Contribute to society with paper art
There are a large number of sheltered workshops in Hong Kong, which have been providing work skills training to persons with disabilities to help them develop their social and economic potential. Due to the limited understanding of the members in sheltered workshops, commercial organizations generally only outsource some low-skilled packaging work to the disabled. However, these dull and repetitive tasks may not meet the long-term physical and mental development needs of these members.
It is not easy to consider commercial interests and social responsibility at the same time. The designer of Hong Kong paper art brand POSTalk and FingerART Mr. Joe Wong, since the establishment of the brands, hopes to give back to the society with paper art creation, so he came up with the idea of cooperating with the shelter work. Joe designs products and the production is assisted by sheltered workshops. For sheltered workshop members who are used to simple packaging work, it is indeed a challenging job to encounter these delicate paper products for the first time. At the beginning, the product wastage rate was very high, but Joe did not give up the idea of cooperation. Instead, Joe incorporated a "work-friendly" design policy in the product development stage, taking the production capacity and needs of the disabled as one of the considerations. He introduces safe, clear, and easy-to-assemble designs for every part of the product, and provides proper guidance and exclusive utensils during the production process to minimize the difficulties people with disabilities encounter when making products. By developing special paper art products that meet commercial considerations and taking into account the production capacity of people with disabilities, the brands POSTalk and FingerART promote the core social value of diversity and equal opportunities.
Joe Wong is both a brand designer and a paper artist. Having cooperated with Sheltered Workshop for more than ten years, in addition to his own brand products, Joe will also assist the members to create their own works and explore their artistic potential. Eco-friendly paper bricks are handicraft works designed by Joe according to the students' abilities. By providing technical and creative skills support, the Sheltered workshop members use waste paper to process paper art creations with Hong Kong characteristics. The works are sold at their own stores, allowing the public to have the opportunity to understand the talents of people with disabilities and enriches their life experience.
Joe expressed his hope that through this innovative business model, the public can have a deeper understanding and acceptance of people with disabilities. And understand that with proper support, people with disabilities can have working abilities that are close to or even surpass those of normal people. They are also one of Hong Kong's capable and skilled productive forces, who can make greater social contributions to Hong Kong and promote Hong Kong's core values of diversity and inclusion. In the process of participating, Joe hope to assist the physical and mental development of the disabled, and at the same time enhance their self-confidence and skills.