Furnishing culture

A Chinese designer takes inspiration from his hometown in zhejiang province

Zhu Xiaojie proves you don't have to graduate from a top design school to become an ace designer.

The 59-year-old often refers to himself as a "craftsman". He worked as a mason, carpenter, fitter and accountant before becoming one of China's most acclaimed furniture designers.

Chinese furniture designer Zhu Xiaojie and some of his latest designs. Photos provided to China Daily

His birdcage lamp, butterfly chair and leather-clad closet testify to how he takes inspiration from everyday life.

Zhu's solo exhibition Qi and Xi, as part of last year's Beijing Design Week from Sept 26 to Oct 3, reveals his roots in Chinese culture and his hometown, Zhejiang province's Wenzhou. It also displays some of his latest collaborations with international designers.

Qi and Xi, which literally means "resting at home", encapsulates Zhu's understanding of home "as a craftsman".

"Home is a place where you can slow down, rest and reflect," says Zhu, who founded Opal Furniture in 1994.

Zhu was invited by the Beijing Design Week committee as a representative of modern Chinese design. However, he says the idea of "representing Chinese design" doesn't really appeal to him.

"It doesn't matter if I can stand for Chinese design, but it's very important that I can stand for myself," he says.

"This is a story about me and Wenzhou."

The opening piece of the exhibition is a table longer than 10 meters that represents Wenzhou's Ouhe River. It's topped with ceramic waterfowl, live fish and green plants.

"Design is different from country to country. However, aesthetics are international," he says.

"I have always believed that I have to stand on my own soil and inherit my own culture in order to do good design."

The table leads to a series of Zhu's previous works. The butterfly chair fuses two Ming-style chairs to make a butterfly-shaped chair for family gathering.

The office chair can be extended and a shade can cover users' heads for naps.

"It's typical that Chinese nap to recharge for the afternoon," Zhu says. "We want to convey that with this chair."

Pendant lights are assembled from suspended glass water bottles filled with plants and live fish.

The door to the birdcage lamp is open so that real birds can come and go as they please.

Zhu also created a tea space in a cubical, where users can burn joss sticks while sipping tea.

"As a designer, you always have to observe life and really feel it," he says.

The exhibition also presents Zhu's latest collaborations with designers and brands from Denmark, the Netherlands, Hong Kong and Italy.

For instance, fur from the Danish company Kopenhagen Fur is used along with traditional materials like wood and steel. The cockroach-inspired shoe stool combines steel legs with a fur-covered seat to support people putting on and taking off their shoes at the door.

Kopenhagen Fur auctioneer Kasper Scott Reinbacher says he's especially impressed by the contemporary and innovative ways Zhu uses fur in furniture design.

Zhu, who's also Wenzhou Furniture College's dean and visiting professor at the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts, wrote three experience-based textbooks for college students that are also displayed.

Zhu's father was a graphic designer who was wrongly punished during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), so he started taking odd jobs at age 13 to support his family. Along the way, he taught himself the basics of interior design and craftsmanship.

He quit his job as a state-owned wood company's branch office manager in 1987 to set up his own furniture business. He moved to Australia in 1998 before returning to Wenzhou to found Opal Furniture, which became famous for originality at a time when Chinese furniture design was notorious for copying.

Zhu also curated Chinese design exhibitions for Milan Design Week in 2012 and 2013.

sunyuanqing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 02/06/2015 page30)