Nicely Made in China

News on China quality products, lifestyle, design and services.

SAND / FURNITURE FOR CHILDREN

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We’ve barely closed the beach house and September is upon us. It’s time to think of children returning to school, buying new clothes and maybe new furniture for their bedrooms. So at Nicely Made in China (NMiC) we’ve decided to feature a product specially made for children. We met with Italian designer Silvia Marlia who these days lives in Hong Kong. Silvia grew up in Milan surrounded by designers, and trained as an assistant Montessori teacher. She recently created Sand, a new Chinese brand of furniture specially designed for children. In the following interview she tells us all about her motivation to design furniture for children.

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C.L.MA CLASSICAL FURNITURE MUSEUM & WORKSHOP

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Much has been lost in China’s rush for modernity, but Nicely Made in China’s guest this week, Mr Kele Ma, proves the exception. He has devoted his life to salvaging countless pieces of beautifully handcrafted ancient furniture which can now be seen at the museum he recently opened in Tianjin.

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NOOKHA / BAMBOO FURNITURE

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Bamboo groves have been a feature of Chinese flora for thousands of years. And humans have found many different uses for this, the largest member of the grass family, varying from building material to medicine and musical instruments. Its many qualities have long been favored by furniture designers too, among them Christine Richard, a Hong Kong-based “design publisher” (“editeur de design” in French) who recently launched Nookha, a designer furniture brand. In this interview with Nicely Made in China (NMiC) she tells us why she chooses to use bamboo and why part of her production is (nicely) made in China.

 

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SMARTWOOD – FLAT PACK FURNITURE

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China’s export-led economy is slowly becoming more of a local consumer-led market. Evidence of this can be found in the growing number of consumer products with Chinese brands appearing in the shops all over China. Today, at Nicely Made in China (NMiC), we’re happy to introduce Zhao Lei – based in Hangzhou – and his Chinese furniture brand Smartwood.

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FLORIAN PUCHER – CARPET DESIGNER

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A beautiful carpet can make the world of difference to a room. So says Florian Pucher – architect and interior designer. In his 7 years in China, Florian has tried his hand at different things including ceramics and furniture making, but it is carpet design which has brought him success. Nicely Made in China (NMiC) met him first over a year ago when things were just taking off. Since then a lot has happened, as he tells us in a recent interview. Read the rest of this entry »

NERI & HU ARCHITECTS-DESIGNERS

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Surfing the internet recently in search of new ideas, Nicely Made in China (NMiC) came upon a beautifully elegant tea set.  We managed to track down the designers, and were delighted to discover they produce a whole host of other desirable well-designed items.

This week Nicely Made in China is happy to introduce Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu, architects and designers. Lyndon was born in the Philippines and educated in the US – a Harvard graduate.  Rossana comes from Taiwan and is a Princeton graduate.  The couple who now works for prestigious design companies like bd barcelona, moooi, meritalia and swarovski give NMiC readers an insight into what China has in store in the coming years with regard to design and architecture. Read the rest of this entry »

DANNY FANG – PRODUCT DESIGN

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This week Nicely Made in China’s (NMiC) delivery brings us back to Hong Kong, a city which could well be dubbed ‘the city of design’ as it is literally teeming with interesting designers.Danny Fang, as his name does not suggest, is Dutch. Danny’s great grandfather was Chinese, although Danny grew up in Amsterdam and graduated from the Eindhoven Design Academy in The Netherlands in 1998. He decided to move to Hong Kong in 2006 after spending 6 years at the studio of the renowned Marcel Wanders. In answering NMiC questions, he talked about good design, employee shortage in the Pearl river delta and Western misconceptions about China. Read the rest of this entry »

SEAN DIX / ARCHITECT & DESIGNER

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Design, among other things, is increasingly part of our daily lives. Having said that, it has been a while since Nicely Made in China (NMiC) presented a designer. So, this week NMiC is happy to introduce Hong Kong-based American architect-designer Sean Dix. After years spent in Fiji, Micronesia and the Philippines (in his youth) and later, many years spent working in Europe (Milan), Sean decided that Asia was the place to be.  In 2008 he landed at Chek Lap Kok with family in tow. He recently spoke with NMiC, discussing his influences and what it is like to work in this part of the world. Read the rest of this entry »

MALILIAN-FURNITURE DESIGN

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Nicely Made in China today presents a non-traditional furniture designer: Marianne Friese, owner and designer of  Malilian. German by birth Marianne arrived in China in 2001. Since 1988 she has been leading two lives: consultant and communications specialist 12 hours a day she turns into a sofa designer the other 12. NMiC caught her in the sweltering warehouse of the Beijing master upholsterer she works with where she was checking the quality of her latest creations before delivering them personally to their new homes.

Marianne, how did this all begin?

My first sofa was made in 1988 in Los Angeles where I was living. I wanted to buy one for my home and could not find anything I liked. A friend introduced me to a Mexican Read the rest of this entry »

BLUE SHANGHAI WHITE

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The Nicely Made in China product of the week is as old as China itself.  Chinese ceramics, since it is ceramics and porcelain we’ll be talking about, are back in fashion again. Hai Chen, Blue Shanghai White owner and main designer grants NMiC an interview.

Hai Chen, how did you become a ceramist and when did you start Blue Shanghai White?

I studied fine arts and ceramics from 1987 to 1991 at the Beijing Central Academy of Fine Arts and at Beijing Central Academy of Fine Arts & Design from 1992 until 1996. I created my company in 2003.

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