News about furniture China, Beijing antique shopping, Gao Bei Dian, Lily's Antiques and Hualun Jia Ju, Lily's Living and the Museum collection

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The latest news :

20110701	Group visit to Lily's Factory ! Inscribe NOW! mail: fred@lilysantiques.com next tour: English on Sat. July 30th, Chinese: Sat. August 6th Regularly big or small buyers visit our factory, mainly because they want to check out the stock in the 10 000 sq.m. warehouse, but at the same time they have a look at how the furniture is made. Now we will coordinate those visits by organizing monthly organized visits to our factory and "behind the scenes". Don't miss it, its for FREE! All details can be read here : factory tour .
20110806	Next Streetfair : August 6th ! !! Chinese Valentine's Day Already put it in your agenda!!! On that Saturday you should make time for your beloved. We will help you, and invite you to have a walk on the streetfair, admire some special love seats, drink some "aphrodisiac" tea, have a rest in our courtyard, etc ... You'll be updated soon!!
20110708	(again) Work in Progress As you know our shop is in continues movement. Last month courtyard was renewed, the month before the Museum refurbished, etc ... This month we're working on a new stairs from the second to the third floor. This brings some inconveniences, like noise and dust ... we apologize for that. But it will lead to a more attractive store! On the third floor you will find besides out Museum: outdoor furniture and the DIY school.
20110525	Lily's Personal Bog Lily has writing ambitions. In the close up interview with her, she said "One day I will write a book about furniture, business, China." Well you can get a feel of how it will be like here : http://blog.sina.com.cn/lilysantiques (English and Chinese) We look forward to reading your comments!!

"old" news :

20110606	STREETFAIR:Dragonboat Festival SEE PHOTO's and read the report here : dragonboat report To the occasion of the “Dragonboat Festival” or "Duan Wu Jie" the Gao Bei Dian community organizes a yearly street fair at the Classical Furniture Furniture Street. See full details on the flyer underneath, and do not hesitate to contact us for further information! Come with family and friends, to spend a nice afternoon strolling the furniture street, playing traditional games, making and eating zongzi, ... en enjoy the sunshine. All details can be found here : dragonboat
20110525	Renewed courtyard Our courtyard was surrounded by scaffoldings for more than a month … This was needed to reach the beams of the roof that have been painted in the traditional Chinese way. And at the same time the whole courtyard got redone with fresh flowers and trees. Now our visitors enjoy the drinks from Lily’s Café in one of Beijing’s nicest 2 storey courtyards… and relax. Find out more about it here : traditional Chinese paintings on beams.
20110519	Report of the Museum Opening party of May 8th Those who've missed it were wrong! It was a great evening with laughter and fun, information and networking, wine and food. We've taken plenty of photo's, you can check for a report on this page: report opening party
20110517	Close Up interview with Lily in City Weekend Home&Office The media keeps showing a growing interest in the GaoBeiDian area, and more specifically the project of Lily's Antiques flagship store. But this time they focus on the person behind the company. In a close up interview with our wonderful CEO, Mrs. Quan Lily, you can read about how she made it in this though men's world and what are her important things in life. If you were not able to grab an issue on the street, then you can read it on this page : Close Up interview City Weekend.
20110513	Educational Visit to customer's home As part of the training of our salesteam, we paid a visit to one of our old customer's home. This beautiful interior could be mentioned in any interior design magazine! Read all about it here : beijing_home_interior
20110505	New items : inlay bone , Egyptian style. Quite special, this collection. It's a technique that is used in the North of Africa. Small pieces of bone are cut to a rectangular or other psecific shape and then glued one by one on the surfaces of pots and accessories, or even on large furniture like this table and chairs. Beautiful white, with black patterns. We call it our "Egypt collection"... we also have the golden farao statues! New container of Brazilian style reclaimed colourful wood. This is a series we had before, and was so successful that we immediately ordered another 2 containers ... now, they've arrived! Colonial style, it has a very appealing used look with remains of blue paint. This collection is super fashionable!
20110508	Official Opening of Lily's Museum Collection The whole weekend around May 7th will have special actions for the opening of our rooftop museum. There will be workshops and demonstrations running all the time. In the evening of May 8th we will hold an exclusive party, we would like to welcome all of our friends, partners and customers. But as this remains an exclusive event, we ask you to register ahead, or fill in the RSVP. Do not hesitate to contact is for more information. You can read all about it and get invitations here : Antiques Museum Beijing Also free DIY courses on that sunday! be quick to book .
20110501	May 1st streetfair You will be updated soon (newsletter), but book it already in your agenda! In the long weekend around May 1st, Gao Bei Dian will be holding the first of it’s 4 major streetfairs this year. Pedestrians only street, extra sales, extra market, etc... For an overview of all streetfairs, please check here : gaobeidian streetfair If you would like to participate, contact us!
