份Application form 給我, 當時我也沒有為意, 只是keep了這份表格回公司!

我本身是做成衣出口生意/本地批發和開時裝店的! 2002年是困難的一年! 金融風暴後本地和出口的生意都不易做! 一日下午, 無意中翻開文件中發現了這份申請表格, 心裹突然有一個念頭 "就試一試吧!" 唔得唔使死! 就當玩?, 就馬上題了這份申請表格, 交了給Rebecca , 我的申請很快得到批核.

第一天開檔, 兩張摺檯, 一塊紅/白格仔檯布, 檯面只有共120張4R/5R作品! 我多年來拍攝出來的作品! 精心包裝過後, 每張相片後面都寫了些簡單的拍攝資料和每張相都有我的親筆簽名! 出奇地! 開檔不夠半日已不停地吸引了很多路人注足觀看! 不消一會! 已賣出了30多張我的作品! 當日更有客人訂購大相! 心裹的歡喜不言而諭.

由這時開始, 星期一至五, 我仍是忙著我的時裝/成衣生意, 週未便在藍灣半島出現! (當時完全沒有想像在藍灣半島這小攤檔能發展得那麼快.) 經營的頭兩個月, 抱著的心態都只不過是玩?玩?! 就是在這樣沒有壓力的情況之下, 客人越來越多!

在藍灣當島經營不到3個月之後, 信和/黃金海岸那邊的同事見我在這邊的生意不錯, 而我的作品是原創作及由我親自介紹給客人! 他們覺得很有創意和獨特! 他們邀請我在黃金海岸/Goldcoast那邊也開一檔, 更說會預留最好的位置給我! 這刻心底裹更是歡喜若狂! 藍灣半島的生意不錯, 加上Goldcoast那邊又邀請我去! 但是本身做製衣出身的我及我的志願是在製衣貿易方面發展. 理智的我提醒自己製衣是我的老本行.

在不足四個月時間之內, 我在藍灣半島和黃金海岸已各有一小攤檔! 在黃金海岸那邊!本地客和遊客都比藍灣多! 那邊的生意亦是一點即著! 到第五個月, 相片的存倉數由最初120張增到近600張/近五倍增長, 生意額亦不斷上升!

就是在這樣的情況下發展, 我不得不抽多些時間去發展Laurence Lai Gallery這邊的生意.

創業難, 守業難, 創新更難

最初的我並不是從事攝影行業, 我只不過是個攝影發燒友而已經 早期的我是從事製衣業的. 由製衣廠跟單做起(半工半讀製衣/紡織工業學院課程); 至做出口洋行跟單; Buying office 之Buyer/買手等, 我都做過! 累積了一定的經驗和資金後便自立門戶! 在尖沙咀開設了自己的時裝店. 每天早上7:00am 時起床, 工作至晚上12:00pm以後才回家休息! 由這時開始, 一心想在時裝/製衣界闖一番事業! 後期我又在官塘租了一個小office, 正正式式地做起了時裝批發及出口成衣生意到美國和澳洲等地區 這時, 我更擁有自己開創出來的兩個時裝品牌Music Production and Oriental Art! 由冇到有, 公司成立/開始之初, 什麼都沒有, 只有最簡單的一張寫字檯, 一台電腦, 及傳真機! 一個part time fashion designer 和一個sales.

由早做到晚, 經常帶著新設計出來的樣辨給客人看! 希望客人落單! 希望從 烈的市場中找到新客戶! 一方面要找新訂單, 另一方面又要兼顧著Production/生產的事情! 中/港兩地跑來跑去! 一個星期有七日, 我就做足七日! 總是為著自己的事業而不眠不休及奮鬥.

而攝影興趣方面, 的而且確是有一段時間停了下來, 但自公司生意穩定下來以後. 週末/假期便有空餘的時間來拍攝和創作, 攝影是我的精神食糧食

創業之初, 人力有限, 資源有限, 公司大小事項都親力親為! 試過有一次工廠的生產遲了交貨期! 客人話要走飛機! 又話要 cancel order/取消定單! 我為著這件事三日三夜都睡不著! 最後打長途電話給客戶說明遲貨期之來由! 誠心道歉! 客人見我們的真誠! 不但沒有取消訂單, 後期更落了大量的訂單給我們和很多人New development之工作. 過程驚險, 有如座過山車!

My business of selling photographs in Island Resort and Gold Coast had been expanding in a quick pace. Starting from selling 12 photos a day, our daily sales are approaching 300 at this moment. There are now 3 branches instead of one. It was not that I have given up hope on expanding my garment business. However, due to limited resources, I have to make a decision on the allocation of them. After careful considerations, I put my hope in photography. It was because when I asked myself this question: What do I like to do most? My answer is --- photography! The satisfaction I gain from photography is definitely greater than that in the garment business! When I succeed in selling some clothes or any other products, I would have monetary returns. Yet when I succeed in selling one photograph, what I receive is much more than just money, including priceless satisfaction and others' appreciation. It was then that I decided to end my 13 years in the garment industry in 2003 and started on a new path in life.

