The first episode in our new series titled, Special Delivery, documenting the interesting subjects from our Woon community who contribute to make Woon what it is today.

In this episode, we deliver Woon to “JuJu”, my uncle and Mama Fong’s brother, Joel Chen - the founder and owner of JF Chen Antiques, a 40 year old iconic antique store located on Highland Ave, During our visit, we have a casual conversation over food and a very rare walkthrough of his home and personal collection. We touch on what makes his collection so special and what goes into the process of choosing his antique pieces. We also get a chance to visit his 20,000 sqft showroom on Highland Ave, where Woon was born as a pop up over 7 years ago.

I grew up spending every Thanksgiving at Joel’s house and not really understanding what it all meant. Now that I’m older and appreciate the empire that he built, it feels extra special to be able to share his home with our Woon community. Not only that, but it’s an honor for him to lend Woon some pieces from his collection. Hopefully this will provide a new perspective when you see the small horse statues on the shelf high up in the dining room, the ancestral scroll paintings hanging on the wall, the 1940 oil painting of Kowloon Bay in the corner, the original Mao Zedong propaganda posters in the bathrooms (no, we are not communist), and the family photo in the corner featuring Joel, Mama Fong and their parents on their first American Thanksgiving.

Special thanks to my uncle Joel Chen, aunt Margaret Chen, and cousin Bianca Chen
Film & edit by Jacob Cummings