A Spoonful of Sugar Changes Urban Lifestyle
　　用壹勺子糖改变城市生活方式
　　“A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down” is one sentence of the lyrics from an old American movie Mary Poppins. Designer Linlin gets inspirations from here and names her café as “A Spoonful of Sugar”. She hopes this spoonful of sugar can let people’s life slow down.
　　A Spoonful of Sugar is an independent café that promotes the idea of ecological and environmental protection. Linlin， the owner and designer， changes the dangerous building of Beijing Relay Factory into a two-layer ecological space within 11 months by redesign and reinforcement with environmental friendly materials. The top of the café is an ecological yard planted with various herbs and food like mint and basil. Linlin said that， this is a small food cycle. What we eat at the café are mostly from the yard and the leftovers would become the fertilizer for the yard after processing. The design of the café is very simple that it does not take away the charm of an old house at Hutong but also leaves no impression of an old and broken building. There are not many seats in the café and curtain space is kept among them， which in this way the designer hopes everyone can have their own little space. Linlin told us that， when people sit in the ecological yard and see around the scenery of Hutong at 4 or 5 p.m. at dusk， they can feel quietness and be comfortable no matter how noisy the outside is and also they can enjoy the spoonful of sugar.
　　"A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down."这是一部美国老电影《欢乐满人间》的一句歌词，设计师Linlin在这里获取灵感，为自己的咖啡馆取名为“壹勺子糖”，她希望这一勺子糖，能让人的生活慢下来。
　　壹勺子糖是一家推广生态环保概念的独立咖啡馆。店主兼设计师Linlin把旧的北京继电器厂这栋危楼，花十一个月的时间，用大量回收环保材料，重新设计加固，打造成一个两层的生态空间。咖啡馆的顶层是一个环保生态小院，里面种满了像薄荷、罗勒等各种香草和食物原料。Linlin说，这是一个小型的食物链，我们在咖啡馆里吃的东西，很多原料都来自生态小院，而我们所吃剩的食物，会经过加工变成生态小院的肥料。咖啡馆的设计非常简约，没有夺去胡同旧房子的韵味，也没有让人产生破旧的印象。店里的座位不多，座位与座位之间保持有一定的距离，设计师希望每个人在这里都能拥有属于自己的一个小空间。Linlin告诉我们，傍晚四五点钟的时候，坐在生态小院里，环视胡同周围的景象，不管外界多吵闹，小院里都是非常安静而舒服的，在这里你能感受到那一勺子糖。
　　The Spoonful of Sugar Café was in 798 Art Center at first when Linlin needed a place to show the idea of ecological and environmental protection and a platform for designer and cook to cooperate cross-broadly. But later because of the disagreement with her partner， she chose the building of Beijing Relay Factory and then turned to Hutong to create A Spoonful of Sugar. From Linlin’s perspective， food is an art that it cannot be done only by one profession. The cooperation between designer and cook can raise the level of food. Pol is the Spanish chef there， who cooks new café cuisine with both Eastern and Western style， like a cute sandwich called “New Chick Uptown” and “Dark Chocolate with Er Guo Tou”， by using local materials and focusing on Hutong’s taste in national standard. 　　Linlin said that， “I want to attract people to come here and know this kind of lifestyle. I must have a spoonful of sugar and tasted food and drink. I should live up to myself and others.” The lifestyle she talked about is the idea of ecological and environmental protection. Linlin said that， the stores which popularizing ecological concept nowadays are neither too high-end to invite people in nor too original to be clean. She wants to convey more ideas about ecology and environment to the public， but she does not like to preach and she prefers to create an environment that can let consumers feel ecology themselves. Linlin provides free water and Wi-Fi in the café and customers can stay there quietly and comfortably for couple of hours whatever work or relax. She said that， if customers can take away some ideas of environmental protection with them when leaving， then her target is achieved. Besides， Linlin also carries out some interesting lectures and activities related to ecology and environment in the café. She hopes this spoonful of sugar can let people’s life slow down and find new urban lifestyle.
　　壹勺子糖咖啡馆一开始是在798，当时Linlin想要一个空间来展现生态环保的理念，一个平台让设计师跟厨师进行跨界合作。后来由于和合作伙伴的理念出现分歧，Linlin在看上北京继电器厂这栋楼以后，决定转而投入胡同里，打造新的壹勺子糖。在Linlin看来，美食是一门艺术，一个食物或一种食材，是不能光靠一种职业来完成的，设计师与厨师的跨界合作，能让美食提升到另一个境界。Pol是店里的西班牙大厨，他会用一些本土化的食材，胡同的味道，结合国际化的标准，打造出从“仲夏妹妹”这样俏皮可爱的三明治到“二锅头酒心巧克力”这类中西合璧的新式咖啡馆料理。
　　Linlin说：“我要吸引别人进来，要让别人了解这种生活方式，我一定要有一勺子糖，我的东西要好吃，要好喝，我要对得起自己，对得起别人。” Linlin口中的生活方式就是她的店所推崇的环保生态理念。Linlin说，现在一些推行生态理念的店，要么做得太高端，别人不敢进去，要么做得太原生态，给人一种不干净的感觉。她希望向大众传达更多的生态环保的意识，但她不喜欢说教，她更希望能给客人们营造出一个自主体验到生态环保意识的环境。Linlin在店里为客人提供了免费的水和Wi-Fi，让客人无论是工作还是休闲，都可以安静舒适地待上几个小时。她说，如果客人离开的时候，能带走一些环保意识，并以他的方式去实现这些意识，那她的目的也就达到了。除此以外，Linlin还经常在咖啡馆里举办一些有意思的环保生态讲座和活动，她希望这一勺子糖能让人的生活慢下来，找到新的城市生活方式。
　　Li bin： On the Way to be Independent
　　李斌
　　Li bin， is almost 40 years old， he spent several years on documentary making， at the beginning， he worked in Nanyang TV station， shoot several feature films for 16 years. Later on， he quit his job to become an independent documentary maker and enjoyed a little fame.
