Angel's Paradise interview

Angel’s Paradise is a women’s clothing store featuring Japanese imports, owned and managed by a team of brother and sister. In this interview, they discuss their thoughts on the social movement and how it has affected their business. They also talked about their views on how the government has handled the virus outbreak.

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GoHK: May I know the origin of the name of your store? 

AP: This store is established and managed by a brother and sister. The name “Angel’s Paradiseファッション” is an idea from the elder brother, who wanted to derive the store name from his younger sister’s name. The name “Angel’s Paradise ファッション” signifies the concept of peace, romance, and also Victorian style which is both loved by the siblings.

GoHK: What do you sell mainly? 

AP: We sell Japanese branded women’s clothing and vintage clothes. They are all from Japan and we do not sell anything sourced from Taobao.

GoHK: What are the most recommended products from your store?

AP: Embroidery, antique lace, patchwork and crochet products. Both of us studied design as a major, so we are more than willing to share with the customers on how to mix and match our collections.

GoHK: Do you know what the “Yellow Economic Circle” is? What are your expectations/hopes from it?

AP: The Yellow Economic Circle is an idea that came from the collective belief and goal of comrades in the Revolution (Anti-ELAB movement). They are hoping with “yellow ribbon” people being a significant proportion of Hong Kong people, that we can apply economic pressure on the government and the opposition by encouraging spending at “yellow shops”. As owners, we definitely support the idea of the Yellow Economic Circle by supporting “yellow shops” in everyday living.

GoHK: What are your views on the Hong Kong government’s efforts in combating COVID-19? Are you happy with what the Hong Kong government has done?

AP: The true “Hong Kongers” united together in combating the COVID-19. This unity and togetherness definitely stems from the “Revolution of Our Times”, just like how the long-forgotten “Spirit of Lion-Rock” (meaning Spirit of Hong Kongers) was reignited . 

GoHK: Has your business been affected by COVID-19? Has the government been helpful in providing subsidy measures?

AP: Our shop has been running for 7 years and we never had such a difficult period. We almost had to close down our shop and end our business. Luckily we don’t sell any products from China, therefore the supply of our products has not been affected by COVID-19, as we source our products from Japan. This also proved that we made the right decision in selling Japanese products (as opposed to Chinese products).

GoHK: What are your views about police entering into shopping malls when carrying out their duties?

AP: The shopping mall is a place of leisure for family, for the elderly and the young. We find it unacceptable for the police to disregard the safety of civilians when they charge into shopping malls.

GoHK: What do you think is the driving force that makes everyone persist in the Anti-Extradition Bill protest since last year?

AP: Persistence and belief are very important. As a “yellow shop”, we also act as a promoter for this protest. We have a Lennon wall in our shop and we also uploaded this Lennon Wall to our Facebook page. When we meet customers who are also “comrades”, we will encourage each other to continue to fight in this movement. We believe in the power of mutual support and influence. 

GoHK: The election for the Legislative Council is approaching, is there any factor that might affect whom you are going to vote for?

AP: Nothing will influence our votes. We have already teamed up with some of our friends who are volunteers for the Democratic Party and we will help with the election campaign on that day.

GoHK: Would you like to say something to our fellow Hong Kongers?

AP: This seems to be a simple question but after thinking for a few minutes, we can only think of the words “Add Oil Hong Kongers” with tears in our eyes. We firmly believe in persistence, which is also the spirit behind “Angel’s Paradiseファッション”. Only perseverance and persistence will lead to the most truthful answer. Even though things are not progressing as expected, we must persist.

We must all believe that victory will be on the yellow ribbon’s side eventually.