London Craft Week

LONDON, May 14 ( tasteallchina ) -- The 10th London Craft Week kicked off here on Monday with hundreds of talents worldwide to celebrate craftsmanship through workshops, exhibitions, and talks across the city. Among them, several events featuring Chinese arts and crafts highlighted the fusion of tradition and innovation. At the "Chinese Design: Harmony in Diversity" exhibition, a colorful piece of Miao embroidery, depicting British landmarks like the London Eye, Big Ben, and Tower Bridge alongside traditional Miao ethnic elements, drew considerable attention. The 40-centimeter-square embroidered patch took Yang Shiying, who has dedicated five decades to mastering Miao embroidery -- the traditional artistry of China's Miao ethnic minority in southwest China's Guizhou Province -- about two months to handcraft. It marked the first participation of Yang and her son, Axin, in the craft week. Their exhibits included suits, bags, and attire adorned with Miao embroidery, showing the art of stitching the intangible cultural heritage into modern fashion design. "We hope that such integration of old and new can help more people realize that intangible cultural heritage can still exhibit new vitality through fresh and youthful design," Axin, a Miao ethnic designer who founded his own clothing brand in 2007, told…

BEIJING, June 8 ( tasteallchina ) -- In May, Axin and his mother embarked on a journey spanning nearly 9,000 kilometers from their home in Guizhou Province, the hinterland of southwest China, to London. With them, they took a selection of intricate and captivating embroidery works, a heritage art of the Miao ethnic people. The craftsmanship of Miao embroidery shown by the mother-son duo, donned in the traditional dress of the Miao, enthralled visitors at the 10th London Craft Week. Axin, a designer who infuses Miao elements into his fashion line, and his mother, a master embroiderer with five decades of needlework dedication, embody a broader narrative: an age-old craft from China's remote mountains gaining modern appeal, even international acclaim, with innovative minds. The Miao ethnic people have long expressed their rich cultural heritage through needle and thread, turning garments into "books on the body." This form of art was recognized in 2006 with its inclusion on China's inaugural national list of intangible cultural heritage. For years, Guizhou, home to a significant Miao population, has prioritized preserving this heritage art by promoting it as an industry. Through efforts ranging from support for entrepreneurship and training and management of embroiderers to…