　　It’s not that difficult for him to make this decision， “I choose to be independent at the best time.”maybe to be independent is always what he wants， the most important reason for quitting the job in the TV Station is that he needs more freedom.Li Bin said， when he shoot films at the TV station， he can’t fully express himself， sometimes， the film will be reedit to be a totally different thing. At that time， he joined a South-to-North Water Diversion Project and shoots a documentary to show the water shortage situation， but in the end， singing the praise for the government became the main theme. Li bin was very angry about that which made him decide to be an independent documentary film maker. 　　李斌，年届四十，从事纪录片拍摄已有些年头，一开始，他在南阳电视台工作，拍专题片，做调查报道，一拍就是16年。后来，他从体制内走出，成为了独立纪录片工作者，并且已经在业界小有名气。
　　李斌的独立之路开始得不徘徊也不纠结，“当时决定自己做纪录片，是在一个天时地利人和的时机做下这样的决定”。也许“独立”这种因子一直就在他的体内，不喜欢被束缚和约束成为他离开电视台的重要原因。李斌说，当时做调查片子的时候，总是不能完整地表达自己的想法，甚至成片出来，早已是面目全非，这样的事情让他感到在电视台继续工作下去没有太大意义。那时候他曾配合南水北调工程项目拍了一部叫做“那山、那人、那水”的纪录片来反映当时农民常年缺水的状况，但是到最后却被改成了一部歌功颂德的片子，这让李斌非常气愤，之后他便开始尝试着自己投资拍短片和纪录片。直到“远去的家园”这部片子的诞生，彻底让李斌走上了他的独立之路。带着这部片子，他参加了广州纪录片大会的国际预售，当时有许多国内以及国外的电视台在场，这部纪录片在会场引起了很大的轰动，很多国外电视台都表示了强烈的兴趣。这次预售的成功，给了李斌一个信心，自己独立拍片可以通过另外的方式得到认可和展映，而这样的片子在电视台是根本没办法做的。看到独立之路的曙光，李斌从电视台辞职，开启了独立纪录片的旅程。
　　Although it is not easy， Li bin enjoyed the freedom and happiness to be independent. A French writer used to define life as “existence” and “non-exististence”， the latter one means that your life is not stable and full of possibilities. You never know that will happen every next second. And the great happiness to be an independent documentary maker is this possibility. You are just a recorder to wait for your brilliant stories.
　　The explore of possibilities made him so obsessed with documentary， his passion about it bring him great fame home and abroad. Another important motivation to be independent documentary film maker is that he hope the world be better through his film. Most his films are about grass-roots. He hopes to help the poor by reflecting their lives in the documentary.
　　尽管有艰辛，但是李斌享受在独立纪录片道路上的那种自由和快乐。一个法国作家曾将人的生活分成“有所在”和“无所在”的生活，所谓“有所在”，就是人的生活轨迹是既定的，你每天早上打开门，就知道自己该往哪个方向走，要去哪里，做什么事，比如起床、上班、回家，这样的动作你可能天天都在做，生活轨迹是固定的一条线；而“无所在”的生活就是你每天在打开门的一瞬间，完全不知道下一秒会发生什么，生活充满了无数的可能性和未知。李斌在独立纪录片的世界里感受到的最大的快乐，就来自于那种“无所在”的状态，“拍摄纪录片最大的乐趣，就在于你永远不知道下一秒会发生什么，你只是生活的第三只眼，故事的走向和发展永远无法预料，你就是等在那里，期待无数的可能性。”
　　这种未知的探索让李斌痴迷于纪录片的拍摄，而热情和认真也让他赢得了诸多国内外的殊荣。除了心底对于生活和纪录片的那份热爱，能够通过镜头来让别人的生活和我们的世界变得好一点也是他在独立纪录片的路上越走越远的重要动力。李斌的片子大多关注底层人民的生存、生活状态，从“麦子黄了”到目前的纪录片连续剧系列“针灸”都表达了他对于弱势群体的关怀，纪录他们的生活来帮助他们表达没有被听到的诉求。“未来我想我还是会继续为底层人民说话，拍他们的生活，因为我也是他们中的一分子，关注他们也是关注我自己。”就像没有生活的作家很难写出真切的好文章，李斌将自己的镜头对准底层人民也来自于内心对他们的一种真切、深远的情怀。
　　But life is like that， except your emotions， you have to face the reality which may be difficult. Documentary is still not that popular in China， there are a lot of limitations including investment， production and post-production etc.
　　Li bin said， actually， there should not be investment for independent film maker， because in this way， the director will not suffer the pressure and limitation. Not only that， the documentary practice should also be very independent to fully express the director’s idea. This “independence” and “market “are always contradicted to each other. 　　This contradiction becomes the great challenge for independent documentary film maker. How to find the balance is what Li bin is doing right now. He is trying to find a way to make independent documentary become known by the public.Li bin said， the great motivation for him to keep on doing this is audience feedback and expectation.
