Interview: Social Supply's Camden Hauge & Olivia Mok
By Dominic Ngai
From Shanghai Supperclub’s monthly private dinners to the new collection launch party for Balmain, SOCIAL SUPPLY has been throwing fabulous events around the city since 2016. Just before their third FEAST Food Festival on May 6-7, founders Camden Hauge and Olivia Mokshare with us how they’re able to juggle multiple roles in their careers and the most memorable events they’ve organized.
Tell us about your background
CH: I arrived in Shanghai from London with an advertising company, originally only for a few months. But I was so impressed with the energy and entrepreneurialism of the people here that I was inspired to start a passion project of my own – Shanghai Supperclub. Eventually, when I opened my restaurant EGG, I had find someone who could help run Supperclub, and met Olivia through a mutual friend. I knew that she would be the right person to run the project right away.
OM: I was born in Hong Kong, raised in Vancouver, and have been living in Shanghai since 2012. No other city has really excited me the same way Shanghai has. At the time, I was managing American Apparel for Greater China, but after two great years with the brand, I realized I wasn't happy with the state in which the fashion industry was in, and I wanted to find something new.
I’ve always loved hosting parties, so when Camden asked if I wanted to help her out with Supperclub, I jumped right at the opportunity – diving head first into a completely different career in hospitality. I now co-own La Maison on Jinxian Lu, Tribe Shanghai and a new project is coming up this summer! It's been a whirlwind but it all started from the conversation I had with Camden and I’m so grateful.
Tell us what SOCIAL SUPPLY is
CH: We refer to SOCIAL SUPPLY as "the everything events agency." About a year ago, Supperclub started getting more and more private client requests and corporate commissions for similar experiences, so we broached the idea of building a proper 'events agency' to deal with all of these client productions. We do everything from small private parties to larger media launches or store openings for clients, in addition to our own events – our monthly Shanghai Supperclub, our new immersive film-screening event Cocktail Cinema, and our new live music sessions Liveroom, as well as our food festival FEAST, the Supperclub anniversary parties, and our charity Family Christmas Dinner with Le Baron.
What do you like most about organizing events?
CH: Every project is so different! It's amazing how much you learn while solving each new brief. Plus the excess of wine isn't bad...
OM: I love meeting new people, so these events bring a lot of opportunities for that. I also enjoy the satisfying feeling of completing an event and doing it right.
What roles do you each play when organizing events?
CH: It depends on the event – one of us will usually take the lead on a job, and the other will play support along with the team. But generally, Olivia is much more sociable and composed and so she plays front of house. I'm usually running around like a headless chicken trying to get the food out on time.
What’s the most memorable event you’ve done?
CH: The first Supperclub anniversary was the most insane party for many reasons. The concept was to celebrate the first 12 months with 12 simultaneous dinner parties cooked by 12 of Shanghai's best chefs in the same room. Sounded super cool in my head but came with infinite logistical issues, the first of which being that we didn't secure a venue until three days before – an empty warehouse space where we had to sweep about 10cm of dust off the floor to make it workable. The chefs were amazing about the insane conditions – they served amazing food and everyone had far too much to drink.
OM: There are so many memorable ones, like the first FEAST because it was the largest collaborative experience with a full team and it was very rewarding. I also won't be able to forget our beautiful Supperclub third anniversary at the Yuz Museum.
You both juggle multiple roles on a daily basis (Egg, La Maison, etc.) How do you do it all?
CH: Clones... No – finding the right people to surround yourself with. Working with an amazing team is key, which we have been as lucky enough to do with SOCIAL SUPPLY as I have been with EGG.
OM: 100 percent what Cam said.
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