Dear Mr. Know-It-All,
Do you know of any place where I can take my two favorite handbags for cleaning?  One's nubuck and one is leather with metal details.  They are my favorites, but what with the talk of the bacteria count of ladies’ handbags, I'm a bit freaked out and I'm desperate to get them spick and span again.
—Baggie Blues

Oh! Miss Hygiene-Conscious! Clean Living
(2334-0896, www.cleanliving.com.hk) has several shops across Hong Kong and offers a cleaning service for handbags. Just take them your bags and they’ll give you a quote for the cleaning depending on their condition. It usually takes 14 days so you may want to do one at a time so as not to be without them both. There’s a free pick-up and delivery service or you can head down to Shop 2A, 2/F, Entertainment Building, 30 Queen’s Rd. Central, 2868-3669.


Dear Mr. Know-It-All,
I bought some wooden armchairs with cushions many years ago. The cushions are very badly worn and I've tried to get new ones from the shop that sold me the chairs, but was told that I could only get them if I bought the entire set again. Where can I get some cushions custom-made? By the way, I'm based in Sai Kung so somewhere Kowloon-side would be ideal.
—Worn out

Oh, aren’t you thrifty? Mr. KIA likes your style.
Why not give Yue Wa Chinese Emporium
(301-309 Nathan Rd., Jordan, Kowloon, 3511-2222) a go to see if you can find anything that fits amongst their cushion covers. Alternatively, try a curtain shop such as Ka Ying Curtains (G/F, 28 Man Nin St., Sai Kung, 2791-4796). The best way is to bring a sample cushion along to the store where the very helpful staff will assist you in choosing fabrics (or you can bring your own) and give you a quotation straight away.