S01E02 - Carol's work as a designer

Making Lemonade Podcast with Anne and Carol

In the second episode, Caroline talks about her work as an architect/interior design in Hong Kong. Anne and Caroline discuss how her interior design business is adapting to COVID-19 challenges. Anne Fan holds a Juris Doctor degree from DePaul University College of Law (Chicago) and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Marketing from Northeastern University (Boston). She brings a strong combination of business and law into the real estate industry. With an emphasis on international business, negotiation, and mediation, she accentuated her natural talent in creating solutions. With her legal background and business acumen coupled with negotiation expertise, Anne provides a truly unique array of resources and facilitates her clients through the real estate process seamlessly. Whether she is working with an investor or a traditional home buyer, she can pinpoint key elements that should be carefully considered according to their needs. She is patient with her clients and not afraid to go the extra mile. Anne works hard to make sure her clients are comfortable with their investments. She founded and leads her team, Fan of Luxury Group, at Compass. Caroline Chou Design Director of award-winning interdisciplinary firm OPENUU. Originally born in Texas, Chou spent her early years shuttling between Taiwan and the U.S. — where she later went on to study architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design. Along with husband (and OPENUU founder) Kevin Lim, Chou has become something of a marquee name on the burgeoning Hong Kong design/architecture scene. Since Chou and Lim moved their business to Hong Kong in 2012, OPENUU has been awarded ‘Best of Year’ firm by Interior Design Magazine four times; and bagged the prestigious Will Ching Design Prize this April — awarded for ‘original and excellent’ design by small companies with up to five employees. Topics Covered: 00:19 - Anne’s introduction and her co-host Caroline. 1:17 - Caroline talks about her 2-year-old daughter, and her zoom classes. Anne and Caroline discuss the new normal of online schooling and private tutors. 3:52 - Caroline talks about her work as an architect/interior designer in Hong Kong for 8 years, and her practice with her husband Kevin. They manage a small team of designers, and work with clients with interior renovation needs, mainly focusing on hotels, restaurants, and retail spaces. 4:58 - Caroline talks about how COVID-19 has affected their company and their clients. She talks about the current on-going hotel project, but businesses are slow to start new projects, because of the hotel and restaurant industries. 5:31 - Caroline and Anne discuss the dining restrictions and safety measures and dine-in restrictions in Hong Kong vs Chicago. 7:05 - Anne asked about how COVID-19 impacted Caroline’s business operations. Caroline talks about how OPENUU adapted to work from home. 8:12 Caroline discussed how client meetings changed from face-to-face meetings to online calls. 10:02 - Caroline and Anne discuss the process of material selection. 11:00 - Next week’s topic is about Caroline’s restaurant Mean Noodles, and how they pivoted during COVID-19. 11:13 - Sign up at openuu.com to download a free copy of a budgeting worksheet. Connect with Anne https://www.linkedin.com/in/annefan http://fanofluxury.com [e-mail] Connect with Caroline https://hk.linkedin.com/in/cchou http://openuu.com [e-mail]