　　但是生活就是这样的，除了情怀，还有现实生活的粗粝。这份真实的粗粝感有时也会扎到你心酸流泪。独立纪录片在中国仍属于非常小众的行业，宣传、投资包括制作都有很多的局限。而正因为独立，才有这种现实的磨砺。
　　李斌说，其实真正独立的标准是不应该有投资方的，这样就不会有来自于投资方的压力和束缚制约拍片，除了投资，制作也是完全独立的，从前期调研到后期剪辑，完全自己独立完成。而独立纪录片，也有其内涵和气质的独特，就是纪录片人独立思考的气质，做到完全表达。这样“独立”的个人表达就意味着与市场化的某些矛盾。确实，绝大多数中国独立纪录片几乎是不产生效益的业余影像，商业效益和社会效益，两种效益都是稀缺之物，还在处于假象之中（影展等交流活动受到掣肘，也是一些人怕两种效益找到发芽路径，畏惧其渐渐茁壮）。哪怕受到好评，都是局部的微弱的，不论是国内的褒奖，还是国外的肯定，几乎都是属于小范围内精神层面的肯定，并不能影响作者的创作和生活，自生自灭还是常态。
　　而这些也成为独立纪录片人的最大的挑战，就是如何在个人化和市场化之间找到平衡，不至于让艺术成为一件苦逼的事情。而这也是李斌目前在尝试做的事情，他希望能够找到一个契合点，让小众的东西也可以慢慢走入大众视野。尽管过程漫长而艰辛，但一点点做，总会有改变。他最新的纪录片连续剧“针灸”就是这样一种尝试，在不妥协于自我表达的同时让它更符合市场和观众的审美标准。面对挑战，在独立的路上坚持下去需要能够转化为动力的催化剂。可以料想，一个事情值得自觉的、可持续的进行下去，需要种种外部条件与自我肯定的理由。李斌说，他最大的精神动力来自于观众的期待和反映，他和优酷合作播出的“针灸”系列得到了很多好评，“经常有观众私信我询问什么时候更新下一集，这成为我能够坚持下去的很大的动力”，除此之外，物质保障也是必须的，这样是为了更好的实现自己的理想。
　　Currently， independent documentary making is Li bin’s life-long career； he said that he has changed a lot by doing this. Documentary makes him become more open and tolerated. Through the film and people’s stories， he began to understand his own life better.
　　Li bin has been making documentaries with his own money these years， but sometimes there is misunderstanding and question about what he is doing， but he thought that is not so important any more， for him， documentary is a great career because you help people to record our history.
　　到现在，李斌已将独立纪录片拍摄作为自己毕生追求的事业，他说这么多年，拍纪录片让他改变了很多，最大的改变就是豁达，是一种看开了的人生态度。他说，他已经没有早年那样的愤怒和不平，现在通过镜头里各种各样的人生和故事，喜怒哀乐，自己更好地理解了人生的种种，看到别人想到自己，慢慢地会理解生活里的所有事物。
　　这么多年拍片子，他多数是自己投钱在拍纪录片，坚持自己的这份热情。而这些也有被误解的时候，有人认为不可思议，有人认为并不那么纯粹，但这些在李斌看来都不重要，他说：“拍纪录片最有意义的，就是你记录的是历史，你这一辈子干了一件事情，能够在未来让别人记住我们现在的人生，我觉得足以。”
　　Li Hao： Sweetness Rather Than Burden
　　李浩：甜蜜不负担
　　Li Hao’s abiding bonds with Western food can be considered as a coincidence or a fate. It’s just that he stumbled on a right person at an appropriate time and place and made his random decision.
　　The story traces back to his going abroad. As he was born in a family of a cultural intellect， his then dream was becoming a true artist. To this end， he learnt drawing from his childhood and had traveled across China when he was a twenty-year boy. Li Hao could be among people who studied abroad earlier. In the early 1990s， like most young art-lovers in fervent pursuit of a certain complex， he， cherishing a prospect for Russian works represented by War and Peace and Anna Karenina and bringing his painting instruments along with him， spent seven days and nights on the train across Siberia and rushed all the way to Russian capital Moscow. 　　李浩与西餐结缘可以说是机缘巧合，也可以说是命中注定，在合适的时间，合适的地点，碰到了合适的人，然后做了一个随机的决定。
　　而故事的开始要从他出国开始说起，因为出身于一个文化之家，因此“那会儿的梦想就是做一名真正的画家，从小学习画画，到二十岁就游遍了全中国。”李浩算是中国比较早出国的一代人，在上世纪九十年代初，就像大多数的文艺青年炽热的追逐某种情结那样，李浩凭借着对《战争与和平》、《安娜卡列妮娜》等俄罗斯作品的憧憬，坐了七天七夜的火车穿越西伯利亚，背着画夹子就一路奔向了俄罗斯首都莫斯科。
　　It seemed that such original intention and decision would inevitably head towards an artistic life of painting. Yet fate tended to be so unfathomably above one： another door of art was being opened somewhere. "I do not think I abandoned art； instead I found another way to express it." Li Hao said. Li Hao’s acquaintance with art of Western food stemmed from his first bite of butter. He continued， “It was an compartment for us four. My friend took a slice of bread with butter and passed to me. I had a bite of it： really fragrant； I have never seen such real butter." So， Li Hao took to western food from this first close contact with it. It’s merely a crush on it. However， his embarking on a journey of Western art later was never so romantic； it’s no more than tough and real existence. On earlier days overseas， survival is the fundamental. He once worked as an employee in a trading company employee there and also looked for many a job. Unfortunately， restriction from the institution threw him at a huge loss who long desired freedom in the inner heart in his life. As a consequence， he resigned from the trading company. After wandering for four hours in the street， he had no choice but to knock the door of a western restaurant， which turned out to be a door bound to change his lifetime.
　　As a rule， one started with courses in a professional school before becoming a cook. But the culinary path of Li Hao was just opposite. Shortly after some time his arrival in New Zealand， Li Hao， who earned his life in a restaurant， came across Garry who led him into the cooking industry. Due to his thirst for learning and diligence， Li Hao was highly prized by Garry， and acquired a lot of skills about Western food， which made him branch out down the road since. He dabbled in almost the entire industry， ranging from French bakeries， western restaurants to holiday villages… He also encountered a number of prestigious chefs. Until four years ago， he， in his 40 years old， came to return home to start his own baking workshop.
