Introduction

Following months of planning, arrays of costume designs, and materials meticulously handpicked by Christy, the founder herself, BAAGUS proudly presents its new series – Dance with Curtain. We cordially invite you to join us on an atmospheric journey, where we discover the wonderful match of curtain and fashion through the eyes of Christy Wong – the founder and Art Director of BAAGUS.

Twelve unique sets of surprises will be unveiled every Tuesday, where Christy reveals her tremendous self-designed curtains with unique pairings and the distinctive home aesthetic value each of them brings.

We had the pleasure to connect with Christy throughout the course of this series and did an in-depth interview to capture her thoughts and insights of her work and life. In this final chapter of BAAGUS Dance with Curtain series – [The Life of an Artist], we will take you behind the scenes to explore the authentic journey of an artist, an entrepreneur, and a lady with class named Christy.

How it all started

We arrived at Christy’s house as she gets ready with a stylist on the interview day. Her house looked completely different from the mess it was two days ago during our photoshoot – Every corner cleaned and every item sitting at where they should be, including the newly added decorations. Christy approached slowly to the glass room not long after we settled, greeting us in her self-designed costume, subtle makeup, classy ponytail, and her signature smile. Her charisma and pursuit of beauty revealed through our conversations gave away easily that her career has close ties with art.

Christy holds dearly to the notion of beauty in her life. She has never stopped pursuing beauty throughout the 30 years of her career. She seems to be gifted with aesthetic appreciation and the person who shapes her to becoming who she is today is her mother. Christy’s mother is a brilliant tailor and her children, including Christy, grew up wearing clothes made by her. Every Chinese New Year, the siblings get to put on non-repetitive costumes specially customized for each and every of them. Christy’s mother pays great attention to grooming that even in her 90s she will still sit in front of the mirror applying face cream and brushing her hair. All these persistence towards the pursuit of beauty slowly and deeply influences Christy as she matures.

Instead of describing Christy’s entrance to the curtains industry a coincidence, it’s safe to say that Christy’s mother enriches her with the talent to soar and perform freely in this realm.

The Climb

Year 1993 is a special year to Christy – This is the year she ended her clothing business and took over a curtain store with her husband. Since then, BAAGUS was officially established. From ground zero to having a place in the industry, the process of starting a business is never easy. Today, Christy chooses to count her blessings by rewinding on the fond memories and achievements instead of the pain and the sweat. If Christy were to describe how she got through all the obstacles throughout her entrepreneurial journey, it will be the grit and persistence she possesses.

Christy has never gone easy with the quality of her curtains. Instead of rushing to please the market, Christy chooses to position the brand firm and steadily. Unlike conventional curtains production, Christy focuses on creating curtains with both quality and beauty – That is how BAAGUS manages to stand firmly in the market.

There is an old rule in BAAGUS – If there is any quality concern raised by the customer, BAAGUS will replace it with a brand new set of curtain immediately. Christy believes that one cannot be too stingy in doing business and solving customer’s concerns should always be the priority. To Christy, the act of replacing a new curtain does not cost much, instead it wins the company a learning opportunity – Only when mistake is corrected immediately that a company can continue to improve and progress.

Christy gets to taste the fruit of fame as time passes, but she knows that what truly matters is to balance fame with true capability without being carried away. Instead of raising sales through multi advertisement channels, she chooses to optimize design thinking to improve her product creation and sales model. She had personally selected 500 styles out of thousands of colors for the BAAGUS brand to ease their salesperson when recommending the best matching colors to customers. Through this, the sales volume follows.

Christy can be the most earnest and patient person in the room. Long term benefits will always attract her better than the low-hanging fruits. Unlike sparrow, she resonates more to the hawk that longs for the infinite sky, soaring freely and highly without shackles, seeking for greater height and pride.

Going beyond boundaries

Christy in her 20s added a new role as a mother. She welcomed her first child not long after she started BAAGUS.  7 years later, she gave birth to her second child in the midst of the company’s busiest rising period. Looking back now, that wasn’t an easy decision to make either.

Back in the 80s and 90s, working women didn’t have the privilege to experience certain perks and benefits as today. The society’s acceptance towards working women was not as open and many took advantage of the traditional patriarchal thinking to tease working women on their commitment towards own family. We threw the same question to Christy, trying to learn how she managed through all those talks and perceptions.

“I don’t think I’ve ever got drowned in the discourse of perceptions. I was just doing what I believe is the right thing to do. If there’s a solution, then it’s not a big deal to me.” No complication and hesitation, all things in life seem to just flow and settle gracefully.

“My love language revolves around making sure they grow up healthy physically and mentally. I provide adequate resources to support what they wish to do. People have always said that companion is the best thing we parents could offer as our kids grow, but looking back now that my kids are all grown up with minds of their own, my thoughts have also changed and affirmed throughout the years; I think the most learning I provided was to teach by example. Uphold your standards and do your work well, the children will naturally learn these values from you then.”

