Inking Memories: Heart and Soul!
- Mar 31
- 5 min read
Former Pen ‘n Paper owner and community advocate Sophia Lau-Duehring reflects on her four decades in DB. Martin Wray reports
PHOTOGRAPHY BY Andrew Spires
Long-time Discovery Bay residents will recognise the familiar face of Sophia Lau-Duehring shopping at the weekend market or relaxing at a table in DB South Plaza. Sophia is familiar to many because she was the proprietor of a much-loved shop for residents, especially school-aged kids and their parents – Pen ‘n Paper. The shop was a community hub and a friendly place to hang out and browse for arts and crafts.
We meet on a sunny afternoon, at one of Sophia’s preferred spots in the plaza, to talk about her four decades in DB. Dressed immaculately in white, Sophia exudes warmth and graciousness. A friendliness known by at least four other residents who stop by to say hello.
Pen ‘n Paper opened in 1998. “It was not an easy time when I started,” she recalls. “I think it was during some financial downfall. Just after the handover, things got really different.” A friend helped Sophia secure a lease, and she hired three full-time staff so she could be open seven days a week.
Initially, she sold just stationery, which she liked. But she quickly learnt "liking stationery and working with stationery is completely different." Take pencil sharpeners: she discovered she needed to stock left-handed versions, as well as left-handed scissors and left-handed fountain pens, all of which she air-freighted from Germany.
“Then the craft thing came in, glitter,” she says. “It slowly built up as suppliers came to visit and introduced new products.” Eventually, the shop also offered arts-and-crafts items such as paints, brushes, stickers and canvases. Things like Play-Doh, air-dried clay and papier-mâché attracted the kids – and Sophia’s window displays were legendary.
Ask Sophia about her favourite memory, and she doesn’t hesitate: “Every day. Every day, so many kids came. When school finished at 3.30pm, that was a rush. I also knew many of the parents, I would see them every weekend at the marina, in the plaza or on the ferry. We had that kind of closeness and familiarity.
“For me, the shop was not only to sell stuff,” Sophia adds. “It was a place people could put up notices... about playgroups, anything that was cultural, educational. People could put the note up there.”
Pen ‘n Paper stayed open for over 20 years. When the landlord wanted to raise the rent, Sophia made a difficult decision, which, in hindsight, turned out to be a wise one. “I closed the shop in 2019. I have to thank them for raising my rent. Otherwise, I would have gone through COVID.”
The end of the business was bittersweet. “I was very lucky after I closed the shop, people were sort of buying souvenirs from my window display. So in the end, only a little bit of stock was left, and I donated it to charity.”
Sophia’s passion for people and community is deeply personal, rooted in her vibrant personality and long association with DB. A native of Hong Kong, Sophia was introduced to DB in 1985 by her future husband, Wolf, who was already a resident. Wolf worked as a German translator, and she was in the fashion business. She moved to DB soon afterwards, and both commuted to work via ferry.
Remembering the daily commute, she explains that back then, the ferry docked at Blake's Pier. “The last ferry was at 1am. So, if you went to Lan Kwai Fong, you had to make sure you caught the ferry. And there was this shop girl we knew. She would say, ‘Here’s your beer; you can pay me tomorrow,’ when we were running for the ferry. And for the guys who smoked cigarettes, ‘Here's a cigarette’. In those days, people could smoke inside and outside the ferry.” She doesn’t miss that last part.
Post Pen ‘n Paper, Sophia has a lot more time to do her own thing. “I’m taking piano lessons, which I like and really enjoy. I find it very soothing; memorising the notes is not easy, but I enjoy it.” And she has time to travel – three months out of every 12. This year, she and Wolf plan to be in Germany and Sweden.
When in DB, Sophia remains actively involved in the community – and today, she has something to communicate to readers: “I just hope no taxis come to the South Plaza. With so many kids around, it really worries me. They’ve already put signs up, but you wouldn’t notice them. It’s just a little laminated sheet tied up with zip ties near the Peng Chau Ferry Pier. Nobody’s going to stop and read that.”
As a member of the Owners Committee for Parkvale Village, where she has lived for decades, Sophia has raised the issue of taxis entering DB. She has called for a proper public consultation to determine what residents want, especially if there is to be an expansion of where taxis may go. “If residents want taxis, fine, but let them say so”, as they did before taxis were allowed in DB North Plaza.
Through a series of Facebook posts, Sophia has launched a grassroots campaign encouraging residents to press the government for a public consultation before allowing more taxis into DB.
Our discussion soon shifts to Discovery Bay Marina Club, which Sophia says was her second home before its controversial closure in 2018. “It linked the whole community directly and indirectly,” she says fondly. “We met members and sailors, and there were already some liveaboards. It was a very close community. There were lots of organised events... sailing races, birthday parties and sunset happy hours on friends' boats. And there were never any restrictions on bringing my dogs.”
And so to dogs. Sophia currently has a 17kg mutt named Tega, but over the years, she has owned up to three dogs at a time, all rescues. This passion for pets led to her three dogs being featured in the South China Morning Post in 2003. At the time, the only veterinarian in DB was facing eviction. So she joined a march in the plaza defending him. Sophia represented the plaza tenants in speaking with City Management. The rally saved the vet’s practice.
Tega offers her another way to connect with a different group of residents – dog minders at an informal playgroup in Seahorse Lane Park. “I discovered a new community. There is a big patch of lawn, which we call the dog park. At around 5 o'clock, you see 10, 15 dogs there. The Filipino helpers come, with their dogs, every day. Almost every other week, there's a dog birthday party, just like for kids. There are balloons, and they prepare food.”
Sophia continuously seeks out ways to stay connected. “I find it’s important to socialise,” she says, “so every day at 6pm, we head down to the South Plaza for happy hour. We sit at a table and meet people.”
Though nostalgic for old days, ways and friends, Sophia is still thankful. “You know, the great thing is, in the '80s, when I first came here, I met the first residents and we're still in touch. Some are still here.”
If you would like to connect with a new old friend, you will find Sophia and her pals at a table near the post office, at DB South Plaza, on any late afternoon. Bring your smiles, drinks and memories.