Because of the reasons above, I made photography my profession regardless of all the sweat and tears that was to be shed. It was uttermost important that I have found the importance of my life. This is my interest as well as my job. I am so happy, feeling that I am worth to be envied by others!

困難的決定

藍灣半島及黃金海岸的生意越做越旺. 由最初的120張相, 已發展到今天近3000張相. 由一檔, 做到第三檔案 至於製衣方面的生意, 不是說冇得做, 直到今天為止我仍收到很多客戶的訂單和要求做新辨等事宜. 始終人力, 資源有限制 經過多日反覆切底思考! 我問自己一個問題, 我最喜歡的是什麼? 我的答案是-攝影! 由攝影我所得到的滿足感絕對大過做成衣生意! 賣出一件衫或走一批貨,我會計算我可賺到多少錢, 但賣出一張相, 我所得到的, 並不單單是錢! 而是有錢都買唔到既滿足感, 別人0既讚賞! 由2003年開始, 我決定放棄了從事11年的製衣業, 踏上了人生另一旅途!

就是這些原因, 不管在黃金海岸開檔是有多辛苦, 要流多少汗, 這都不重要! 重要的是我找到了人生的意義. 這是我的興趣, 又是我的工作! 多開心又令人羡慕!

From others' point of view, they may think I have gone crazy. When others ask about my profession, I answer them I am a scenery photographer. My friends were all curious about my change of occupation. Why did I change my job from exporting garments to opening stalls in the flea market?Am I crazy? The answer I gave them is "Think about what is life". I have tried a lot of things all these years. I took more flights than buses. Germany, France, Britain, Italy, India, Pakistan... South East Asia, Thailand, Mainland China... I have been to many places, staying overseas to work. When I was working in the garments and finance industry, I always flew around the world. I have gone through both good dids and misfortune e.g. no money to pay the rent and pay employees, going through financial difficulties, being dumped by a girlfriend, being unemployed...) in my life as well as in business. Production delays of factories, customers skipping payments, wasting money on making samples when the customers do not order anything or pay for the samples etc, are all drawbacks I have gone through.

Nowadays, the most important thing is to be happy in all working environments. I have decided that happiness is above all. Doing things that I have an interest in, I do not feel like I am working at all. It is an enjoyment and pleasure instead. When I am sharing my photographs with friends and customers, it is like I am going through joy and bitterness at the same time. Under the mid-day sun, my customers at Gold Coast are still willing to view my photos while sweating on their backs. Sometimes when they are viewing my photographs, they would be influenced by my passion in photography and do not bother about the weather conditions.

全力向前, 永不停步

作了決定以後, 便專心投入發展另一個個人事事業! 做一個全職風景攝影師!

在別人眼中, 我或許已瘋了! 別人問我的職業是什麼. 我告訴他們我是一個風景攝影師!認識我的朋友都問我為何好地地做開製衣/貿易公司老闆, 突然間走去擺地攤? 問我是否傻? 我給他們的答案是"Think about what is your life" 在我打工多年的生涯中, 好多?我都試過, 出trip 座飛機多過搭巴士. 德國, 法國, 英國, 意大利, 印度, 巴基斯旦......東南亞/泰國, 中國大陸...... 好多地方我都去過. 長駐海外工作…… 做製衣/貿易公司生意時都係周圍飛! 好的我試過/擁有過, 差的我都試過(冇錢交租, 出糧, 經濟出現問題, 被女朋友離棄, 被炒魷/裁員......)好多唔好0既我都經歷過. 做生意方面/遲貨期,被人走數, 做了很多樣辨給客人, 最後客人冇落單/又唔付辨錢.......)

所以今時今日, 無論是怎樣形式的工作環境都不重要! 最重要就是開心! 可以做自己興趣的事, 工作的時候我也不覺得是工作, 是享受! 是樂趣! 與朋友/客人分享我所拍攝照片時的情景, 苦與樂是一件事! 在黃金海岸夏日/炎夏的時候, 我的客戶/朋友們也是汗流浹背地欣賞我的照片! 當他們看到我所拍攝的照片, 有的也會被我對攝影的熱情所感動,也不介意在戶外的天氣是熱是冷!

