Billy Potts, Author at Zolima City Magazine

Hong Kong’s Ghost Signs: The Toxic Legacy of Cigarette Ads

Billy PottsMay 24, 2023

In this unsentimental city, ghost signs give the briefest of glimpses into the past, flattering it with the soft focus of nostalgia. It is easy to question how anybody could treat these treasures with so little care if one forgets that the past was never ideal. Ghost signs can reveal far more complex truths. Fading […]...

DesignHistoryInterviewsPeopleSmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 011 min read

Forgotten Hong Kong Icon: Tai Hang’s Last Garages

Billy PottsApril 26, 2023

Stories from tight-knit Tai Hang, an old Hakka village turned trendy urban neighbourhood...

A Little BreakCultureHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesUrbanismWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 011 min read

Hong Kong’s Ghost Signs: A Long-Gone Barbershop

Billy PottsMarch 22, 2023

The Hollywood Barber Company once operated in the heart of Causeway Bay. Now the classic calligraphy of its ghost sign is all that remains...

CultureDesignHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesTradition0 Comments 06 min read

Hong Kong Patterns, Part III: Africa, Europe and the Cosmopolitan City

Billy PottsMarch 2, 2023

An exhibition at CHAT explores Hong Kong’s links to Africa, reflecting the city’s emergence as a global hub...

DesignExhibitionFashionHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 05 min read

Forgotten Hong Kong Icon: Painting Movie Posters by Hand

Billy PottsFebruary 24, 2023

A billboard painter looks back at a trade that once enlivened the streets of Hong Kong...

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Hong Kong Patterns, Part II: Silk City

Billy PottsJanuary 31, 2023

The arrival of Japanese department stores led to a boom in silk manufacturing – and some strange cultural blends...

DesignFashionHistoryProduct DesignSmall Stories & Secret StoriesWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 07 min read

Hong Kong Patterns, Part I: Daimaru’s Distinct Style

Billy PottsDecember 22, 2022

When the Japanese department store opened a flagship branch in Hong Kong, its gift wrap became a local icon...

DesignExhibitionProduct DesignWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 04 min read

Hong Kong’s Ghost Signs: The Lost Legacy of the Urban Council

Billy PottsDecember 6, 2022

An unassuming car park sign reveals a bauhinia logo that tells the story of Hong Kong's erstwhile city council...

CultureHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesTradition0 Comments 09 min read

Hong Kong’s Ghost Signs: The Shanghainese Fortune Teller

Billy PottsNovember 2, 2022

The legacy of a Shanghainese fortune teller looms over Hennessy Road...

CultureHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesTradition0 Comments 06 min read

How a Precocious Hongkonger Became a Master Scottish Bagpiper

Billy PottsJuly 27, 2022

Chris Lee began learning bagpipes at the age of 12 – and it took him on an unexpected journey around the world...

CulturePeoplePortraitsTradition0 Comments 08 min read

Hong Kong is Haunted by Ghost Signs

Billy PottsMay 20, 2022

There’s a lot to learn from the old hand-painted signs that linger throughout the city...

CultureDesignLanguageProduct DesignTradition0 Comments 19 min read

Scottish Hong Kong: The Uncertain Future of Hong Kong’s Bagpipes

Billy PottsMay 4, 2022

Bagpipes have become a part of Hong Kong culture – but now their associations with British rule means their legacy is at risk...

ArtCultureHeritageHistoryMusicTradition0 Comments 010 min read

Scottish Hong Kong: Symbols All Around

Billy PottsApril 14, 2022

Scotland’s national imagery has become so ingrained in Hong Kong’s visual landscape, most people don’t even notice...

CultureDesignHeritageHistory0 Comments 06 min read

The Story Behind Ascot Chang, Hong Kong’s Superstar Tailor

Billy PottsMarch 31, 2022

The Shanghainese roots of Hong Kong tailoring are embodied by the Chang family, whose business has earned worldwide acclaim...

DesignFashionPeoplePortraits0 Comments 010 min read

Scottish Hong Kong: A Visit to Yuen’s, the Expert Kiltmakers

Billy PottsMarch 16, 2022

Hong Kong’s original kiltmaker is still going strong more than two decades after the last Scottish regiments departed...

DesignFashionHeritageHistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 010 min read

Forgotten Hong Kong Icon: The Luthier of Sui Fai Factory Estate

Billy PottsMarch 2, 2022

As a factory block in Fotan is slated to be redeveloped into public housing, a master Chinese luthier considers his fate...

CultureDesignPeoplePortraitsProduct DesignTradition0 Comments 17 min read

Scottish Hong Kong: A Red-White-Blue Tartan Especially for Hong Kong

Billy PottsFebruary 22, 2022

Tartan has a long history and each example of the chequered patterns is loaded with meaning, including a new tartan designed just for Hong Kong...

