Kar Studio
主理人Steven Yeung来自中国香港，在英国学习室内设计时并对产品设计产生了极大的热情，回国后于2020年创立了家具品牌Kar。
The founder, Steven Yeung, hails from HK, China. While studying interior design in the United Kingdom, he developed a profound passion for product design. Upon returning to China, he established the furniture brand Kar in 2020.
“kar”源于梵文“karma”，本意为“业力轮回”。Steven Yeung尝试在东方哲学中找寻美的本质，观念涉及小至人的情绪，大至宇宙所有发生的一切，有如共生与轮回，环环相扣，最终追溯回人的自我意识。
The name "Kar" is derived from the Sanskrit word "karma", signifying the "cycle of cause and effect". Steven Yeung endeavors to unearth the essence of beauty in Oriental philosophy, exploring concepts ranging from individual emotions to the unfolding of events throughout the entire universe. These ideas reflect symbiosis and reincarnation, intricately linked and ultimately tracing back to human self-awareness.
Kar的创作是感性的，更关注“人的感受”，同时诚实地表达独立的审美并且不断探索新的工艺、材料，寻求艺术与功用之间的平衡，希望通过作品的呈现，与人产生情感上的联系和共鸣。
Kar's creations are emotive, focusing on "human experience" .Simultaneously, they honestly express independent aesthetics while continually exploring new techniques and materials, seeking a balance between art and utility. The goal is to establish emotional connections and resonances with individuals through the presentation of their works.
- Art: Kar Studio
kar的作品独树一帜,是否跟你的个人经历或成长有关?
Are Kar's distinctive works related to your personal experiences or upbringing?
我成长于一个商人家庭，其教育是传统且严肃的，所以有着一个压抑且矛盾的童年，渴望叛逆和突破框条，又贪图安逸而保守懦弱。由于家庭原因，我从小辗转于香港、中国大陆和英国等地生活，于多样化的文化背景之间切换，发现没办法对任何已知地区或事物产生归属感。我跟这个世界似相连又疏离，特别是独自长期在外地留学后，让我感觉到孤独，然后开始习惯甚至依赖这种孤独，我开始学会听取自己的声音，尝试不断地更新对自己复杂人格和文化的理解，最后以“感受”为创作核心，这是所有kar作品的灵感来源。传统而现代，坚硬而柔软，蕴能而克制，如果说风格是独树一帜，那是因为只属于自己。
Growing up in a traditional and serious business family, my childhood was marked by repression and contradictions. The desire for rebellion and breaking boundaries coexisted with a craving for comfort and conservative timidity. Due to family reasons, I lived in various places such as Hong Kong, mainland China, and the UK from an early age, navigating diverse cultural backgrounds. This constant switching made it impossible to feel a sense of belonging to any known region or thing. I felt connected yet detached from the world, especially after long periods of studying abroad, which made me embrace and even rely on loneliness. I learned to listen to my own voice, continuously update my understanding of my complex personality and culture, and ultimately, make "feeling" the core of my creative inspiration. The inspiration behind all Kar works stems from this pursuit—a fusion of tradition and modernity, hardness and softness, potential and restraint—a style that is uniquely my own.
作为一个独立家居品牌，希望向外界传达怎样的家居理念或美学？
As an independent furniture brand, what furniture philosophy or aesthetics do you hope to convey?
首先创作对我来说是非常私密的，是一个用来通向自己内心的途径，每一件作品的呈现，甚至比与我本人的相处更诚实。所以向外界传达什么理念并不是我们品牌的目的，不过正因如此，我希望可以引起相同审美和价值观的人的共鸣。因为这群人如果拥有独立审美和自我认知，他们本身也是一座座孤岛，希望可以通过kar的作品相连。
Creation is an extremely personal process for me, serving as a pathway to my inner self. Each work is more honest in its presentation than my personal interactions. While it is not the brand's purpose to convey a specific philosophy to the outside world, I hope to resonate with people who share similar aesthetics and values. Those with independent aesthetics and self-awareness are, in themselves, islands. Through Kar's works, I hope to connect these islands.
“not by intention”与东方哲学有着怎样的联系？
How is "not by intention" connected to Eastern philosophy?
东方哲学是我的美学启蒙。当我试图在其中寻找美学的本质时，受到了很大的影响和启发。我意识到审美与一切都相关，从人类的情感到宇宙，它是关于共存、连接和轮回的。这种复杂性没有标准答案，但不断更新我的自我认知。
Eastern philosophy serves as my aesthetic enlightenment, significantly influencing and inspiring me when seeking the essence of aesthetics. I realized that aesthetics are related to everything, from human emotions to the universe. It's about coexistence, connection, and cycles. This complexity lacks standard answers but continuously updates my self-awareness.
