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“Urban spaces are constantly changing, continually infused with new elements, and our feelings towards these spaces are constantly evolving too.”
Yesi (1)
Colie Ngan, owner of the flower shop Gloriosa, likes to compare Sheung Wan to a lily.
“At first glance, every bud looks rather ordinary, but give it a bit more time and let it open up slowly, and it can bloom as wide as a starfish. It’s just like this old district of Sheung Wan. When you go deep into the alleys, you’ll find traditional shops, antique stores, coffee shops and small eateries with character. It’s really special.”
The comparison calls to mind the fragrance and appearance of lilies: fresh and subtly elegant, but gradually revealing its beauty as it unfolds.
At noon, sunlight pours through the floor-to-ceiling windows of Gloriosa, making the potted plants inside the shop look especially green and the colourful flowers more vibrant. From a distance, one only sees a sea of greenery; there is no sign of anyone inside until you step into this world of flowers and hear a warm welcoming.
A newbie to Sheung Wan, Gloriosa is located in a corner on the first floor of Welland Plaza. Colie settled in here two years ago. “I stumbled upon this shop by pure chance and fell for it. So I became a small business owner, sorting and arranging flowers every day.”
For years, Colie held a full-time design job at an international company. In her spare time, she took floral art classes to unwind and even earned her qualification as a floral art instructor. When she lost her job during the COVID pandemic, she began to consider pursuing floristry. Instead of looking for another design role, she joined a social enterprise, running classes to teach floral techniques to people with special needs.
Two years ago, Colie came across an online ad for a flower shop lease transfer. Having no connection to Sheung Wan, she nevertheless remembered visiting the area years before for medical appointments and still had vivid memories of the neighbourhood. “I mostly wanted to challenge myself and see how it would be like to run a flower shop,” she explains.
After thinking it through, she decided to take over the shop, embarking on what she calls her “second career”.
Neighbourhood tales in bloom
The small size of the shop means Colie cannot afford hiring full-time help, so she handles everything herself. “Sweeping the floor, buying supplies and selling flowers - I do it all,” she says. When there are no customers, she makes use of the time to arrange bouquets.
The lack of resources, however, has its perks - it gives her more opportunities to connect with customers, and she finds many locals refreshingly straightforward and endearing. Recently, a new customer came to her shop to buy a bouquet after being told by a flower stall vendor in the nearby wet market to “go to the shop across the street - they arrange bouquets better”. Colie was impressed by the vendor for their generosity and honesty, with no concern for losing business. On another occasion, a person walked in with a bouquet saying the design was “too ugly” and asking Colie to help rearrange it. There are countless stories like this that could easily fill an entire afternoon.
Gloriosa has a good selection of potted plants. Apart from plants popular among Chinese customers, such as money trees and large-leafed varieties, Colie stocks some of her personal favourites, such as begonias with red leaves. “They grow so beautifully that I can’t bring myself to sell them. It’d feel like sending my baby away.”
Colie posts her creations online for people to admire and buy, and she often revisits her own floral works. One example she shows us is a bouquet she recently made. The centrepiece is a blue hydrangea, which is accompanied by dainty chrysanthemums and eucalyptus leaves.
“To be honest, the bouquets I made two years ago weren’t pretty at all,” she admits. She is grateful to the local regulars who keep giving her opportunities to practise. She has learned the importance of understanding the intentions of those sending flowers and the preferences of the recipients, as she can then choose what she believes are the most suitable flowers and colours. Birthday arrangements should feature bright, vibrant hues, and white flowers are best avoided for older recipients, she says.
Practice makes perfect. Colie is now satisfied with her creations and has even developed a small following. One male customer, for example, buys Colie’s bouquets for his boss because “my boss said your arrangements are gorgeous.”
As she reflects, when we put genuine care and thought into what we do, someone out there is bound to notice and appreciate it.
In Hong Kong, buildings that have been around for a few years may suddenly get torn down and new ones spring up. Yet urban landscapes are formed not only by buildings, but also by the local residents.
Inside Gloriosa, blooming pink and half-open white lilies occupy the prominent spots. They are reminiscent of the narrow old lanes of Sheung Wan, where there is just so much to see and admire.
[1] Yesi (2022), “都市文化．香港文學．文化評論”, 香港文學@文化研究 (Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 2002年, p. 377.