CultureDesignFashionHistorySmall Stories & Secret StoriesTradition0 Comments 011 min read

Scottish Hong Kong: A Legacy Hidden in Plain Sight

Billy PottsJanuary 28, 2022

Scots culture has had a profound influence in Hong Kong. In this new series, we explore its impact and influence...

CultureHeritageHistoryTradition0 Comments 07 min read

Modern Before Its Time: A Hong Kong Gallery Embraces Ming Dynasty Furniture

Billy PottsOctober 27, 2021

Once overlooked, the elegant simplicity of Ming Dynasty furniture is now highly coveted – and a Hong Kong gallery was at the front lines of its renaissance....

DesignHeritageInterior DesignInterviewsPeopleProduct DesignTradition0 Comments 010 min read

What Will Save Hong Kong’s 700-Year-Old Oyster Farms?

Billy PottsSeptember 21, 2021

An oyster industry has thrived on the shores of Deep Bay for too many generations to count. Will pollution finally wipe it out?...

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Meet the Young Master Keeping Hong Kong’s Neon Heritage Alive

Billy PottsJune 3, 2021

Hong Kong's neon heritage is fading away – but Karen Chan is doing her best to keep the tradition alive. ...

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Meet the Plumber King, Hong Kong’s Unexpected Graffiti Icon

Billy PottsJanuary 29, 2021

For decades, a plumber has advertised his services by painting on the city's surfaces. We meet the man behind thousands of remarkably stylish advertisements....

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Young Bruce Lee, Part II: The Man Before the Legend

Billy PottsDecember 6, 2020

Final years in Seattle. Bruce Lee matures and develops his unique vision of kung fu – and the world....

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Young Bruce Lee, Part I: Street Brawling and Cha-Cha Dancing in Seattle

Billy PottsNovember 19, 2020

Before he became an international star, Bruce Lee was a young man in Seattle. This is his story....

CinemaCulturePeoplePortraits0 Comments 219 min read

Hong Kong’s King of Commercial Calligraphy: Au Yeung Cheung of King Wah Signboard

Billy PottsOctober 22, 2020

Forced out of his bastion in the State Theatre, Hong Kong's most influential signboard calligrapher isn't giving up....

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Not Just For Triads: Hong Kong’s Unique Style of Tattoos

Billy PottsJuly 16, 2020

As tattoos finally cast off their seedy reputation, we look into the history of Hong Kong's distinctive version of skin art....

CultureDesignTradition0 Comments 012 min read

Sunset Days for a Classic Hong Kong Dim Sum Parlour

Billy PottsJune 23, 2020

After nearly three decades, a renowned tea house finally calls it quits...

A Little BreakCultureFoodTraditionWhere To Go, To Play, To Rest0 Comments 010 min read

Lucky Embroidery: The Story Behind Hong Kong’s Intricate Kua Wedding Dresses

Billy PottsJune 11, 2020

Traditional brides in Hong Kong don't wear white – they wear a kua. We visit one of the last local workshops that makes these intricate gowns. ...

CultureDesignFashionTradition0 Comments 09 min read

Seattle’s Chinatown-International District: Lion Dances, Bruce Lee and a Long History

Billy PottsApril 29, 2020

We take a journey through Seattle's historic Chinatown, where generations of Asian immigrants came together, including martial arts master Bruce Lee....

HistorySmall Stories & Secret Stories0 Comments 013 min read

Dragons and Rabbits: Inside Hong Kong’s Lantern-Making Workshops

Billy PottsSeptember 18, 2019

We revisit two cryptozoological masters to see how they make lanterns for Mid-Autumn Festival...

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Forgotten Hong Kong Icon: Crafting Cantonese Opera Headdresses by Hand

Billy PottsSeptember 4, 2019

A veteran costume maker for Cantonese opera explains the intricacies of an under-appreciated craft...

CultureDesignFashionPeoplePortraitsTradition0 Comments 09 min read

A Master Puppeteer Gives an Ancient Chinese Art a 21st-Century Update

Billy PottsMay 22, 2019

Wong Fai helped Chinese puppeteering thrive in 1970s Hong Kong – and now he is ushering in its 21st-century rebirth...

CulturePeoplePortraitsTradition0 Comments 010 min read

The Immigrant Dragons, Part IV: Generations United in Bendigo

Billy PottsMay 8, 2019

Back home in Australia, the world's largest imperial dragon joins his predecessors – and so do the citizens of Bendigo, united by Chinese tradition....

CultureTradition0 Comments 09 min read

Forgotten Hong Kong Icon: The Last Minibus Sign Maker

Billy PottsMarch 19, 2019

Hand-painted signs were once standard in the windows of Hong Kong's minibuses, but as with so many traditional trades, they are at risk of dying out....

DesignPeoplePortraitsProduct DesignTradition0 Comments 19 min read