From His Ties To Her Bags

Old neckties are getting a second life after being transformed into bags with colourful depictions of the Star Ferry, trams and other Hong Kong icons by mothers from low-income families.

Ling Poon, who is working with social enterprise Les Beatitudes, is one of these "sewing mums" who upcycle used ties into bags.

"We wash the ties that have been collected, iron them and use them to make purses. We use the odd bits to make collages."

She has been with Les Beatitudes since 2015 and said the job has helped her bounce back from hard times.

"I was fired three years ago and had no income. I am so glad I found Les Beatitudes. Now I can work and take care of my family."

She said her husband did not support her work at the beginning but changed his mind after a purse she made was used by Chief Executive Carrie Lam.

Building ties

Les Beatitudes collects neckties from offices and provides materials and training for the sewing mums who can earn several hundred dollars for each bag they make.

It was founded in 2014 by bank executive Margaret Leung, who wanted to connect different groups to address social issues and to support the underprivileged.

She also wanted to provide mothers an opportunity to work at home, making it easier to care for their children.

"At that time many people said 'how can we rebuild the ties for Hong Kong?' And this word 'ties' keeps popping up in every media newspaper.

"I thought I should engage the men too. Let's bring the ties in. So I used the neckties to build ties as our first slogan."

Local flavor

Ms Leung's designer friends incorporated elements of Hong Kong's history and everyday scenes in the design of the bags and purses. The mothers, many of whom are Mainland migrants, make the bags according to the designs.

She also asked the sewing mums to sign their creations the way artists would with their works and said the practice was empowering for them.

Some sewing mums have also gotten to know Hong Kong better by working at Les Beatitudes.

"We use ties to make a collage of trams on the bags. One time I told Ms Leung that I never rode on the tram," said Susan Chi, another sewing mum.

"She was surprised and organised a tram tour for us afterwards. She also took us to the airport and to parks. We felt very happy. I was shy and not outgoing before. I've changed a lot and made a lot of friends through these activities."

The sewing mums' unique creations will be showcased at upcoming shows in Sham Shui Po, Wong Tai Sin and Tin Shui Wai.