　　似乎这样的初衷，这样的决定都将带来的是一段绘画的艺术人生，可命运就是如此地不可捉摸，冥冥之中另一扇艺术的大门也正在打开。“我并不觉得我抛弃了艺术，反而是我找到了另一种表达方式而已”，李浩说。李浩与西餐艺术的结缘来自于那第一口黄油，“那是四个人的车厢，我的朋友拿出黄油涂到面包上递给我，咬一口觉得真香，从前没接触过这种真正的黄油。”就这样，从第一次真正亲密接触，李浩便喜欢上了西餐点，但喜欢归喜欢，真正走上西餐艺术的道路却并没有那么浪漫，有的就是生存的粗粝与真实。早期到国外，生存是第一位的，李浩也曾经在贸易公司做过职员，找过多份工作，但是体制内的束缚让一个骨子里以自由为生的艺术家总是无所适从，因此他从贸易公司离职，在街边徘徊了四个小时，艰难的叩开了一家西餐厅的大门，从此也叩开了改变他一生的大门。 　　别人当厨师，都是先从学校学起，李浩的厨艺之路刚相反。初到新西兰，在一家餐厅打工的李浩，遇到了将他引入厨师行业的Garry。因为勤奋好学，李浩赢得了Garry的青睐，学会了西餐的很多技艺，从此一发不可收拾。他在这个行业基本上全做过，法式面包房，西餐厅，度假村……遇见过很多名厨。直到四年前，40岁的他回国开始独立创办他的烘焙工作室。
　　Despite prospering bakery development now， he suffered a great deal of problems in his first start-up. For instance， only a few people know about the teaching methods of such family baking classrooms at home at the outset. But Li Hao was not discouraged. Instead， he chose to release his own experience and works on the workshop home page and his blog via the Internet. In the meanwhile， operating independently means that any promotion should be done completely on one’s own. Thus， for any means by which he could make his own ideas known， he was always ready to make attempts， and eventually he worked out a way of his own. But Li Hao didn’t take challenges arising out of the independent workshop as a burden； conversely， he's happy to enjoy such independent pleasure. He said， "I believe what it has brought is freedom and joyful accomplishment. I’m keen to art， therefore I feel like creative and unbound things. I can follow my dream and lead my team going forward by operating this independent baking workshop." On the contrary， such freedom is hardly experienced within the institution， but any freedom is relative， and you have to pay the price behind any freedom. Take this independent separate baking workshop for example， ‘it’s small yet perfectly formed. It requires you to take all aspects into account， such as profitability， direction of development， development of curriculum， students， equipment， raw materials， even media publicity. While it’s sufficient for you to finish the task indicators assigned if you work within the system."
　　Speaking of freedom， Li Hao has more to deliver as an expert of artistic bakery. In his viewpoint， there’re both freedom and order in any mechanism. Take a baked dessert for example， its production process is a standardized set of scientific methods and precise quantitative criteria is an order which is free of any confusion； while in terms of decoration and matching， one is allowed to give full play to endless imagination， making a full range of creative patterns； it’s not limited in forms and is more abstract. So whether small dessert or as large as a system， it’s constituted by freedom and order； only by making continued efforts to strike a balance can we construct a superb works featured with appearance and taste."
　　尽管现在发展得风生水起，但是早期的独立工作室也遇到过很多的难题，比如最开始中国这种家庭烘焙课堂的授课方式，并没有太多人了解。但李浩并没有气馁，通过互联网，李浩将自己的经历、作品，发表在工作室的主页和博客上，同时，独立运作也就意味着任何的推广要完全靠自己，每一种能够将自己的理念传递出去的方式，他都乐于尝试，最终慢慢走出了一条属于自己的路。但是李浩并不认为独立工作室所面临的难题是一种负担，反而他享受于这种独立的快乐：“我认为它带来的是一种自由和一种喜悦的成就感，我喜欢艺术，因此喜欢有创意、不被束缚的东西，运营这个独立烘焙工作室让我可以按照自己的梦想来带领团队一起走。”相反，这些自由是在体制内所体会不到的，但是任何自由都是相对的，任何自由的背后都有其必须要承担的代价，比如一个独立的烘焙工作室，“麻雀虽小，五脏俱全，要考虑方方面面的事情，盈利、发展方向、教学大纲的制定、学员、设备、原材料，包括自媒体的宣传等都要照顾到。而在体制内工作，你只要完成相应的任务指标就可以了，只是单纯地工作而已。” 　　谈到自由，作为艺术烘焙专家的李浩有更多的看法，他认为任何一个机制内自由和秩序是并存的。以一道烘焙甜品为例，它的制作过程是一套标准化的科学方法，精确的量化标准就是一种秩序，不能错乱，但是在装饰和搭配上却可以发挥无尽的想象，创意出各种特色的造型，天马行空，比较抽象。所以小到一道甜品，大到一个体制，都是由自由和秩序构成的，我们只有从其中不断地寻找平衡，才能构造出一道道“美观与口味俱佳的作品”。
　　With four years of development， the baking workshop of Li Hao has received increasing attention. However， he still sticks to his very original intent， misses that appreciation and inspiration of his initial start-up time. He told that what’s the most unforgettable for him was one of his trainees recruited at the very beginning， knelt on the ground at the time of graduation and gave him three bows， which moved him to tears at the moment. He told himself at that time： this baking workshop is not only where he realizes his own dream， but also a place to help others make their dream come true. He expressed that， “if such a concept can be sustained， he is willing to carry such ‘sweet cause’ through to the end.”