On 1st July this year, many people went to Honk Kong Island for the demonstration, while my staff and I went to Gold Coast to open our stall. It was very hot that day. The Obeservatory reported that the temperature in Tuen Mun reached 37'C. I saw smoke rising from the ground. I tried pouring water on it, and all the water evaporated within 10 seconds! It was under this environment that we were working. So when I recruit my staff, the vital criterion is: being able to work in harsh circumstances.

It always rained in last year's summer. There was a time when it rained consecutively for 3 Sundays, so we could not open the stall. On a cloudy day, I opened the stall as usual although it was likely to rain. Wind started blowing before the rain fell. My umbrella was blown into the air, flying to 3 storeys high and then fell down to the end of the street. Tens and tens of my photos were blown into the sea!

The sun burns on good days, while rain showers on us on bad days. I have not exaggerated any details. It is the true picture of our working environment. The lucky thing is that I am not alone to bear this. I have good neighbors around my stall, especially Terence Chow whose stall was located opposite mine, Master Liang Zhensheng, Mr and Mrs Chan, Ms Hui etc.

黃金的歲月

黃金海岸, 以一個遊人/旅客的身份來說, 這是一個集渡假, 旅遊, 消費於一身的地方, 但對於我和我公司的同事來說, 這是一個磨練人心志/體力, 恆心, 毅力的地方!

今年7月1日, 很多人去了香港區遊行, 而我和我的sales在Goldcoast開檔, 當日天氣很熱, 天文台報告說屯門區37'c, 我看見地上出白煙, 用水灑在地上, 不夠十秒鐘, 水完全地被地上的熱力蒸乾! 我們是在這環境中工作! 我請Sales有一個必須的條件, 就是要克苦, 吃得苦中苦, 方為人上人!

去年夏天經常下大雨, 試過一連三個星期天都下大雨, 開唔到檔! 有一日, 天陰陰, 我又去開檔, 盡管天快要下大雨! 雨未下, 風先到, 我的傘被風吹起到約三樓高而最後跌到街尾, 數十幅我的作品被吹落海!

好天曬, 落雨淋! 這是黃金海岸的實際工作情況, 我沒有誇大! 幸好像這樣辛苦的人不只我一個人, 我有一班好鄰居, 特別是在我對面的 Terence Chow, 梁真聖大師, 陳氏夫婦, 許小姐等人!

Gold Coast was the place where I visit nearly every Saturday and Sunday. My shop faced the sea, with the "Spice House", the Thai restaurant on its back. When I was hungry, I would order fried rice and a coconut drink. I introduced and sold my pictures when people walked past my shop. Some went away after they had a quick look. Some said that my photos were too expensive, while some claimed that even their husbands could take such photos. Yet there were others who would stop and look at my photographs for the whole day, and ones who return to our stall to purchase photographs when they did not do so at their first visit. The number of local or overseas customers who ordered large size photographs was steadily increasing. My customers included people of different standing. There were upper class people like public figures, idols, presidents of listed companies, grand justices, doctors, lawyers and professionals; there are also the mass, including primary students and children, and other photographers including famous ones or anonymous ones. My customers are people of all sorts. They asked me many different questions, like what cameras I used, how I took my photos, or where I took my photos. Some even asked if there are any photographs featuring the North Pole, Antarctica and outer space. Then I would do my best to answer their questions in great detail.

Some of the customers asked why I did not organize an individual exhibition of my photos. My answer was: Here lies my individual exhibition every Saturday and Sunday!

The subjects and number of my photographs are numerous. Some of them may not be appreciated by the customers while they are my personal favourites, while others I think fairly of them are to be thought highly by my customers. This is the reflection of the commercial world. However, I would not spend much more time to take pictures which the customers prefer. I take what I like. It is a casual thing. This is my attitude towards photography.

Many of my friends and students started as my customers. From another point of view, what I get from Gold Coast is something more than money. There is a satisfaction, feeling of achievement, friendship...

I am not certain about my future path. However, I keep all the memories of the past 2 years in my heart: happiness, unhappiness... they are all precious moments!

我的小天地

黃金海岸是我週末, 週日差不多必到的地方! 我的小店面向著大海! 背面有"香辣屋"泰國餐廳! 餓了, 就叫一碟炒飯加一個椰青! 有客人路過我的小店, 就向他們推銷和介紹我的作品! 有的看兩眼就走了! 又話我賣得貴, 又話我老公自已到影到! 有些客人停下來欣賞我的作品大半天, 回頭客也不少. 訂大相的中/外客人越來越多. 上至社會名流/名星/上市公司主席/大法官, 醫生, 律師, 專業人事! 下至普羅大眾/小學生/小朋友, 攝影名家至一般拍友! 我的客人參不多包括所有階層. 客人會問我不同的問題! 他們會問我用什麼相機影相呀? 點樣影呀?有冇北極呀/南極呀! 外大空?D相? 而我盡可能細心地一一解答他們的問題.

