Coffee with: Georgina King
Georgina King likes nothing better than adding some colour to life.
The paint and design consultant just spent a week in the Chinese city of Dalian, in Liaoning province, teaching people ideas about decorating their home and work spaces.
"It wasn't long enough," says King, referring to both the time she needed to help people and the time difference.
With the clocks 15 hours ahead of Vancouver, it's difficult to acclimatize so quickly. King says by the time her body adjusted it was already the end of her trip.
Dalian lies on a peninsula surrounded by the Yellow Sea to the east and North Korea, and the Bohai Sea to the west and south. The beauty of the landscape reminded her of Vancouver with the green mountains, blue water, and clean streets.
"I was looking for litter and I couldn't see it anywhere."
King was on her third trip to China to train people in the art of decorative painting and colour consulting for new homeowners, as well as colour and design consulting for retail spaces.
With China continuing to lead the charge as the fastest growing middle class in the world, King's expertise is greatly valued.
"I never yearned to go to China. But once I got there the people were so friendly and appreciative. They've never really been exposed to what they can do with their homes and work spaces."
King says it's nice to see the Chinese embrace what paint can do for them, particularly since the culture is traditionally minimalist. One woman she was consulting with wanted everything in white.
"I began wondering why I was even there," laughs King.
But after talking about colours, the woman began picking the boldest and brightest colours. Soon, she'd created a monster.
"I actually had to calm her down."
King says that China is quite a different experience than the culture we see transplanted here in Canada. The food is one good example.
"You hardly see a sweet and sour anything and hardly anything comes with rice," she says.
Another pleasant surprise was how polite and respectful the Chinese are.
King left Benjamin Moore paints last year after working for them off and on for the past two decades, but she's carried her lifelong passion forward.
"I love the fact that something as simple as a coat of paint can totally transform somebody's room," she says.
An old piece of furniture that's been thrown away can be transformed with just the right texture and colour.
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