ArchivesSpace Public Interface

Abstract Michael Tong describes his path from his birth of Anhui to becoming one of the most successful restauranteurs in New York City with two four-star restaurants. Moving first to Shanghai and Hong Kong before settling in the US, Mr. Tong studied civil engineering but chose to work in a NYC restaurant after graduation. From there, he opened up two restaurants, Shun Lee Palace and Shun Lee West, where he developed his love for different Chinese cuisines and helped bring Sichuan and Hunanese food...

Abstract In this oral history husband and wife Tom and Pamela Lee share their experiences living and working in New York Chinatown. Tom and Pamela discuss their childhoods and how they came to live in New York. They both reflect on working at the butcher shop owned by his family. Tom also discusses the farm his father operated along with the tasks his mother completed at their family business. The couple also contemplates how Chinatown has changed over many decades and the cultural differences each...

Abstract Mary Ping is the mastermind behind the Front Row exhibit. Born in Queens, NY and raised in Westchester County, she graduated with a bachelor in fine arts from Vassar and credits her experience working with Anna Sui and the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute with providing her with a hands-on fashion education. She discusses the piece selected for the exhibit and how it was inspired by her grandmother, who had a very unique sense of style for a woman in Shanghai during the 1930s. She...

Abstract Peter Som is a San Francisco-born fashion designer who developed an interest in fashion from an early age. As a child, he avidly sketched women and their clothes, beginning with his first subject, his mother. He credits his parents, who were both architects, with inspiring his sense of design. He later came to New York to study fashion at Parsons School of Design and started his own clothing line, fulfilling a childhood dream. In describing how his identity is reflected in his design, he...

Abstract When Wayne Lee was five, she left Vietnam by boat with her parents and was marooned on an island for a year before being rescued and brought to Orlando, Florida. This formative experience has greatly influenced her designs, which she describes as clothing of quality which could easily travel and be worn for a year on an island without falling apart. She initially thought to pursue a career in medicine but was inspired by the enthusiasm and spirit of her coworkers in her first job to...

Abstract Yeohlee Teng was born in Penang, Malaysia and studied fashion at Parsons School of Design. She grew up with the idea of zero waste, and believes that the most successful and universal designs are all one-size-fits-all, zero waste and unisex. She also thinks that math is the foundation of design and the pieces selected for the exhibition reflect that. She thinks that fashion has become an art form that is more accessible in the sense that anyone can become a designer because of the...