20110315	D&M Depot Hualun has partnered up with Belgian supplier D&M, a market leader in Europe for all modern pottery and tableware. “From Clay to Art”, “Concept to Design”. The most creative Belgian minds provide you a stylish return to the essence of things. Pure materials and natural feels. This collection is a nice addition to our Lily’s Living department, matches perfectly to our BLISS collection. Check out the full page here : D&M Depot China
20110310	“Work in progress” Our courtyard is surrounded by scaffoldings … This is needed to reach the beams of the roof that are being painted in the traditional Chinese way (read more about it here). At the same time the whole courtyard gets a fresh layer of paint and we’ve planted some new trees which are now blossoming. So, by the end of the month, you’ll be able to enjoy the drinks from Lily’s Café in one of Beijing’s nicest 2 storey courtyards… and relax. Find out more about it here : traditional Chinese paintings on beams.
20110218	Extended sales 10 to 50% discount on Indonesia deco and some other imported furniture. That is excluding the the mandatory discounts of 5, 10 and 12%!! Also other items in sales, as we're cleaning up the stock, to bring you more fresh items in 2011! Grab the opportunities, visit our store now. More information here : spring sales .
20101215	Classes of Traditional Chinese Crafts Learn together with the local villagers the skills of flier making, clay sculpting, calligraphy, etc … Every weekend another theme. Fun for young and old, while learning the tales and traditions of ancient China. When?: every weekend, from 25 Dec. onwards (need to book ahead) Location : Lily's Showroom 3rd floor Contact Ivy from the local tourist office : ivyhaozhy@hotmail.com , phone: 13651348956. http://www.gaobeidian.com.cn/gaobeidian/ All info here : Chinese craft courses
20110223	Lily's partners up with Belita Jewelry. A nice addition to our store, the original jewelry from Belita. If you've missed the opening party of her first store in Beijing, in Salitun bar street, then don't worry, Belita will soon be all over Beijing. We've planned a next fashion show in our store for April. The same discounts as on the furniture of 5 and 10% are valid on the jewelry.
20110210	Lily's in the media : Radio interview and report about Gao Bei Dian. Jules Page, Beijing's most interesting radio reporter, cam to Gao Bei Dian for a report. She interviewed several store owners and also Fred from Lily's Antiques. You can listen to the full interview here : http://english.cri.cn/8706/2011/02/10/2661s620036.htm If you haven't heard of CRI, it's surely worth checking it out. The broadcast programs internationally but also locally like through EasyFM 91.5 and AM774.
20110202	Shop stays OPEN during Springfestival Holidays Although most of the staff is going back to their hometown to celebrate Chinese newyear, we managed to keep the minimum here to open the store every day from 10.30 am to 6 pm.
20110203	Xin Nian Kuaile!!! The whole team wishes you a happy year of the rabbit! Check our our special Spring festival newsletter by clicking here.
20110119	in the media : Lily's Antiques store has again been selected for an article in one of the major Chinese interior design magazine. The january/february issue of Trend Home magazine documents on the new trends for 2011. You can find several photo's from inside our showroom. The website of the magazine is : http://t.sina.com.cn/realhome119 Check out the full article here : trendshome_lilys
20110118	Indian silver decoration and tableware Exclusive for Beijing, Lily's Living is presenting a magnificent collection of big and small silver items. From chandeliers, over hanging lamps to huge pots of 150 cm high! This is the new fashion! And the best thing about it: prices are very reasonable.
20110115	The factory will be on holiday from January 15th till February 20 (Chinese Newyear is on February 3rd 2011) This will affect the production time of non-stock items.
20110108	Sales: WINTER stock clearance After the yearly inventory check in January, we find some items that can be put in sales. Gradually we're adding those to our sales corner where they get a green dot for 10% discount, and yellow dot for 20% discount. You still have the right to our other reductions of 5% and 10% if you buy respectively more than 5000 and 10 000 RMB on the same invoice. MORE ! For the Springfestival we've added some extra sales with discounts up to 50%!