对我来说，家具创作是一种寻找和表达自我的方式。我的灵感来源于记忆和情绪、文学、音乐、每一个感到开心和难过的片段等等，追求的不仅仅是“能用”，而是“感受”，希望在作品里也可以看到情感的流动。
Furniture creation, for me, is a way to explore and express myself. My inspiration comes from memories, emotions, literature, music, every joyful and sad moment, etc., aiming not just for "usability" but for "feeling." I hope the works also reflect the flow of emotions.
“非刻意而为之”（not by intention）这个系列的创作是建立在感性的基础上，大多数时候我的设计都是在有灵感闪现或者情绪波动的时候，直接用粘土捏出来的，没有草图。我对当下的想法和感受，无论是喜悦还是悲伤，都影响着泥土上的力度和痕迹。
"Not by Intention" series' creation is built on a foundation of sensibility. Most of the time, my designs emerge spontaneously or during emotional fluctuations, directly sculpted from clay without sketches. My current thoughts and feelings, whether joyful or sad, influence the strength and traces on the clay.
得益于玻璃纤维的材料特性，粘土模型上的所有痕迹被完美地保留并复制到作品中。当看到设计的最终形态时，不同的感受呈现给不同的人。它就像一个共鸣器，人们看到我的创作所产生的感觉，是情感的一种呼应。
Thanks to the material characteristics of fiberglass, all traces on the clay model are perfectly preserved and replicated in the final piece. When people see the final form of the design, different emotions are presented to different individuals. It's like a resonator, and people's feelings about my creations echo their emotions.
你们是如何权衡独立创作和商业市场之间的关系的?
How do you balance independent creation and the commercial market?
我觉得人总是贪心有余，在商业市场里追求利益更大，增长更多，甚至很多人跟我讨论品牌时首先问的是获利多少和有没有人投资，而不是创作灵感的来源。永远不知足是商业市场的必要品质，但我认为是独立创作的陷阱，因为当你把视线投向市场时，你得把受众放在第一位，你得考虑哪个款式需求更大，哪个尺寸合适更多人，哪个颜色更受欢迎，逐渐就忘了自己的喜好。而少了创作者的视角，便失去独立创作的意义，你将失去独立创作的市场，我能权衡的只有不断保持自己的独特性，而且要做得足够好，然后等待市场，或者说即便因此失去市场，我也不会后悔。
I believe people are inherently greedy, constantly pursuing greater profits and growth in the commercial market. Many discussions about our brand initially revolve around how much profit we make and whether we have investors, rather than the source of creative inspiration. The insatiable nature is a necessary quality in the business market, but I see it as a trap for independent creation. When you shift your focus to the market, the audience becomes the priority, and you have to consider which style has greater demand, which size is more suitable for more people, which color is more popular, gradually forgetting your own preferences. Without the creator's perspective, independent creation loses its meaning. I can only balance this by consistently maintaining my uniqueness and doing it well, then waiting for the market. Even if I lose the market because of it, I won't regret it.
对于追求明确功能性的现代主义“传统”，kar的艺术性探索意味着什么？
For the pursuit of clear functionality in the modernist "tradition," what does Kar's artistic exploration mean?
我不觉得这个世界还需要更多的功能性，我们比起10年前，50年前，甚至100年前，已经得到了太多的功能性生活品质。在不断地追求更具功能性的当下，我更在意正在流失的精神性，这代表评定标准不是好不好用、方不方便、结构是否巧妙等，而唯一的标准是自己喜不喜欢。我希望更多人享受文学、音乐、艺术等虚无缥缈的“无用”事物，接受自我复杂的多样性，用向内取悦代替向外索求，起码kar的创作是如此，我并不能把此界定为艺术，但这的确是一个持续不断地探索。
I don't think the world needs more functionality at this moment. We have gained too much in terms of functional quality of life compared to 10, 50, or even 100 years ago. In the relentless pursuit of greater functionality, I am more concerned about the spirituality that is slipping away. This represents a shift in evaluation criteria—no longer about whether something is practical, convenient, or cleverly structured but solely about personal preference. I hope more people can enjoy intangible "useless" things such as literature, music, art, accepting the diversity of one's complex self. At least, this is how Kar's creation is. I can't define it as art, but it is indeed a continuous exploration.
