AMY’S STORY

The name of the very first EVERYDAY PEOPLE I created  is Amy Yang from Seattle. Amy was born in Hong Kong  but left with her brother and their parents when Mainland China took over Hong Kong in 2000. Amy’s Dad worked for HP and he was granted a transfer to Seattle office, so they were very lucky they could move.

Amy was 19 when the Yangs left Hong Kong and her brother 15. She wore a uniform to school til she was 17. Women from Hong Kong followed European fashion and Amy was no exception.She and her girlfriends went out together as a group. Dating was frowned on unless the family knew the man’s family. There were many dance clubs where everyone met.

Life was very different for her family in the US because they had no servants  and city wasn’t  as densely populated as Hong Kong. Fortunately they spoke English but with a British accent, so they could communicate.

They lived in an area with other Chinese people called the International District. Her brother went to high school and Amy tried to get a job in  dept store. She was a pretty girl and fashionable. Life was very different here for young women because they were allowed to date, drive a car, and even start a business. Amy wanted to do all three, so she set out to get a day job, so she could work on designing clothes at night. In Hong Kong there were seamstresses and tailors who could make an outfit in a few hours or overnight.There were a few seamstresses in the ID but they expected to be paid more money than in HK. When she got a job at Fredrick and Nelson, she wore her beautiful dresses and soon was getting many compliments on them.She wisely didn’t choose the beautiful silks as women wore in HK but pretty cottons and even wool for the winter. The women buyers at Fredricks took notice and also ordered from her. She had to work long hours but finally made a few friends and actually was able to go out at night.

There were fewer Chinese living in Seattle because after they came and built the railroads, they were told to leave town in 1899. Many returned to China or moved east. Amy’s family experienced some racial bias. Many Vietnamese immigrated as refugees after the war ended in the early 70’s, followed by Thais, Cambodians, Laotians etc.

Life now in in 2010 was way different than in Hong Kong.She knew more people, made friends and she continue to have her own dress making business which had expanded to selling through the PNW. Amy’s vision was to sell to Nordstroms which had expanded across the west.

Size
8x8

Material
Wooden board, canvas, paper, acrylic paint, up-cycled thread, fabric, sequins, and archival glue

Expect to see more as this collection grows!