30 Nov 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact: Daniel Au The Quality Group (852) 2222 5678 daniel.au@thequalitygroup.com A Genuine Genius Eddie Poon Greenergy (852) 2123 4567 kcpeddie@greenergy.com A lazy and mischievous youngster becomes a renowned T-shirt designer. It may seem impossible. However, it does happen. Gary Davis, the 26-year-old T-shirt designer has won over 20 T-shirt design competitions since his secondary four. He becomes the youngest winner of the Most Creative T-shirt Design in the International TrendyPopz T-shirt design competition, which is an official contest co-organized by the United Graphic Design Association (UGDA) and H & M Company Limited. Gary, a well-known freelance designer, interviewed with the press after he received the award. Being the youngest winner of this competition, I would like to thank all my supporters especially my mother, my secondary teacher and my wife. You are the three most important people in my life. He said. - 1 -
Regarding the three most important people in Gary s life, he mentioned his mother, Jennifer Taylor first. Perhaps his mother was the first one who changed him. Gary was born in a lower-class family in Hong Kong. His father is a British while his mother is a Chinese. Unfortunately, Gary s father died in a car accident when Gary was only five years old. Miss Taylor, Gary s mother was the breadwinner in the family since his husband passed away. Also, she needed to take care of three children. Their life was really harsh. Four of them packed in a tiny flat which only had 200 square feet. They even cannot afford to buy a computer. I am not well-educated. What I can do is to let my children receive more education. She said. For the past 20 years, Gary knew his mother really had a tough time. Now, he is able to give the best to his mother since he is successful in his career. When Gary was studying in St. Paul s College, Tony Adams, Gary s secondary school teacher knew him very well. Gary is a smart boy but he is a little bit lazy. Mr. Adams said. When Gary was in secondary four, Mr. Adams taught him art and mathematics. At that time, Gary was a lazy and naughty student. Therefore, he ranked 38 out of 40 students in the first semester of secondary four. Although Gary did very poor in academic subjects, Mr. Adams discovered that Gary was good at art work. When art lesson came, I noticed Gary was the most enthusiastic student among the class. Also, his art work was really outstanding. I can assure his work was the best since my career. Mr. Adams said. As Gary was a genius in design, Mr. Adams recommended Gary to participate in the inter-school design competition. Gary devoted a lot of time to the research - 2 -
since he wanted to win the competition. I have never seen Gary is so serious before. Mr. Adams said. Finally, the works from Gary was selected by the adjudicators. This was the first design competition he won. After the competition, Gary learnt to study in earnest and changed his attitude towards studying. His examination result improved remarkably in the second semester of secondary four. Gary had mentioned Mr. Adams in the interview. He said Mr. Adams was definitely one of the most important people that changed him. During his studies, Mr. Adams gave him a lot of support. Without the advice from Mr. Adams, I would probably still be an ill-behaved guy. Gary said. Besides Miss Taylor and Mr. Adams, Gary mentioned another person that supported and accompanied him all the time. She is Sonija Kwok, Miss Hong Kong in 2000. After being elected as Miss Hong Kong, Sonija had participated in a lot of TV dramas such as Healing Hands, Dicey Business etc. Last year, she was elected as The Best Female Actor. Now, she is one of the most popular actors in TVB. In Gary s speech, he disclosed how the relationship between him and Sonija developed. He said he first met Sonija at a common friend s birthday party. She is a little bit shy at that day but she is so cute. She really catches my eye once I meet her. Gary said. He initiated the conversation and asked for her phone number after then. He started to date Sonija and they became lovers. Gary said people liked to use ring as the way to express the love to their companion. However, he used a creative way to show his love to Sonija. He - 3 -
drew a picture on the T-shirt. In the picture, a man was carrying a bunch of flowers. Gary showed the T-shirt to Sonija and asked Can I marry you? Sonija felt surprised at that time. I wonder that he is joking. Yet, I find that he is in earnest when he says he wants to marry me Sonija said. My wife gives me a lot of support. She is the one who knows me very well. Gary said. When Gary felt frustrated about his design, Sonija always accompanied and supported him. After he shared the stories of the three most important people in his life, Mr. Davis also talked about his plan in the coming year. As he just won in the International TrendyPopz T-shirt design competition, he is very popular in the T-shirt design industry. A lot of famous T-shirt companies want to hire him as the chief designer. Without much hesitation, he agrees to be the designer of a fashion-retail company, Greenergy. He is mainly responsible for the new product, Green Tee. When Mr. Davis is asked why he chooses to cooperate with Greenergy but not other companies, he explains The mission of my work and Greenergy is quite similar. We are aiming to preserve the environment. Since we are working towards the same approach, I have no reason why I should deny the invitation. Green Tee is the new product of Greenergy which will be introduced to Hong Kong in Spring 2008. It claims the production processes of Green Tee do not violate environmental rules and regulations. Greenergy is the first company to adopt this technology. Besides, Mr. Davis is going to hold an exhibition in December. The exhibition will be co-organized by Mr. Davis and Obris (Hong Kong). In the exhibition, over 100 pieces of Mr. Davis s design will be displayed. - 4 -
Some of the design will be sold in the exhibition. All the revenue received will be donated to Obris (Hong Kong) in order to help the daily operation. Obris (Hong Kong) managing director Vivian Tam says We feel delighted to co-organize the exhibition with Mr. Davis. He is definitely one of the best designers in Hong Kong. Miss Vivian Tam and Mr. Gary Davis will be present at Times Square on 8th December. They will chair the opening ceremony of the exhibition. The exhibition will finish on 22nd December 2007. Fig1. The price-giving ceremony in Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre Fig2. Gary Davis (Left), Tony Adams (Right) E-Format will also be available at: http://www.greenergy.com.hk/news_feature - END - - 5 -