　　经历了四年的发展，李浩的烘培艺术工作室已经受到越来越多的关注，但是他还是不忘初心，怀念最初创业时的那种感动和鼓舞。他说让他最难忘的事就是最开始招收的学员中，有一个在毕业的时候，跪在地上，给他叩了三个响头，他当时就流泪了，那时候，他告诉自己，这个烘培艺术工作室不仅是自己实现梦想的地方，也是帮他人实现梦想的地方，如果能够将这样的理念持续，李浩说，他愿意将“甜蜜的事业”进行到底。
　　Private Custom -- Skilled Work Creates the Kingdom
　　私人定制——
　　慢工细活打造手工皮鞋王国
　　Before calling Lao Yu for interview appointment， my impressions on his handmade leather shoes store are only the three tags of “private custom”， “necessity of rock youths” and “the favorite of people in Embassy District”. When calling， I am still thinking that， maybe the staff will help me to make an appointment first or directly refuse my interview. It turns out that， the man on the phone with a smiley and natural voice nicely agrees to be interviewed after hearing my intention， and he is Lao Yu.
　　Lao Yu’s leather shoes store is at the Gulou East Street and you may miss it when pass by the street full of shops without paying attention. It is a slightly old and tiny store displaying various styles of shoes with no delicate decoration and visible signs. In the store， Lao Yu is drawing the shoe pattern and hurriedly stops to greet me when I am entering. My first impression on the smiling middle-aged man wearing a big vest is that he seems to be an earnest uncle next door rather than a well-known designer of private custom leather shoes.
　　In fact， Lao Yu’s manual customization studio has always been on a down-to-earth route.
　　在给老余打电话约采访之前，我对老余手工皮鞋店的印象仅有“私人定制”、“摇滚青年必备”、“使馆区人员最爱”这三个标签。接通电话的那一刻，我还在想，或许工作人员会先帮我预约，又或者直接拒绝我的采访。结果电话那头带着笑意的朴实男声听完我意图后，爽快地答应了采访，他就是老余。 　　老余的皮鞋店在北京鼓楼东大街上，如果你路过那条商铺林立的大街，稍不注意，可能就会错过。没有精致的装修，也没有显眼的招牌，一家略显陈旧的小小店面，陈列着各种皮鞋样式，老余坐在店里画着鞋样，看见我推门进去，连忙停下手来招呼我。眼前这个穿着大背心，满脸笑意的中年人，给我的第一感觉是邻家热心大叔，而不是一个知名的私人订制皮鞋设计师。
　　事实上，老余的手工定制工作室一直都是走一条接地气的路线。
　　In the early 90s， Lao Yu has worked in Beijing Leather Shoes Factory for about 10 years and he got his skill refined in shoe-design and shoe-making. However， just like other state-owned factories， Beijing Leather Shoes Factory’s steps forward have become heavy and slow under the impact of the private enterprises. It is better to strive forward by riding a bike himself rather than moving ahead on a slow train. Lao Yu comes up with the idea of leaving the state-run system. After studying the shoe-making industry in coastal developed areas， he finds that the information and resources inland are lagging far behind. If he opens a factory himself， then the present of the state-owned factories which are not able to operate would become the future of his. Lao Yu asks himself that， without those resources， what on earth does he get？ The answer is obvious： skill.
　　When starts to do private custom， Lao Yu says he doesn’t have any grand goals and he is satisfied when the business can support himself first and then gradually make it greater. The greater said by Lao Yu is not referred to the scale but the public praise with good quality. I ask Lao Yu， now since the store runs so well， do you ever think about hiring more workers and apprentices to expand the scale of the workshop and private custom. He shakes his head and says to me with a smile， “you may not know about the handmade leather shoes industry.” Because the customers are limited and handmade shoes need time and detailed work， the scale of this industry would not be too big. Leather shoes custom workshop comes from abroad and is represented by Italian leather craft workshops. In 1970s and 1980s， they develop very well with quite high popularity. But their scales are also limited and most of them are small workshops with a few people.
　　时光拉回到九十年代初，当时的老余（可能还叫小余的时候）在北京皮鞋厂已经工作了十来年，从设计到制作皮鞋，他的技艺日渐精练，然而，在私营企业的冲击下，北京皮鞋厂和不少国营工厂一样，前进的步伐已经开始变得沉重而缓慢。与其在一列慢车上晃荡过去，不如自己骑车飞奔向前。老余萌生了离开国营体制的想法。在考察完沿海发达地区的制鞋业以后，他发现内陆的资讯和资源都远远落后，如果自己开一家工厂，或许那些无法经营下去的国营工厂的今天就是自己的明天。老余问自己，没有那些资源，自己究竟有什么？答案很明显：手艺。
　　一开始做私人订制，老余说自己没有什么宏大的目标，当时觉得能站得住脚，养活自己就不错了，接下来再慢慢做大。老余口中的慢慢做大不是指规模上的做大，而是口碑做大，品质做好。我问老余，现在作坊运营得那么好，有没有考虑过多招一些工人，带徒弟，扩大作坊规模，将手工定制做大。他摇了摇头，笑着对我说：“你可能不了解手工定制皮鞋这个行业。”由于顾客群体有限，而且手工制鞋属于慢工细活，皮鞋定制这个行业规模注定不会太大。皮鞋定制作坊源自国外，以意大利皮具手工作坊为代表，七八十年代的时候，意大利皮鞋手工作坊发展到一个较好的程度，知名度极高，但它们的规模也非常有限，大部分都是几个人的小作坊而已。 　　Most of the independent studios are often in face of the impact of monopolized mass production of great brands. Lao Yu thinks that， the leather shoes brands at shopping malls put no big threat to him. Private custom targets at those with special feet types from the very beginning， who cannot find suitable ones in batches of shoes and come to Lao Yu. And nowadays， with the improvement of living standard， customers have their own requirements not only in feet types but also in materials and designs. Therefore， in some sense， handmade leather shoes workshops and mass shoe production factories belong to two industries. However， Lao Yu also sees the improvement of customer requirements and the introduction of the outsider of this industry -- international famous brands manual customization. Will this put threat on Lao Yu’s business？ Lao Yu says smilingly that， at least for now it is not a threat， since those advanced manual custom are very expensive from storefront to manual work. “Unless international brands pay much attention to Chinese market and enter in by low price， otherwise， in terms of price， I still have advantages. Even if they did come， I am confident in my craft that every process of mine are in the traditional way.” Lao Yu says he survives in cracks.
