The résumé of Clarence “CK” Kwan is packed with some of the biggest names in tech, such as Meta and Amazon. After years of working as an in-demand architect and design leader, CK decided to found his own company, CKcurated, where he and his partner Graham McCann craft bespoke travel, design, and culinary experiences tailored to LGBTQ+ individuals and more. Here, he tells us about his present life and work at CKcurated.
GGBA: CKcurated sounds like a passion project that must benefit from your years of other work experience. Please share more about it.
CK: CKcurated is a luxury travel and design service specializing in bespoke wine excursions, culinary experiences, interior design sourcing, and corporate retreats. Our mission is simple: people share and learn through artisanally crafted food and wine, thoughtfully designed spaces, and tailored travel experiences. We are not a traditional travel agency but a lifestyle concierge, creating original journeys with no pre-packaged trips, no commissions, and no group tours with strangers. As a gay Asian-American founder of an LGBTBE-certified business, I built CKcurated around genuine human connection and “quiet luxury” for LGBTQ+ clients and allies—welcoming, sophisticated environments where you never have to explain who you are—while uplifting small, passionate family-run wineries, local artisans, and chefs rooted in their communities. Our philosophy is this: always tailored, small by design, and deeply human at the center of every journey.
GGBA: Why did you decide to create your business, especially given that your career could have gone in many different directions?
CK: After 30 years as a corporate architect, I knew my next chapter needed to be intentionally anti-corporate: small by design, personal by choice, human at the center. I did not leave architecture behind; I reimagined it by applying design thinking to craft highly customized journeys, treating every trip like a carefully designed experience with deep listening, thoughtful problem-solving, and meticulous detail. Those corporate decades now help me humanize retreats for corporate clients who need genuine connection, not another conference room with bad coffee. CKcurated grew from discovering local eateries, family-run wineries, small businesses, and from a desire to resist over-tourism and cookie-cutter itineraries—no crowds, no commissions, just real relationships and deep respect for people and place. My partner Graham McCann brings an extensive hospitality background and an intuitive understanding of what makes guests feel truly welcomed, and together we have built something deliberately small-scale, working with a select number of clients each year so we can truly customize every detail.
GGBA: Who are some of your role models, and especially those who helped to influence your business?
CK: Travel has been my greatest teacher; I have visited 73 countries and lived in multiple places, but Rome transformed me the most. During 16 months there, I experienced a way of life where relationships, craft, and everyday rituals mattered more than productivity metrics, teaching me to slow down, savor, and recognize that the best experiences cannot be rushed or mass-produced. Reinventing myself at 55 by embracing my authentic self now shapes how we create space for clients to have their own transformative journeys. My ongoing role models are the small business owners, chefs, and artisans whom Graham and I partner with—LGBTQ+ and allies—who show daily that doing work you love with integrity and passion is the ultimate success, and our loyalty is to them and to our clients as we mirror that same level of care in every CKcurated experience.
GGBA: Why did you decide to join the GGBA, and how long have you been a member?
CK: I joined GGBA to be part of a community that understands the unique challenges and possibilities of running an LGBTQ+ business. As an LGBTBE-certified company, connecting with GGBA felt like the natural next step—a place to find both support and values‑aligned clients who care about true diversity, equity, and inclusion. Transitioning from a long corporate architecture career into entrepreneurship, where I wanted to build relationships, not just transactions, I needed a network that prioritized genuine human connection over metrics and quotas, and GGBA embodies that ethos among Bay Area LGBTQ+ business owners and allies.
GGBA: How has being a member of GGBA helped your business so far?
CK: GGBA has provided warm introductions and visibility that no amount of cold outreach could replace. My 30 years of architecture connections remain valuable, but GGBA has opened doors to a new network of clients who intentionally seek out LGBTQ+ businesses and appreciate the highly personalized, fee‑based service CKcurated provides, with many who would return year after year to design their next journey. Beyond leads, being part of GGBA means belonging to a community where your identity and values are integrated into your business, not compartmentalized, which mirrors how Graham and I work with clients across all 16 of our carefully chosen destinations that we know intimately—so you are never starting over with a stranger every time you plan a trip.
GGBA: Do you go to the GGBA monthly Make Contact networking events? Have they benefited you and your business, and would you recommend them to others?
CK: Absolutely, and I highly recommend them. Make Contact events are where real relationships form—less transactional networking, more genuine connections with people who often become colleagues, collaborators, and friends. They combine networking with education by bringing in speakers and coaches who share practical business strategies and development tools that can be implemented immediately, so it is not just about collecting business cards. For a relationship‑based business like CKcurated, showing up consistently has helped us meet potential clients, strategic partners, and trusted resources, and the community that forms there often becomes a support system, a group of cheerleaders, and one of the best sources of referrals.
GGBA: What other advice would you give to someone who is thinking of starting their own business?
CK: Be clear about what you want to build and what you want to resist; knowing that CKcurated would be anti‑corporate guided every decision from our fee‑based model to our choice to stay small and high‑touch. Your business will not fully reveal itself in a business plan alone; it emerges through conversations, collaborations, and quiet observations, much like a design process you iterate and revisit with fresh eyes. Leverage every part of your background: my architectural experience gave me design thinking, problem‑solving, and detail management, while even the challenging parts of corporate life now help me create humanized, meaningful retreats. If maintaining integrity matters, consider staying fee‑based rather than commission‑driven, scale intentionally so you can build deep relationships, find your community early, and do not be afraid to reinvent yourself at any age—I did it at 55—because the clients who value quiet luxury, inclusivity, and true craftsmanship will recognize themselves in what you offer.
GGBA: Is there anything else that you would like to share?
CK: More than design, food, or wine, the most important ingredient in our work is people—the connections formed while sharing a meal, laughing over a bottle of wine, or wandering through a neighborhood together. CKcurated believes DEI is about genuine human connection, not just metrics or quotas, and we have built a business where every client interaction matters, and every small business partner is truly valued, with Graham and me serving as your single point of contact, planner, connector, and advocate from first conversation to homecoming. We specialize in quiet luxury and create welcoming environments where LGBTQ+ clients and allies can relax and be fully themselves, while also supporting artisans, winemakers, chefs, and local nonprofits like 18 Reasons and PBS stations in the communities we love. I have traveled to 73 countries, speak five languages, and have deep roots in our 16 carefully selected destinations, where we open “front doors” to insider access—from California wine country to Japan and Mexico City—
GGBA Member Spotlight
Published on December 18, 2025
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