I don’t just love Art, I have a bigger dream about it.

Let’s put my 10-year plan on a piece of paper. I always want to own a café on my own. Not just any ordinary café but something related to Art, which I very much loved since the day I could speak and grab the painting brush.

I hung out with a good old friend since high school. She’s now an Art Director of my company’s advertising agency. We sat down in Ciao, looked around, and applauded their creatively painting walls and their hanging lanterns. Out of the blue, I flipped, “I’ve always wanted to have a café. An Art Café.”

My friend just stared at me in awe, “You have? My gosh, that’s my dream, too”.

My turn to stare at her.

We started sharing our thoughts about our dream café. The more we talked about it, the more excited we were about our dreams.

I would love to use my parents’ house (also my house) to renovate for a new café with 3 floors. The ground floor will be filled with purity and white and green colours. There will be a small pathway with square grey stones above a small water stream. The wall will be decorated with creeper and hanging paintings. The wall for separating the hall with the walkway will be holed in 3 or 4 squares, and I will have two-faced paintings or portraits rotating around every 15 minutes. Know why I love this idea? It will create different looks for the hall from time to time. And I can change the artworks from day to day.

In the hall, the wall is white colour with bronze colour fans lazily swinging on the painted ceiling. There will be chandelier spreading the yellow light dots here and there on round dark brown table with Victorian flowery chairs. Not quite done yet, to make the face of the tables even lovelier, I’ll print out some of the fresh paintings with warm colours to use as the table cloth with a layer of glass on top to protect the paintings. The tables will be switched around every day to create the difference for the diners.

Between the paintings hanging on the walls, I plan to install a wood bookshelf. Just a simple one with a bar of wood installed directly to the wall and it will be filled with Art books introducing about several trends and history of paintings, music and other types of Art or the biography books of different Artists from tradition or contemporary Art schools. This will be an ideal place for book lovers to sit down and relax. A short and friendly chit-chat with a couple of drinks would be definitely fantastic, too.

Uhm, I don’t like the word “ground floor”. Perhaps I should name this floor. How does “Lazy Paradise” sound? Or “Cappuccino & Art”? Alright then, you guys give me a name.

Music for the ground floor will be soft contemporary jazz taking turns with relaxing instrumental music. From day to day, the music can change from soft pop to lovely R&B. Everything just to ease you out. And I’ll have tons of funs naming each of my food and drink.

“Sleepy mug” for camomile tea served in big white mug and a small bar of biscuit.

“Blondie” for hot Lipton tea with lime and sugar.

“Giggle giggle” for Ice lemon tea accompanied with honey.

And a lot more… No worry, I’ll have a separate brainstorming section for shareholders and co-owners of this café. Anyone interested?

Okay, that’s graphly for the ground floor. Now, at the end of the romantic walkway which will sparkle at night with light under the water, you will find an old stony staircase leading to the 2^nd floor, which I’ll love to call it “Glittering Eden”. This “Glittering Eden”, I’ll dedicate to allocate a mini gallery lounge here. The walls will be divided in small squares and each square will carry a unique pattern or simple artwork with contrast colours. There will be short pillars here and there to display handicrafts or flower vases. Paintings or laminated photographs will be hung by random but with a flow of thoughts. It could be a photograph or oil painting collection made by an unfamous or new Artist who needs further promotion about his/her talent. As long as it brings a soul to my “Glittering Eden”, I don’t mind putting efforts in framing it all and hang it up. The topic of display will be changed every 2 weeks. Not something very complicated, just the pictures or artworks. I love to give my Eden fresh look all the times.

Wait a minute, let’s mingle around in Eden for a second. What are we gonna have here? Cocktail is definitely a must to have a better eyes for enjoying the artworks. Small little snacks will also be served to enrich the tastes of our lovely customers. And well, again, naming all the food and drink will be another round of laughing and screaming with a bunch of friends who are the shareholders of this café. And music, what do you think of soft operap or orchestra music? I really want to direct the customers to the artworks and bring them such an overwhelming feeling which is enhanced by this kind of music. Or perhaps, the music genes can be changed following the topic of display. I’ll have a lot of things to do with my Glittering Eden. Consider the following:

1. Lady night: all ladies will not have to pay for any kind of drink. Instead, they have to sing a song for the crowd with the karaoke screen in front. She can choose to do a duet, solo or maximum a group of 3 or 4.
2. Couple day (especially dedicated for Valentine’s Day): every couple will buy a ticket at the entrance and walk in. They will get a couple drink / ice-cream and get their image drawn creatively or romantically by a group of young artists. They can choose to pay a little extra to buy a simple canvas for their own portrait. They have the right to request for a love song dedicating for their loved ones during the night.
3. New Year Eve: New Year Eve celebration with live performance from certain invited bands of artists and everybody will get a chance to say “Happy New Year” and share the New Year Cake offered free of charge by the owners.
4. Children’s Day: All the portraits of children with all emotions will be displayed in Eden and Artists will be encouraged to bring their children to Eden to receive little gifts (crayons and sketch paper), candies, fruit juice and cakes to celebrate their own day. Of course, their parents must buy a ticket for them and yet pay for their own drink and snack.
5. And every month, besides the exciting events, I’d love to organize a small exhibition to promote young and talent artists with certain topics that will be decided by the shareholders.

That’s my Glittering Eden. Now here comes the Sound – the 3^rd floor.

At the Sound, it’s just purely a bar with music from Monday to Thursday and live music from Friday to Sunday. The special about this bar is that the style will be rather rebellious and totally different from the two down floors. I bet I have to ask for an interior expert to give a hand in making this place to live. I really want to fill the walls with portraits of famous classy singers with unforgettable styles. Not only singers, well-known musicians will be displayed in honour on the walls too. I don’t hope to get famous singers to come and perform but just a group of friends who love to sing and have been performed elsewhere. A cosy and friendly style for a bar in which I think everybody will be themselves for a night, forgetting about every other things out there, getting floating with the music and enjoying their drink.

Big dream!

Huge plan!

Crazy business!

It has been sketched out on paper. Now, just a spirit to make it come true. My friend chose to be with me for the next 10 years, keeping this dream alive and make it happen as promised. Anyone who wants to be the shareholders of this café? No matter who you are, as long as you’re my friends and love Art, you’re welcomed to join this club.

This is a not-for-profit business. This is for the sake and the love of Art. But of course, I’ll make sure everybody will have a dividends in the end.