Juggling between work and family, Christy never stops exploring in her parenting journey. Christy understands deep down that there’s no standard answer and the best parenting style is the one that suits the family best.

“Though I’m not the one sending or picking them up from school, nor the one cooking them meals, that doesn’t mean we are not close. In fact, I make sure my kids and I communicate frequently, we often share about our views towards work and life, and that probably bond us even better than some other families.”

Through the confident rays in her eyes, you can tell that she is a lady who follows no absolutism, conforms to no old school methods, and manages all obstacles faced by a working woman with class and grace.

“Being a woman in the entrepreneur world is never easy – We may be a little more emotionally sensitive, and that means more tears might be involved in this process; but starting a business means you don’t have a lot of extra time to spare. If really can’t contain, then let loose and cry all night, then get up and reset for work again the next day. I’m not sure if it’s a matter of personality, but I’m quite a jolly person and can always adjust my emotions quickly. I’ll consider this a blessing.” Self-regulating emotions is no doubt one of the wisdoms of life nowadays.

Keeping it simple, keeping it brave. Focusing on doing the right thing at the right time without over-worrying – This is probably how Christy develops her wisdom in life unintentionally.

You are enough

Christy has a strong curiosity since young. When she was a blooming teenager, she wondered whether she will become a brilliant tailor and fashion designer; when she completed her studies, she wondered if she could manage a fashion store on her own; when the owner of the curtain store downstairs announced on the selling of the store, she wondered if she could make curtains fashionable; when she entered the curtain industry, she wondered if the company could become a brand; when she became a capable designer, she wondered if she should learn about management and be an entrepreneur; when company starts bringing in results, she wondered if the company could also open a hundred stores like some others. Every year end, she will drop her work on hand and review on her progress throughout the year, then wonder if she will do even better next year than this year…

“I don’t really have any big ambitions, I was just curious about what kind of results can my capabilities bring. I do all things for myself. Life is short, aren’t you curious about what your potential is in this 10 plus years of life? To me, exploring through life is an interesting task and I’m very excited about it. Hence I am on a journey to fulfill my curiosity; it’s just as simple as that.”

In effort to fulfill her curiosity, Christy needs to work extra hard. One of the things that Christy prioritizes the most is learning. She has never stopped developing herself over the years. Having been through at least 500 classes and courses of different scales, maintained a reading habit, expanded her horizon through overseas visits, her learning adventure doesn’t end here.

Christy describes herself as a glass of water that will never be filled – Always welcoming more water regardless of her age; but never overflown with pride.

The burning flame of curiosity drives her in her daily hustle, of which she develops a routine of building, breaking through, reset, and rebuild. To Christy, the essence of life revolves around embracing the past at every stage, integrating with what life has to offer now, and reborn.

Dance with Curtains

Christy chose to reset and rebuild in the year of uncertainties. She opted for something they have never done before; a promotional event belongs solely to BAAGUS – The Dance with Curtain series. For this, Christy personally selected thousands of fabrics and created 12 sets of curtains with unique designs and personalities. She even picked up an old hobby of hers to design 12 sets of matching costumes. This is her first time working with a young team of average age below 30 years old. From anxious to comfortable, it’s been a fun ride.

“In the early days, I’ve always believed that the most important thing a business needs to do is to find the right people to do the right thing. You really need bright eyes when it comes to resourcing. It is very important that the team listens and understands one another. The happiest thing about my collaboration with a young team this time round is that I get to experience something beyond my imagination, such as the photoshoot ideas and writing style; all the outputs exceed my expectations and surprise me in a good way. Such chemistry is something I enjoy and will not stop pursuing.”

BAAGUS Dance with Curtain series sparks not just inspirations, but also values worth sharing. To Christy, this series has brought tremendous impact to her and the company’s growth in the long run. She utilizes every bit of inspirations collected in the preparation of the upcoming 3 new branches.  Being able to witness the team complementing one another for a greater purpose is extremely precious to her.

30 years later, Christy still holds dearly to the reasons she started, striving hard to have her customers at BAAGUS believe in one thing – “I made the right choice.”

Postscript

We knew it won’t be an easy task when we said yes to deliver the copywriting and translation services for BAAGUS Dance with Curtain series. After all, having to pen down the many years of hard work and inspirations through 12 chapters can be oversimplifying. Thankfully, with Christy’s patience, the team’s persistence, and simply, the intention to tell stories and share values worth sharing; we believe we’ve delivered what we intended – To showcase the good work of BAAGUS In the curtain industry and to reveal the ups and downs of a female entrepreneur behind its success.

With that, we close the chapter of BAAGUS Dance with Curtain series. We hope you enjoyed reading this series as much as we enjoyed creating it. Thank you and till next time.