Two female colleagues in Hactl’s Finance team are bringing colours to the numeric day-to-day work of their team—Cecilia Chan is a baking master whose sweet treats entrance her co-workers, while Winnie Lam is a balloon artist whose self-taught twisting skills bring joy and positive energy to children and the community through her active volunteer work. Both have busy lives at work, yet Cecilia and Winnie have shown that their creative hobbies can enrich their lives, while benefiting the workplace and the community.
Creative cakes deliver endless joy
Joining Hactl in 2021 as Financial Controller, Cecilia oversees financial reporting, budgeting and internal controls. Though she has a tight working schedule, she spends much of her spare time on her greatest interest—baking. Her “sweet journey” was inspired by her son more than a decade ago after he requested an oven as a gift when he was in Primary 3. “He rarely asks for gifts, so when he performed well in the examination, I decided to fulfill his wish,” Cecilia recalls with a smile. Very soon, she was the one using the oven to showcase her skills in blending art and love to create her culinary masterpieces.
Starting with simple bakes such as cookies and chiffon cakes, she gradually moved up to creating more complicated creations. This led to her challenging herself to make Napoleon mille-feuille and three-dimensional cakes with royal icing. She shares: “I have learnt to be more patient and attentive to details. Sometimes I spend hours preparing a cake, but it may not work out. Although this is disappointing, this is also a part of the learning process where I can improve.”
Cecilia faces a lot of pressure from numbers and tight deadlines at work, and baking turns out to be a means for relieving stress. “Some people enjoy shopping, but I find endless joy in the kitchen. I don’t even mind standing eight hours straight making mooncakes!” Baking is not only Cecilia’s hobby, it is also her way of expressing love.
Source of motivation
Every festival, she prepares a specialist cake and brings it to the office for sharing with her teammates. A simple, delicious cake lets the team temporarily escape from work and stress and enjoy a relaxing moment. “My teammates always look forward to my latest creation. Sometimes they even bring me ingredients as souvenirs when they travel and see what new surprises I can bring,” she giggles.
Among all of her creations over the years, the most unforgettable one was a three-dimensional cake she made as a farewell gift to Hactl’s former Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer when she retired. On top of the cake was a European-style pavilion made with very fine royal icing and Korean bean paste flower. When she presented the cake, everyone was amazed by her craftsmanship and didn’t want to cut it into pieces. “Receiving my teammates’ praises is my greatest motivation!” she says proudly.
Cakes are more than food, they are a bridge to connect people and bring everyone together, Cecilia shares: “We spend lots of times with each other in office, sometimes even more than with our family. Through my cake-baking, I hope to foster a sense of belonging among my teammates, and that is very meaningful.”
“Receiving my teammates’ praises is my greatest motivation!”
Spreading joy and love with balloons
Winnie has worked in Hactl for more than thirty years. She is responsible for accounting and payment, and is the backbone of the Finance team. Some twenty years ago, a colleague invited her to join a volunteering activity and that’s where she started her balloon twisting journey. Winnie recalls, “I found it magical seeing how an ordinary balloon could transform into flowers, puppies and bears with just a few twists.”
At the beginning, Winnie only knew several basic balloon twists. But by watching YouTube videos, practising continuously, being creative, and learning about balloon materials and their limitations, she soon mastered more complex and durable sculptures, such as a hat, lantern, and even an arch. Today, her creations easily catch everyone’s attention at events.
Winnie frequently volunteers at community events and visits, showcasing her talents by crafting a variety of balloon shapes for children and their families who are attending. She gains satisfaction and fulfilment when she sees how surprised they are when they see the creativity involved. “Children are thrilled even just receiving a flower or puppy balloon, while it’s usually the parents who raise more challenging requests,” she says.
Winnie’s artistic talent and manual dexterity can be challenged if she is asked to make cartoon characters she’s never made before, such as Elmo from Sesame Street. That’s when she needs to improvise and adapt her technique, so it gives her much satisfaction when she succeeds. “Some people are easy-going, some have higher expectations. Twisting balloons for different audiences teaches me how to communicate with all kinds of people, which is useful in my daily work. Also, figuring out how to achieve desired shapes and recovering from mistakes—like a popped balloon—are good examples of problem-solving, it’s a lot like what the Finance team does—constantly adjusting and refining to get things just right.”
Joy and satisfaction
Her most stand-out creation to date was a large balloon arch created for a choir event for her friends. Working together with only two helpers, they completed the arch in around an hour. The final work became the highlight of the event, “Seeing everyone rushing to take photos with the arch, the joy and pleasure on their faces made me feel that all the hard work was worth it.” Winnie recalls.
For Winnie, balloon twisting is more than just a hobby, it is also a way to relieve stress. “It feels like I am releasing the stresses of life bit by bit when I twist balloons.” She adds, “People usually fear the balloon popping, but for me, the sound of a ‘BANG!’ takes my stress and unhappiness away.”
In addition to participating in Hactl’s volunteering team, Winnie also volunteers in the community with like-minded friends. Sometimes she shares her balloon twisting skills with her colleagues or prepares balloon decorations for birthday parties of her colleagues’ families. “Balloon twisting looks like a simple craft, but it has brought me tonnes of joy, especially when the recipients express their appreciation. That is the moment I feel that my work is truly meaningful.” She says.
“People usually fear the balloon popping, but for me, the sound of a ‘BANG!’ takes my stress and unhappiness away.”
Cecilia builds strong bonds among her colleagues with her creative cakes, while Winnie brings joy to others through her balloon art. Not only do they handle complicated financial tasks with professionalism and accuracy, they also display the same approach when practicing their hobbies—using their hands and pouring their hearts into what they enjoy doing to express care and support for others.