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Little Donald Trump all in day’s work for Hong Kong figurine company QMiniMe@Unusually

Joe Chan’s firm is a big deal in business of small lifelike statues of real people

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Joe Chan runs a business making figurine caricatures of famous people. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Sending several hundred 15cm (six-inch) figurines of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to the United States was a proud but somewhat surreal moment for businessman Joe Chan Cho-nam.
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The 33-year-old owns a company, QMiniMe@Unusually, which makes hand-tailored figurines, the only firm of its kind in Hong Kong to cater to both the retail and mass production markets.

The company, established in 2003, has two mini-shops tucked away on the upper floors of local shopping malls but enjoys a much larger overseas market, receiving orders from high-profile clients including European royal families and the campaign teams of the two main candidates in the 2016 US presidential election.

According to Chan, most of these delicate toys will be used as souvenirs for high-class events and promotion campaigns.

His company has a production house in Taiwan with more than 100 craftsmen, where nearly 10,000 figurines are made every year, each selling for about HK$580 (US$74) on average.

Bobblehead figurine culture is more popular in Western countries than in Hong Kong, Chan explains. “I wouldn’t say my company is famous overseas, but most customers familiar with figurines probably would have heard of it,” he adds.

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Joe Chan says there are some famous people whom he ‘dares not’ make figures of. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Joe Chan says there are some famous people whom he ‘dares not’ make figures of. Photo: Jonathan Wong
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