　　Although Lao Yu says he doesn’t have grand goals， he mentions more than once the Italian manual workshop in the interview， which is his example along the way forward as we can imagine. Lao Yu says he quite admires a small manual workshop in Florence， which only produces 200 pairs of leather shoes a year and all the high-end people need to line up if they want one. And after the shop finishing all 200 pairs of shoes， the workers would go on vacation. The targeted customers of Lao Yu include the high-end class and the working class and his workshop is still in intensive production. In order to realize dreams， Lao Yu says， on one hand， the quality of every pair of shoes should be guaranteed， and on the other hand， it needs the precipitation of time， which is the only way must be passed for every century-old shop. On this way， once you are impatient， then the dreams would be broken.
　　大部分独立工作室往往都会面对大品牌垄断式大规模生产的冲击。在老余看来，商场里面那些垄断式的皮鞋品牌对他而言，不构成大威胁。私人订制从最初开始就是针对那些特殊脚型的人群，他们在批量鞋里买不到合适的，于是找到了老余。而如今，随着生活水平的提高，不仅是脚型上有要求，客人对鞋子的用料和款式都有自己的定制要求。因此，从某种意义上而言，手工皮鞋作坊和批量化鞋厂是两个行业。然而，老余也看到了顾客要求的提高，也引进了手工定制这个行业的外来者——国际知名品牌手工定制。这会不会给老余构成威胁？老余笑着说，至少在目前还不是威胁。因为那些高级手工定制从店面到人工，费用都极其昂贵。“除非国际品牌看中中国市场，都纷纷低价入市，否则从价格上而言，我还是占优势的。即便它们真的来了，我对自己的手艺也是很自信的，我每一道工序用的都是最传统的方式。”老余笑称自己是在夹缝中生存。 　　尽管老余说自己没有宏大的目标，但采访中他不止一次提到意大利手工作坊，可以想象得到，那就是他一路上的榜样。老余说，他很羡慕佛罗伦萨一家小手工作坊，每年只生产200双皮鞋，所有高端人士想要定做都需要排队，限量做完以后，他们就去休假了。老余目前针对的顾客群既有高端人士，也包括工薪阶层，他的作坊仍处于密集生产的方式。要实现梦想，老余说，一是要做好每一双鞋的品质，二是要靠时间的沉淀，这是每一家百年老店的必经之路，在这条路上，一旦心急了，梦也就碎了。
　　Street Snap -- Turning a Hobby into an Art Career
　　街拍——把爱好拍成艺术事业
　　When we talk about indie studios， we usually find that those craftsmen who own indie studios are actually doing business with their own hobbies. Some people may say those guys are very lucky， because they can turn a hobby into a career， like photography， but some hobbies can hardly be turned into careers， like street snap. In my opinion， the really lucky guys should be those who can turn a hobby that is not supposed to be a career into a career， like Ma Haibo， the well-known photographer for street snap.
　　I made an appointment with Ma Haibo to conduct an interview in Sanlitun， where he hangs out a lot. In a number of photographers who are based in Sanlitun， it won’t be hard for you to find that Ma Haibo is very different. His face shines with confidence.
　　当我们在聊独立工作室的时候，常常会发现，那些拥有独立工作室的匠人们，他们都是在经营着自己的兴趣爱好。有人会说，那些人是幸运的，因为他们的爱好可以变成一份职业，比如摄影，但有些爱好却很难变成职业，比如街拍。我想，真正幸运的人，应该是把不能成为职业的爱好变成职业的人吧，比如马海波，知名街拍摄影师。
　　那天，我约了马海波在他经常出没的三里屯做采访，在三里屯众多的街拍摄影师当中，你不难发现，马海波跟别人不一样，他的脸上洋溢着一种自信的光彩。
　　He told me： you should be confident before you do anything.
　　I’m pretty sure he is confident. Three years ago， Ma Haibo left his hometown Yunnan and came to Beijing to start his career as a photographer. The first thing he did with his camera was taking street snaps. However， before that， he didn’t have any expertise in photo shooting. In his words， his skills do not come from formal education but informal means. After three year， his works started to show up frequently on the publications of various mainstream media and propagandas for famous brands. We can see him more in the international fashion shows than streets. He won himself the indie studio and the title of “well-known street snap photographer”.
