臺灣文學虛擬博物館

Freeman Lau, Hong Kong's renowned designer and artist, was born in 1958 in Hong Kong. He graduated from Hong Kong Polytechnic, and was awarded a Diploma in Design in 1979. In 1981, he worked for Hong Kong's design master, Professor Kan Tai-Keung, and they later co-established "Kan and Lau Design Consultants", which is today's "KL&K Design".

Besides design, Mr. Freeman Lau also takes on public art and sculpture creation, and his works are collections in several museums. In recent years, he participated actively in art education and promotion, assuming the role of a leader in non-profit design organizations, including as Vice Chairman of the Board of Hong Kong Design Centre, Consultant of Design Management Institute, Director of Beijing's DSC Design Service Center, etc.

Mr. Freeman Lau won several local and overseas awards in recent years, including: International Bottled Water World Design Awards, Lifetime Design and Art Achievement Award in the 3rd (Jiajun) International Exhibition of Design and Art in China, Gold Medal in Hong Kong Designers Association, etc. Also, he was selected as one of Hong Kong's Ten Outstanding Young Persons in 1997, and was named "Outstanding PolyU Alumni" in 2001. In 2006, he was awarded the Bronze Bauhinia Star by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

[Pawn Shop Series] Since the early days of the development of Hong Kong, there have been numerous pawn shops. Differing from ordinary shops, pawn shops have a hidden and low-profile front door; inside the door is a big hiding board, with an iron grille on top of it, behind which sat a hard-working shopkeeper.

However, such a mysterious shop has a prominent neon sign, a common sight in Hong Kong streets from the 1960s to 1970s, which often appeared in Hong Kong's realist works at that time. As Hong Kong's economy increasingly prospered, pawn business gradually declined, and the pawn shops' signs slowly faded from the streets of Hong Kong.

The theme of "Chair Fun" series is a pawn shop, and the furniture is based on the common folding chairs in Hong Kong at that time. The designer attempted to combine the two rich elements of Hong Kong into a series of furniture. He also cooperated with well-known household product brand, "Profilia of West Germany (Far East) Ltd.", which accompanied Hong Kong families for more than thirty years, to pay tribute to the collective memories of Hong Kong people.