interview with jiang qionger, CEO and art director at shang xia

jiang qionger is a renowned chinese designer and founder of ‘shang xia‘, a revolutionary brand that merges contemporary lifestyle with the finest of chinese craftsmanship. her creative scope covers, among others, all aspects of modern painting, graphics, interiors, jewelery, and furniture. after pursuing her studies in france, she has held a number of personal art exhibitions in the US, singapore, italy and france —  and became the first chinese designer to participate  in the paris furniture salon. even more, she was invited by Hermès china to create their window shop installation, and later by l’Oréal to design their headquarters and training center’s interiors.

today, elected as the european photography association administrative adviser in the overseas design community, jiang quionger has proven to become a great force within the creative scene. in that context, designboom met and spoke with the designer at the 2017 mindpark event —held by yinno land and TOPYS — about her most insightful ideas and visions. 

art director and CEO jiang qionger

designboom: can you talk about your growth in the design community？

jiang qionger: by two and half years old, I had started learning painting and calligraphy following the teachings of cheng shifa and han tianheng. but given how I chose to pursue a design profession after graduating from tongji university, I decided to go to france and study at the national art institute to complete my master’s degree. afterwards, I had my first design exhibition in 2001 in shanghai xintiandi, presenting an industrio-romantic concept of jewelry design with a contemporary twist: the pieces were all made of ‘cold machine’ elements like rivets and sleeve nuts. and because the creative industry had just started to grow in this city, the exhibition was proven to be quite sensational. however, I don’t see it that way; it was only thought of as something unique because of the ‘desertic’ creative scene back then. in any case, I decided to go back to france and build up my knowledge and experience. there, I established qionger studio which was focused mainly on interior, product and brand design — and served a wide variety of clients, including Hermés. but starting 2008, I decided to achieve my greatest goal, moved on from my initial practice and founded ‘shangxia’. 

‘sculpture’ series – cashmere blanket 

DB: what was the challenge you faced during your growth process?

JQ: I think encountering some challenges is necessary or else one’s life would be boring; every design work, every thing you want to achieve — every experience you create — becomes a challenge. in the world of design, there is no right or wrong —  only what’s suitable and inappropriate. the same thing applies to life, where we keep meet the challenge of balancing between the ups and downs. each of us has many roles to play, a mission to work on that balance. it’s the same concept for any design: it can only be considered perfect when it finds the most suitable status.

‘twilight’ side-table design: implicit and classical features

DB: as we all know, you have studied in france and visited many other countries, so how have these different cultures of various countries influenced you?

JQ: what is globalization in today’s context? many people tell me about cultural differences, but if we take away that mindset and look at all the countries of the world we realize that  every culture and every religion talks about love and beauty. but given the differences of history, location and culture, the expression of those ideals will be different — thus creating a variety of styles. I don’t define it as a cultural difference. the so-called ‘culture’ is beauty and love, and the so-called ‘difference’ is the performance of cultural religion, brand, and differences in form.

‘da tian di’ carbon fiber chair

DB: how do you define creativity and innovation? and is there any connection between the two?

JQ: creativity and innovation are like two good friends; they complement one another but are still independent of each other. in the broad sense of the term, creativity is born with everyone and is everywhere. it is a driving force of flowing water, bringing vigour to life. meanwhile, innovation needs to integrate some basic skills and have a certain foundation. for example, ‘shangxia’ inherits the traditional handicrafts and aesthetics by using new materials and technological innovation.

bamboo woven tea set

DB: you said that design influences come from all aspects of life, so how do you preserve that asset? 

JQ: my mind is a steady stream of ideas; I always had the habit of keeping a notebook at any time – that way, whenever an idea comes up, I write it down immediately. I think we have to keep a childlike spirit, full of curiosity about music, sports, science, nature, animals, literature, people and life. we must keep the purity of the mind because when people become tangled in complexity, creativity will be weakened. then, by preserving this attitude, our minds will keep working like magic — whether we turn 50 or 80. 

tea set

DB: every designer has his own unique design concept, what is yours? 

JQ: my design concept is summarized as ‘put beauty and love in design’. putting the emotion into your work gets people closer to understanding and feeling it.

‘pass it on’ initiative: collecting family stories 

DB:  could you elaborate on the ‘pass it on’ design influence and its development process?

JQ: in the case of the ‘shangxia’ brand, its philosophy is based on time and emotion. it is not enough to produce and sell goods, but one needs to invest in cultural goods every year — which are beyond the business aspect; it is inherently linked to emotion. each period, we find a cultural entry point just like the first phase of the ‘pass it on’ initiative. for example, the chinese people inherit their emotions from family so we decided to focus on that aspect: we visited more than a thousand households and selected more than 100 families’ stories by collecting their photos, letters, and tickets in a box. to conclude, 21st century china is constantly evolving and developing but you will still find one unchanging thing — that people’s pursuit of beauty and love has never disappeared. everyone’s heart is filled with a ‘pass it on’ —  full of emotion, full of memory .

hexagonal homeware boxes

DB: just like Hermès china, ‘shang xia’ is very popular; have you considered letting it come out to the public?

JQ: after a long dialogue with the market for seven or eight years, the content of the product planning is relatively clear; we are indeed very persistent. ‘shang xia’ has entered the world’s major museums, which I am proud of . I think as a designer, you must leave something for the real world; the works retained in the museum belong to this era, record the highest level of science and technology culture of this era. in the past two years, ‘shang xia’ has adopted an ultimate process that integrates different materials and twists for every design theme. with that in mind, we hope to attract more young people onto this platform. indeed, I do not define my brand as a luxury, which is for the rich man. I don’t want the price of the product to be an obstacle for young young people; I want ‘shang xia’ to be a brand that rightfully pursues the idyllic life. 

eggshell porcelain bowl 

DB: what do you think is the current design trend? and do you have any suggestions for young designers?

JQ: speaking of design trends, I never focus on the current popular one. in my opinion, design is not about blindly pursuing and focusing on the ‘in’ colors and materials, but about understanding the market, the community and the future. we have to understand the overall situation, otherwise you become a follower. for young designers, I want to say that to you should have a heart full of love and eyes full of beauty; when that is accomplished, you are ready. skills and techniques can be learned in schools and societies, but you can’t acquire love and beauty — they should come from within.  

paint box

agate cup

mindpark 2017 event poster

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: lea zeitoun | designboom