有客人問我點解唔開過個人攝影展覽? 而我就說, 這裹每逢週末/週日都是我的個人攝影展覽!

我拍過的題才和作品也不少! 有些我很喜歡而欣賞的人可能不多! 有的作品我免強okay, 但某些客人也很喜歡! 商業社會就是這樣, 我不會因客人喜歡什麼而特別花時間去拍他們所喜歡的題才! 我喜歡的就拍! 唔喜歡的就唔拍! 很隨心! 這是我對攝影藝術的態度!

有很多我的客人! 最初是幫我買相的! 後來成為我的朋友或學生活慢慢地建立起一種友誼, 從另一種角度來看, 黃金海岸這小小的攤檔, 給我的不單是金錢, 而是滿足感, 成功感, 友誼......
將來的路是怎樣我不知道, 但過去兩年黃金的歲月裹, 開心, 唔開心, 風風雨雨, 點滴在心頭!

Recently, many people are aware of my shop at Gold Coast. My customers are also not of a small number. I have sold nearly 10,000 photos since 2002. Do not be misled into thinking that it is a tourist business I am doing. 80% of my customers are local people. In such a realistic world like Hong Kong, what is art? Can it provide you with financial support? It is no easy task asking people to stand at your stall to appreciate your art work and then purchase it afterwards, how can it be?

From a tourist's point of view, Gold Coast is a place for spending the holiday, touring, and shopping. But for my co-workers and I, it is a place to train up ourselves both physically and emotionally, testing our perseverance.

2003 is not an easy year for Hong Kongers. SARS took the lives of 299 people! The retail industry never suffered from such a great blow before 2003. I faced many difficulties as a new starter. The number of people who are willing to go out and spend dropped a great deal. Many shops were forced to close down under the circumstance. In the first month when SARS broke out, the sales figure dropped 70%. However, as Gold Coast is a spot for outdoor activities, the air there is fresher. Many malls closed down temporarily. When people looked for entertainment elsewhere, they went to Gold Coast. It was because of this reason that sales began to rise in the second month of SARS.

Thinking about that year, people wore masks whenever they went out. My customers were also wearing masks when they bought my photos. What a frightening and happy experience!

The raining season and hot summer arrived right after SARS. As Island Resort and Gold Coast are both located outdoors, the business there is heavily influenced by the weather. People do not go out when it is hot or when it rains. In last year's summer, we failed to open our stall on weekends for 3 consecutive weeks. We open the stall even when it is cloudy, with storms coming the way. Wind arrives before the rain, blowing the umbrella up 3 storeys high, coming down at the end of the street. My photos were also blown away. The rain is as horrible as strong wind blowing!

路途崎嶇亦不怕受磨練

今時今日, 認識我在黃金海岸開檔的人也不少! 買過我作品的人也不少, 由2002年至今, 我已賣出近萬張我的個人作品! 不要以為我是做遊客生意! 在我的客戶中, 百份之80 都是本地人! 在香港這現實的社會中. 藝術是一門什麼? 能當飯吃嗎? 要別人停在你的鋪頭前面欣賞你的作品, 又買你的作品! 談何容易?

在黃金海岸開檔, 以一個遊人旅客的身份來說, 這是一個集渡假, 旅遊, 消費於一身的地方, 但對於我和的的公司的同事來說, 這是一個磨練人心志/體力, 恆心, 毅力的地方!

2003年, 對於香港人來說, 並不是易過的一年, “沙士” 奪去了299人的性命! 以零銷行業來說, 各行各業所受到的打擊前所未有. 剛剛起步的我, 就遇上了困難, 沙士期間, 外出消費的人少了很多, 很多商場亦要關門! 沙士病最利害的頭一個月, 生意額暴跌了七成! 但是由於黃金海岸位於戶外地方, 空氣流通! 亦因很多商場要短暫關門, 人們冇地方去但又要有娛樂, 因此, 沙士期間黃金海岸的人流量大增. 我的生意在第二個月後便上升起來.

回想起去年, 人人外出都要帶口罩, 而我的客戶亦是帶著口罩來買我的作品! 真是又驚心又開心!

沙士過後,雨季及炎夏隨之而來源 藍灣半島及黃金都位於戶外地方, 很受天氣影響! 太熱冇人行, 落雨/打風冇人行! 去年夏天, 經常下大雨, 是連續三個星期之六日才下雨開唔到檔! 有日天陰陰, 我和我的sales 又去開檔, 盡管天快要下大雨! 雨未到, 風先到, 檔口的太陽傘被風吹起到約三樓高而最後跌到街尾, 數十幅我的作品被吹到落海. 除了大風之外, 下雨亦是最可怕的事!