Take a seat, maybe one at Eaton HK, and tune in to our interview with Katherine Lo about the hotel’s vision, inspiration, and representation in the community.
Here at Honeycombers, we often highlight the success of women, from dancer, model, and engineer, Anisha Thai; to photographer Camilla Warburton celebrating body positivity; to Tiana Ludhani, the co-founder of The Daily Tot raising awareness of breast cancer. So we sat down with founder Katherine Lo to chat about the transformation and vision of Eaton.
Meet Katherine Lo, the founder of Eaton Workshop
Hi Katherine! Tell us a little bit about the purpose and mission of Eaton Workshop.
I’ve always been involved in the humanities and arts, even when I was younger. In 2014, my father encouraged me to start an innovative hotel brand to reflect the needs of the changing world. I thought this was a wonderful opportunity to use the resources of the hospitality company and guide it towards a better world. As part of the Great Eagle Group, Eaton has evolved over the years and we’ve arrived at a place where we use the hospitality platform to provide the best conditions for people to be their best selves. Our mission is to transform the hospitality industry so that it can foster creativity, as well as create social and environmental impact.
Eaton has a very distinctive aesthetic, how does this aesthetic reflect the mission and vice versa? How have you incorporated a focus on wellness?
We wanted to take a very personalised and customised approach to the history and culture of the location of the hotel. For Eaton HK, it’s located in the Jordan neighbourhood where Wong Kar-wai filmed a lot of his iconic scenes in the 90’s, and we used his films as an aesthetic guide. The location is reflected in the hotels’ textures, tiles, and colours, and it turned out to be something very special.
We also respect life before technology, and so our style is also influenced by retro and nostalgic motifs. Our artwork also highlights emerging and powerful local artists to showcase the local community and culture.
Eaton recently held The Women’s Festival. What was different this year?
A little backstory; before we opened Eaton HK and Eaton DC, we held a listening session where we invited several members of different communities— from environmental conservation, to filmmaking, independent music and more. And we met Vera Lui of Sally’s Toys – she’s one of the co-founders of the Women’s Festival – and it was at that listening session where we came up with the idea of Eaton hosting the festival every year. Since then, Vera and Chantal Wong, and Sonia from Reel Women Hong Kong have been organising the programmes the last four years.
Both last year’s festival and this year’s festival were held during COVID-19 and one of the main themes this year was centred around self-care. Our programmes revolved around helping people cope with these uncertain times. I personally loved “Rereading mythologies from a feminist perspective” and “Being Mortal: How to live a good life till the end”; they brought a deeper reflection and purpose. The whole festival was special for people to be able to gather in these tough times.
How do you build a community of purpose-driven people at Eaton?
I think it’s very important for Eaton to have authentic relationships with our local communities, be it artists, non-profit organisations, or others who align with our ethos. I have developed a team called Pillars, which includes dedicated team members working on art and culture, music and radio, and social and environmental impact. They are the ones building relationships with local talent and organisations to host workshops, events, and more. For example, we held an online film festival last December, of which I’m really proud. It was called “Another World is Possible ” where we screened 12 short films and had panels with different filmmakers about different themes.
Eaton is very forward-thinking about social issues like equal rights for women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and marginalised groups. What role does Eaton play in raising awareness of these issues in Hong Kong?
We dedicate a lot of our resources to cultural programming and building partnerships with local artists and emerging members of the community. For example, we held the “Harmony Show,” which is a refugee-curated social enterprise to raise awareness about refugees. Another initiative we recently did was “Access Reach” which celebrates the members of the LGBTQ+ community through the lens of those who have disabilities or non-typical body types.
We also have Eaton House, which is a co-working space, where people working with marginalised groups are able to work together and build their own community together.
What tips do you have for ambitious female entrepreneurs in Hong Kong to help them navigate Hong Kong’s more traditional business community?
I think remaining fully committed to your vision of your endeavour or project will give you the strength to rise up through different challenges. What also helps me is the concept of yin and yang. For females, it’s not just about being the “yang”, meaning being aggressive and taking the masculine approach. It’s also taking into account how the more fluid and female approach can get things done. Ultimately, I think it’s a balance of both that can be very effective.
The Hong Kong and Washington DC locations share a mission but serve two very different communities. How are the two locations similar, and how are they different? What is unique about each Eaton community?
Eaton HK and Eaton DC are very different and it’s been interesting to open the Eaton concept in such different cities across the world. The value remains the same: inclusivity, integrity, and imagination. As an example, we have gender-neutral toilets in both locations and we’ve received many moving stories in response. Despite the cities’ differences, Eaton is known as an inclusive space in both, where people feel safe and at-home.
What future projects are you working on at Eaton Workshop?
One of our big projects is creating an archive. It will include more videos about Eaton and interviews featuring the communities we’ve worked with to document them to share with the world.
As for Eaton DC, we’re currently working with different organisations to help the Afghani refugees.
Lastly, which part of Eaton is your favourite and would say reflects your personality the most?
I think it has to be the radio. It’s something I’ve put at the centre of both hotels and I really believe in community radio that serves as a medium to build the community and also share each others’ stories, which Eaton is all about. I’m really proud of what my radio teams have created in both cities.
I started dreaming about this concept so many years ago and seeing it come to life has been very powerful. Watching ideas turn into reality and have an impact on the people in the community and the city is like Eaton is alive with a force of its own.
