June 2016
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East London makers<br />
Photography: Pom Pom Factory<br />
Creating the pom pom dresses hanging display for Merci Paris<br />
Christine Preisig talks to pom pom-maker Karen Hsu at<br />
her East London studio<br />
With their delicate fluffy, almost<br />
evanescent petals, Karen Hsu’s<br />
flower pom poms are like<br />
objects from a fairyland.<br />
They come in all sizes and many<br />
wonderful colours and are<br />
handmade by Karen and her<br />
team at the Pom Pom Factory.<br />
The ornaments are used<br />
for window displays, party<br />
decorations, editorials and<br />
sometimes are even worn as<br />
accessories. They can be bought<br />
individually or assembled<br />
together as an elaborate<br />
installation.<br />
14 LOVEEAST<br />
Karen moved here from Hong<br />
Kong in 2001 to do a foundation<br />
course followed by a degree in<br />
graphic design at Central Saint<br />
Martins. Many years and career<br />
moves later she started working<br />
at the Mercantile clothing shop<br />
in Spitalfields.<br />
In 2010, the owner of the<br />
shop was in urgent need of a<br />
Christmas window display. With<br />
no budget but a lot of white<br />
wrapping paper at her disposal,<br />
Karen came to the rescue<br />
and transformed the window<br />
into a whimsical white flower<br />
scene. Before long, she started<br />
Karen, surrounded by her pom poms
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