20 for 20: Plastered 8 Founder Dominic Johnson-Hill
In celebration of our 20th anniversary, we're profiling 20 movers and shakers who, much like The Beijinger, have called the capital home for 20 years or more.
Dominic Johnson-Hill is Beijing’s epitome of cool. He is the founder and creative director of Plastered 8, a creative street wear brand, which began in 2006. The brand itself is the ultimate Beijing souvenir, with Dominic designing shirts, jackets, and accessories referencing Chinese slang or featuring monstrous kaiju-like entities – often inspired by food, like douzhi’er or street popcorn machines – hurdling across the city's streets and terrorizing residents.
Along with churning out regular new designs for Plastered, which can be found online or in their hutong shops, Dominic also runs a small agency creating pop artwork and installations for other brands and businesses around China and the world. On top of this, he also presents a travel show called Seasons of China, which explores the country’s history and culture. Dominic and his wife have four daughters, ranging from 21 to 11.
What brought you to Beijing, and when?
I came to Beijing as a backpacker in 1993. I wanted to see the Great Wall and also didn’t want to return to the UK so grabbed at some opportunities that we all know are plenty in Beijing (especially in the ‘90s) and settled down.
What were some of your first impressions of the city?
Flat, grey and very dark and night and almost all the cars were yellow.
Did you imagine at that time that you’d still be here 20 years later?
Never imagined this at all as I live in the moment. Beijing is such stimulating place that 28 years have really flown by.
Tell us about one of your quintessential first experiences in the city.
I lived with a family of old Beijing retirees near the north 3rd Ring Road before it had been completed. They had never had a foreigner in their neighborhood before, let alone in their small house. When I woke up on my first morning there, I found them standing over my bed watching me sleeping. I had little to no privacy, which was different. The toilet had no door as well. One time, the mom of the house decided to chat with me mid-dump, remarking towards the end that I’d used a lot of toilet paper.
What’s changed the most since you first arrived?
My hair.
How you do think Beijing has changed you as a person?
I think that experiencing Rome being built in more than a day, as the saying goes, has been such a privilege, but also seeing this city double in population, as well as seeing and getting to know so many who have come to make a living here, has helped me to become a much more empathetic person. It important to stop and look at the faces of those walking around Beijing and try to imagine where they're from and what their dreams are.
What’s your main reasons why Beijing continues to be a draw for you to this day?
Friends that became family, a business where I stumbled across my passion, a completely different culture and language alien to mine that in the constant process of learning I find I’m able to be better at, and even being able to somewhat change myself for the better.
Name your three favorite places in the city (aside from your home), could be restaurants, parks, cafes, tourist attractions, neighborhoods, experiences.
Any of the wild sections of the Great Wall north of Beijing. You’re really missing out if you haven’t hiked a few. My two small creative shops, I still can’t believe I was brave enough to pursue something so heart on sleeve. Also, the north part of Houhai near the ping pong tables, where you can swim for free in the summer and sit on the marble bannisters drinking a cheap beer while watching the sun go down.
What’s one piece of advice you have for relatively recent arrivals (within the last year)?
Get out of the city as much as possible and explore the countryside. Insane adventurers are just around the corner and they’re affordable and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. All you have to do is go to the train station without any itinerary or plan.
Are you still doing what you came here to do, 20 years ago?
Good question and truly made me think and smile. In the purest form I came here to have fun, nothing else really, and I’m still having a great time of it. I’ve always just gone with the flow and grabbed at random opportunities that are in my periphery. So yes, I guess I am, but I think it’s important to remind people that one must look at time here as time invested and try to walk away one day with something. I’ve seen a few too many foreigners party too hard, lose their moral compasses and go home broke. Be smart and embrace the adventure.
READ: 20 for 20: Newsweek Beijing Bureau Chief Melinda Liu
Images courtesy of Dominic Johnson-Hill