20110123	Temple fair at BCIS Have you seen us at the temple fair in the Beijing International School? This great event is organized yearly for mainly the kids and the parents. It's a huge fair, with plenty of arts and crafts fun for the kids. The earnings go to a charity. To know more about it check out the BCIS website, or check here : City Weekend about Temple Fair
20110103	Best employee's of 2010 elected Every year the staff can vote for whom they believe was the best performing employee of the past year. After counting the votes, these are the (not as a surprise) winners: - Best worker (bonus 1000 RMB) : Fang Xian Jing, stock manager at the factory. He's spotless in his accuracy for organizing the stock, no items get lost, no mistakes in the numbers. He also is responsible for packing and loading of containers to abroad. Fang (Mo Ya as he's called here) has been with us since several years, it's the second time he wins this price. - Best Newcomer (budget of 5000 RMB to go travelling) : Xiao Liu, stock manager and handy man at the Gao Bei Dian store. Xiao Liu is praised for his hard work. Fred, our foreign manager, says he's one of the few Chinese staff whom "sees work", meaning he doesn't need to be told what to do. His computer skills were close to zero when he arrived, but he learned how to use our ERP system quite good. Good temper, and loved by everyone. We're sure he's here to stay for a long time! - Best manager (bonus 1000 RMB) : Patty, shopmanager at the Gao Bei Dian store. She's been with us for over 5 years, and has previously mainly work as account manager for export. Intelligent and hard worker. Efficient and always happy. Big knowledge of furniture, administration, management. And last but not least, she knows how to stand strong as a woman in the "men's world". She grew out to be the right hand of Lily. There was not much doubt that she would, for the second tie in row, win this price.
20101224	New collection of the extremely popular Indian textiles. A colorful mixture of poufs, bedspreads, pillows, etc ... Bring some color into your home!
20101218	Interview in AGENDA BEIJING with Lily's Marketing Manager Derbaudrenghien Frederic, Belgian, has been working over one year at Lily's Antiques. In this interview you'll get to know more about him and his vision on the interior design market in Beijing, the development of Gao Bei Dian and the value of antiques. Read it online here : Interview Frederic or go to the website of the magazine : www.agendabeijing.com you can download the PDF version there!
20110104	Shop will be closed Tuesday January 4th for inventory check. Only urgent deliveries will be handled. Sorry for the inconvenience!
20101130	Coffee corner changed, chance to test our magnificent leather sofa range. Surely when it's freezing outside, visitors of Gao Bei Dian like to nestle down in one of our comfortable sofa's while zipping a 20 kuai fresh expresso coffee!!
20101120	new arrival: Modern Sheesham furniture Sheesham is a variety of teak wood, sometimes mistakenly called Indian Rosewood as it is not as valuable, but surely almost as heavy. It grows in South East Asia. We've imported a collection of modern style livingroom furniture. Chinese often feel this look is to rough, but this furniture is very fashionable in Europe these days. The simple forms make them fit in many interiors, and the warm touch of the raw wood brings some nature in the house.
20101115	new arrival: More containers of Indian furniture This time we've got some different styles, more hand painted furniture, more colorful. It's hot in the US and EU, and brings some variety to your interior. Check out those great poufs with a patchwork upholstery!
20101108	Li Jianyu : master in Martial arts and calligraphy GaoBeiDian is organizing kung fu classes with a legend of the art. Master Li Jianyu, already past his 80's but still amazingly flexible and strong. He was a pupil of some of the greatest master ever in Martial Arts, has travelled all over the world, and now comes back to his roots in Beijing, to give classes in Gao Bei Dian, organized through the local tourist office. To read more about Li JianYu, click here. For more info, please contact Ivy Hao : ivyhaozhy@hotmail.com , phone: 13651348956.
20101101	Our new staff is welcomed and trained Most of our people have been working with Hulaun since many years. And although we try to have our staff develop their careers in our different departments, sometimes they feel the need to move ahead to some fresh challenges (or family "expansion"))). So we need "new recruits". In the past 3 months, we've welcomed Ken (the first sales BOY), Linda (our favorite mishu), Nancy (mandarin specialist), Lulu (pottery designer) and Emily (knows some words of French). All those young people share a passion for furniture and design, and are give a professional training to improve skills in language, service, antiques knowledge, wood understanding, etc ... You can check out more details about this training day here.
20101010	Exposition about woodcarvings at antique bed entrances "uncover the secret, explore the Chinese dream" The GaBeiDian government has chosen Lily's Museum in Beijing to present this unique collection of carvings. A famous collector exposes a set of carvings that once decorated the entrances of the classic Chinese beds (like small houses almost). The very valuable pieces have been framed and an extensive story added which explain the visitor a lot about Chinese history of 400 years ago, about the tails gods and guards, as well as a surprising twist at the of the exposition showing similar carving made during the communist times (same tales, but communist figures waving Mao's Red Book...) Don't miss the chance to visit this event in our rooftop museum! For more information and photo's click here.
20101001	New line of accessories imported from Indonesia. We felt these accessories bring a creativity unseen in China and at relatively low prices! More colors, more curves, more design, ... Modern wooden statues, decorative lamps of recycled wood, design pots and vases, ... hundreds of products for you to explore. For photo's, please check out our album here, or check the IMPORTS section.
