On 27 September I was invited for a visit to HONAV, as the company “Beijing Huajiang Culture Development Co. Ltd.” is known. I joined government officials from Beijing Dongcheng District (I am their advisor).
See: http://issuu.com/danielpeng/docs/honav_brochure
As reported by my friend Rachael Church-Sanders on MEI (Major Events International), on 12 August 2012:
Honav named official provider
Honav, the Chinese company that designed and made lapel pins for the Beijing and London Olympics, has become the official provider of pins for the Rio 2016 Games, becoming the first company to get pin-licensing rights three times in a row. Jack Chen, chairman of Honav, signed the agreement with Carlos Nuzman, president of the Rio 2016 organizing committee, in London during the 2012 Olympics.
Beijing-based Honav made its name in 2008 by turning waste steel at Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird’s Nest stadium, into Olympic souvenirs such as miniature torches and pins. Shortly after the Beijing Olympics, Honav was approached by organisers of the 2012 Olympics to bid for those Games’ pin-licensing rights. Honav won the bid over about 40 competitors worldwide.
Honav has become the only company in the world with the right to design, produce, and distribute official pins for the Olympics organisers, as well as for Olympic sponsors such as Coca-Cola Co and Dow Chemical Co.
For the London 2012 Games, Honav designed 2,012 pins with various themes. About 20 designers were involved, both Chinese and British.
See: http://www.majoreventsinternational.com/
I was impressed by the visit to their Beijing Office. Never seen such a well-designed, orderly and clean Chinese office. I personally congratulated its Chairman and CEO, Mr. Jack Chen, during the dinner.
See the pictures to have an idea.
After the visit we had a dinner in a pretty unusual hotel: Xizhao Temple Hotel. As it happened I had visited the temple (sitting behind and on top of parts of the hotel), during a cultural event years ago, finding my way out through the hotel.