　　Street snap came into Chinese people’s view in recent years. More and more people like to wear fashionable clothes and take casual photos on street. However， the development of street snap in China is not as well as Europe and America， the photographers are easily mistaken， questioned， and opposed. Ma Haibo went through a lot of frustrations in his way of taking street snaps. In the beginning， there was a time when he saw a man and a woman in fashion walking in Sanlitun. He went over and asked， “Excuse me， I’m a street snap photographer. Can I take a photo for you two？” This is a commonly used opening line of street snap photographers， because after all when somebody asks you for something politely， even if you don’t agree， you tend to refuse him politely. Surprisingly， the man didn’t answer first， and then walked to Ma Haibo， and said to his face， “Get Lost！” Ma Haibo said that this experience maybe easy to say right now， but for a street snap photographer， that moment was very hard. He felt like falling off the cliff and then got furious， because his beloved career was not recognized but humiliated. It’s hard for other people to understand this feeling. 　　他告诉我：做任何事情，首先你得要自信。
　　我确信他是自信的。三年前，马海波离开了家乡云南，到北京开始他的摄影生涯。他拿起相机做的第一件事情就是街拍。但在这之前，他丝毫没有摄影基础，用他的话说，完全野路子出身。但是三年后，他的作品频繁出现在各大媒体和知名品牌宣传上，他的身影从街头走向了国际秀场，他有了自己的摄影工作室，也有了知名街拍摄影师的头衔。
　　街拍这些年渐渐走进了中国人的视野，越来越多人喜欢穿着时尚，喜欢在大街上被街拍。然而，街拍的发展毕竟不如欧美发达国家，街拍摄影师常常会被人误解，质疑甚至反对。马海波在街拍的过程中也经历了不少挫折。刚开始街拍时，有一次，他在三里屯看见穿着时尚的一男一女，便走上前问：“您好，打扰了，我是一名街拍摄影师，请问我可以给你们拍张照片吗？”这是他们街拍摄影师开口必说的一句话，毕竟，当你有礼貌地先咨询别人的时候，一般情况下，即使不同意，对方也会婉拒你。结果没想到，那名男子一言不发，走到马海波跟前，几乎脸凑近脸地对他狠狠地说了一个字：“滚！”马海波说，这件事现在说出来好像很普通，但是对于一个街拍摄影师来说，那个瞬间的心情是跌落谷底转而又有暴怒的冲动，因为自己所钟爱的工作，没得到认可，反而被羞辱的心情，常人难以理解。
　　Nowadays， Ma Haibo has gone through a lot and became tough. When come across those who object street snap， his feelings won’t be affected easily. In his own words， “Taking photos for you is my way to appreciate you. Accepting or not is your freedom. Many people want me to take photos for them， but I may not do it.” Ma Haibo’s confidence cannot be separated from his character and his achievements. In the community of street snap in Beijing， he has been well accepted and recognized by other photographers， the media and enterprises. In his opinion， apart from confidence， skill is very important in the process of achieving success. Ma Haibo likes to read all the fashion magazines and study the street snaps in Europe and America. He found that be natural is a key factor in the success of western street snaps. Being natural then became his style of street snap. In the process of photo shooting， he doesn’t need the models to be professional， doesn’t need them to be good at matching or posing， and he even doesn’t need scenery background view. All he wants is to seize the most common life moments and the most genuine status and attitude of the models.
　　Ma Haibo considers street snap as a hobby in his career as a photographer. He said that he wants to make street snap ultra-perfect. People who run indie studios usually cannot avoid the contradictions between art and business. Ma Haibo would like to present his works through various media and brands， and this is the destiny of street snap， letting more people to share the fashion in normal life. However， in the cooperation with various media and brands， Ma Haibo would stick to his idea. Fortunately， his views and works have never let people down.
　　In the end of the interview， Ma Haibo told me that he is very grateful to his original street snap company， because it’s almost impossible for a beginner street snap photographer to find media or brands in his own name and it was extremely difficult to make money out of street snap in China. In the old days in the street snap company， the atmosphere and system gave him some pressure but also made him grow quickly in this field. After our interview， I saw a lot of funs of street snap hanging around in Sanlitun. Perhaps what Ma Haibo just said will be the most helpful inspiration for them. 　　如今的马海波，心态渐渐也锻炼出来了，遇到这些不支持街拍的路人，也不会难过了。用他自己的话说，“我给你拍照，是欣赏你，拍不拍是你的自由，很多人想要让我拍，我还不一定会拍。”马海波的自信，与他本人性格有关，也与他的成就密不可分。在北京街拍圈子里，他是被同行、媒体和商家等认可的。在他看来，要想做好一件事，除了有自信，技术也非常重要。马海波喜欢翻阅各大时尚杂志，研究欧美流行街拍，他发现，欧美街拍成功的最重要因素是自然。自然也就成为了他的街拍风格。在街拍的过程中，他不需要被拍的模特有多专业，也不需要他们有多会穿衣服，摆造型，他更不需要借助好看的背景。他要的只是抓拍最平常的生活场景，以及被拍者最真实的生活状态和态度。
　　马海波把街拍当作自己摄影事业里的一个爱好，他说他要把街拍艺术做到一个极致。运营独立工作室的人，往往无可避免艺术与商业之间的冲突。马海波很乐意把自己的街拍通过不同的媒体和品牌商家展现给大众，这也是街拍的使命，让更多人分享生活中的时尚。然而，在与各大媒体和品牌的合作过程中，马海波依然会坚持自己的想法。幸运的是，他的眼光和作品也从来不会让人失望。
　　采访的最后，马海波告诉我，他很感谢当初的街拍公司，因为对于一个刚起步的街拍爱好者而言，是几乎不太可能以个人名义找到媒体或品牌合作商的，在中国想独自靠街拍挣钱很难。而在街拍公司的日子里，公司氛围的带动，各种制度的规范，让他感觉到有压力的同时，也让他迅速地在街拍行业当中成长起来。当我们结束采访的时候，我看到太古里楼下徘徊着的街拍爱好者们，或许马海波这段话就是给他们最好的启示吧。
　　Li Tan： A Startling
　　Carving Knife
　　李坦：石破天惊的一刀
　　All the indie studios introduced in this session are the successful cases in their respect fields. Some people may question that they are only the few lucky guys out of thousands of hard-working people， and when they achieve success in certain fields， people would consider their stories as the history of success. In fact， success is not always from occasional luck. When we see a person’s history of success in retrospect， we will find that those who are successful invariably made different choices at certain stage. For instance， the owner of the indie studio we are going to talk about today -- Li Tan.
　　Li Tan owns a stone sculpture studio in Beijing. His style in sculpture of ancient beast has been loved and spoke highly of by the professional collectors. How popular is Li Tan？ During the interview， one of his friends showed a seal to me and told me that he gave the original stone to Li Tan in the last year， but he got the completed work back days ago even under the condition of friend priority.
