Chinese Handcrafted Bags

Modern style bags made with traditional expertise
November 2015 - Shanghai, China
Yue China Foundation Project

After thousands years of tradition, Chinese culture is one of the most ancient in the world. However, the process of economic globalization had a strong cultural impact on actual China. The Western culture modified everyday’s life, philosophy, ideas and values. In response to these necessities, Yue China Foundation is determined in the protection of the intangible cultural heritage and supports arts and education. I collaborated with them for the design of a set of bags (wallet and laptop case too). The concept behind it is to connect the local and long-established expertise with some modern manufacturings using traditional, handmade and sustainable materials. The internal coating of the bags is made of organic cotton, wax painted by a skilled family of artists from Jianxi Province. The outside cover is made instead of high quality felt in order to guarantee longer product life and manufactured in Shanghai. The first prototypes have been displayed at the Chinese Pavillion in Milan Expo and at the Orientalworld Fair in Shanghai, during the month of October. They are now available for sale at the Yue China Store on the Rockbund, Shanghai.