20100914	China Furniture 2010 in Shanghai EXPO. Hualun had a great time! have a look here ...
20100901	New big streetfair in Gao Bei Dian, date confirmed! September 18th 2010. MID AUTUMN Street Fair!! Click on the flyer here on the right side for all details. You can also still participate, just contact dirk@lilysantiques.com . You play music? Dance? Want to sell some goods? Charity's? ... all are more than welcome! Gao Bei Dian will be holding similar event 4 to 5 times per years, and wants it to become a "not-to-miss event".
20100815	Lily in the media! There's an interview with Quan Lily, CEO of Hualun, in the City Weekend Beijing, issue of July 15th p.68.
20100815	Gao Bei Dian working hard to attract more visitors! Since this weekend, the Gao Bei Dian government has decided to close the street for cars every Saturday and Sunday. Shops will put their special items on the street, artists and street vendors will bring extra entertainment. This follows the success of the previous streetfair. A next big streetfair is planned for September 18th! Put it in your agenda! There's going to be music and dance, special food en workshops! Yes we want YOU to enjoy a great time at GaoBeiDian instead of other uninteresting shopping centers. It hurts to see Chinese families seeking entertainment in some Swedish blue box. GBD has a lot more to offer! Recently Gao Bei Dian has also built a huge parking lot. For people and families coming by car this is a blessing. Click here for a map.
20100808	New collection of Indian furniture arrived. Following the big success of our first Indian furniture, we've now extended the selection with more items of styles. Imported straight from Rajasthan, furniture capital in India. Brass elements, real antique parts, antique doors, etc ... The common woodtypes are babool (acacia arabica), shisham (rosewood) or aam (mango). Check out this magnificent shelf made from the cars pulled by elephants, this is a massive piece, over 100 KGS. Made in India, but from reclaimed wood from Brazil. This collection, was already love at first sight for several of our visitors. Colonial style, it has a very appealing used look with remains of blue paint. This collection is super fashionable!
20100725	VIP and fidelity buyers card (click here), which entitles big buyers up to 12% discount! You will soon be informed in detail.
20100717	New carpet and rugs room opened. Due to the big success in sales of our Tibetan carpets, followed by Indian Carpets, ... we have now, simultaneous with the arrival of carpets from Afghanistan, set up a very useful carpet rack. Slide the carpets from left to right till you find the one that fits your interior! You know now where you have to be to buy carpet s in Beijing! To read more about our rugs and carpets click here.
20100712	New collection of sofa's has arrived. We, as well as our customer have been very satisfied with the quality of "Domus Concept", Italian quality sofa's made in China - Beijing. So we continue our cooperation and have now in our showroom new samples. Do not buy a sofa in Beijing without taking a look at this! Full catalog available in the store with at least 30 models each in 10 sizes, choose your fabric and color. Order time = about 2 weeks.
20100705	Over 3000 photo's of Lily's Furniture Do you know that you can see over 3000 photo's of classic chinese furniture and many other items produced in our factory? Go to have a look at our album on www.lilysantiques.com/output
20100703	Lily's Blog is being set up... have a sneak peak at www.lilysantiques.com/blog
20100623	REPORT „Duan Wu Jie“ GaoBeiDian Street Fair The first Gao Bei Dian Streetfestival was a success... and "it tastes like more" say the shopowners. The next event is likely to be held somewhere beginning of September, you'll be informed as it will bea much larger scale event than this first one. Take a look here to see some photo's of the Duan Wu Jie festival at Gao Bei Dian.
20100616	„Duan Wu Jie“ GaoBeiDian Street Fair Come and experience the festival! To the occasion of the “Dragonboat Festival”, the Gao Bei Dian community is organizing a street fair at the GaoBeiDian Furniture Street. It will be a day full of entertainment for young and old with a lot to see and enjoyment: sales, demonstrations, animations for kids, workshops, ... All information to be read on : http://www.lilysantiques.com/gaobeidianfurniturefair/ Or many other sites : http://www.thebeijinger.com/events/2010/May/Gao-Bei-Dian-Duan-Wu-Jie-Street-Fair
20100525	Every Saturday Free Barbeque in our Courtyard !!! (stopped) It started with some staff hanging around after work and grilling some meat on a self made barbeque... and some late-hour customers joined, stayed, drunk some wine, and it became a memorable evening. So since then we've decided to do this over every weekend. We invite all customers, friends and staff to join our barbeque. We start at about 5.30 pm, in our central courtyard. Feel free to join! Though if you are a big eater or you have some special request, then pop us an email, so we can get some extra meat ))
20100301	New Logo's launched Mei Li Hualun Jia Ju, is the company started over 10 years ago ... but it got, mainly with expats, famous under it's English name "Lily's Antiques". To avoid confusion between the logo of Hualun and the name Lily's Antiques, we have created the new logo and following that step came the new department logo's If you want to know more about the logo, it's meaning, and the why and what of the different departments, surf to : logos
	where to buy your furniture in Beijing?