　　本期介绍的独立工作室都是一些业内的成功案例。有人会质疑，他们只是千千万万奋斗者当中的幸运儿，而当他们幸运地在某个领域登顶后，人们就会把他们的故事当作是成功史。事实上，成功并非总是偶得的幸运。当我们把一个人的成功史逆向来看时，或许你会发现，成功者总是在某些关键点做出了与常人不同的选择。比如这位独立工作室主人——李坦。
　　李坦在北京拥有一家个人印石雕刻工作室，他的古兽雕刻风格自成一家，深受业内收藏家追捧和喜爱。李坦现在究竟有多火？在采访的时候，他的一个朋友拿着一件印钮告诉我，去年就把石头给了李坦，结果在朋友优先的情况下，他也是前几天才从李坦那里拿到成品。
　　The first time I met Li Tan， I found he was a shy young guy. It’s hard to imagine he is the well-known sculptor. Li Tan is becoming more and more famous but he rarely appears in public. In most time， he works silently in his studio in Xishan， studying the shaping of every piece of Shoushan stone and making every sculpture perfect.
　　People who are fully concentrated are always likely to get luck. Apart from carefully operating his studio， Li Tan has invariably made accurate but different choice in the turning point of his life. Changhua Mountain is the origin place of bloodstone. Many practitioners who learned their skills in Changhua Mountain tend to stay there， but Li Tan chose to go to Beijing. He believed Beijing has more professional collectors and larger market， and more importantly， as the capital for six dynasties， Beijing has various cultural and historical materials. Li Tan has been inspired by the various historical documents about relics and heritage and laid the foundation for the creation themed with ancient beast. Li Tan knows very clearly that among all the innovative works the ones without classic foundation will be ruled out by time. 　　初见李坦的时候，眼前羞涩不善言谈的小伙子，让我难以将他和业内知名雕刻家联系起来。李坦的作品名气越来越大，但他本人却极少出现在大众面前，更多的时间里，他都是默默地在西山的工作室里度过，研究每一块寿山石的造型，把每一个创作精雕细刻到极致。
　　用心做事的人，总会被成功眷顾。但李坦除了在运营工作室用心以外，他每一次在命运的转折点都能做出准确而与众不同的选择。昌化山是鸡血石的产地，从昌化山出师以后，不少学徒都会选择留在当地，而李坦选择只身前往北京。选择北京，除了因为看中北京玩家和市场相对较大以外，更重要的是，北京作为六朝古都，各类文史资料丰富。李坦在各种文物和史料当中，吸取灵感，为自己的古兽主题创作奠定基础。李坦心里清楚，在各种打着创新名号的作品当中，如果没有古典根基，那将会被时间所淘汰。
　　A young practitioner has to go a long way to become a master in Beijing. Since he cannot become a master quickly， in order to survive， Li Tan worked as a realtor for several months. This is way that many practitioners would choose in the transition time. Some people may stay in that status， but some people will find a way to return to the original path. Li Tan had no money or valuable stones back then， but he didn’t give up. He quit the job and worked alone and quietly in his room， with just one machine and several nicking tools. He worked more than 12 hours every day. He said that it’s normal to be poor at the beginning stage and he could only work for others and save money step by step.
　　Some people say that Li Tan was very lucky because many people would like to pay for his sculptures. Why so many people would like to turn to a young and inexperienced practitioner？ When Li Tan was still a practitioner in Changhua Mountain， he had already been different. His obsession with sculpture made him pay attention to various skills of masters. Every night， he would practice the skills he learned “in secret”. After that， the masters’ skills cannot satisfy him anymore， so he used the money he saved to by the portfolios of ancient and modern masters to absorb more nutrients. He has developed his own style gradually. Before he left the mountain， he has already had many followers.
　　初到北京，一个小学徒，想要成为大师总是不能一步登天的。既然不能成为大师，总要养活自己，李坦为了生存，做了几个月的房地产销售。这是很多手艺学徒刚出师而又没有找到出路的一种出路。有的人会安于此，但有的人会想办法回归。李坦当时没有钱，更不可能有任何值钱的石头，但他不想放弃，于是他辞职，安安静静地待在屋子里，一个人，一台机器，几把刻刀，开始了每天不少于12小时给别人雕刻石头的工作。他说，刚开始资金肯定是没有的，只能自己一边给别人加工，一边攒钱慢慢开始。
　　有人说，李坦是幸运的，在他起步的时候，有那么多人找他雕刻石头。但是，试问为什么那么多人愿意找一个刚出师的小学徒雕刻寿山石？李坦在昌化山当学徒的时候，就已经不同于普通的帮工式小学徒了。他对雕刻的痴迷，让他开始留意身边各路大师的雕刻技艺，每天晚上都会把白天所“偷师”学来的技艺自己悄悄练习。再后来，当那些昌化山大师们的技艺已经无法满足他的时候，他存下自己为数不多的生活费，购买各类古今大师的雕刻作品集，汲取养分，开始逐渐形成个人的古兽雕刻风格。当他还没出山的时候，他的作品就已经拥有了一大批追随者。
　　Li Tan also has his planning about the future. Some famous studios easily go on the devious path because they want to expand the business or pursue the fame. Li Tan told me that he won’t give up his creation in ancient beasts but it’s necessary to expand the business. He has seen other demands in market， like the market of jade sculpture， but everybody has his own advantages， so he prefer to cooperate with other sculptors of jade to expand the business rather than doing more work by himself.
　　李坦对于未来也有着自己的规划。有一定名气的工作室，总会想着要扩展运营或追求更多的名利，往往也会因此而走偏。李坦告诉我，他不会放弃自己对古兽创作的道路，但拓展工作室也是必须的。他看到了其它市场的需求，比如玉雕市场，但术业有专攻，与其自己分身做更多的内容，不如通过与有玉雕技艺的雕刻家合作，扩大工作室经营。
　　有技艺，有胆识，有先见，有规划。我想，这不仅仅是李坦的，也是本期成功的独立工匠们的“四有”共性吧。