There are famous furniture designers in China.

Masons, carpenters, fitters, and finally become craftsmen who can make their favorite furniture. 1989, I studied in Sydney, Australia, engaged in interior design. /kloc-returned to China in 0/994, engaged in furniture, interior and architectural design. He is currently the deputy director of the Design Committee of China Furniture Association, the director of Shanghai Furniture Design Committee and the chief designer of Opal Furniture.

Recommended reason:

The World Furniture Congress is a worldwide association of trade organizations, which is held in different countries every year with the purpose of promoting development through exchanges. The first time was held in Spain last year, and the second time came to China. In mid-September, the second World Furniture Congress was held in Shanghai. Zhu Xiaojie, chief designer of Opal Furniture, was invited to attend the conference and delivered a speech entitled "Design and Communication".

The studio is like a folk song.

Zhu Xiaojie's Opal Furniture Studio is a building with unique local culture. Zhu Xiaojie said frankly that when designing this building, he just wanted to make himself like it better on the premise of meeting the functions of the office. What makes him very satisfied with this building is that it blurs the boundary between indoor and outdoor. When visiting this building, people often ask: What is the theme? If you must give a theme, Zhu Xiaojie said it should be a life scene of your childhood. A folk song of Yongjia can express this scene very well: "Climbing mountains, eating wheat cakes, ice mountains and rivers, biting mosquitoes."

Designers and craftsmen have never been separated.

Everyone has a gift, just how to find it. Whenever you are fascinated by something, it will make you forget the time and eat. Furniture design often makes Zhu Xiaojie enter this state. The design is inherited from my father because he is a graphic designer. I should have gone to school when I was a child, but I had to learn skills from others because of family reasons. From a certain point of view, Zhu Xiaojie always modestly thinks that he is not a designer but a craftsman, but designers and craftsmen have never been separated.

Zhu Xiaojie's understanding of design is that design brings art into life and makes people's daily life interesting. Design must appear in the form of commodities in order to enter thousands of households, not to mention that art also comes from life.

Travel, design will have a state.

Although Zhu Xiaojie had no formal education, he went to Australia to "jump the queue". Although he failed in English and had few opportunities to receive western education, this experience made him understand a lot. Living in Australia exposed him to western religions. This made him understand that all religions are telling the same truth. The most fundamental thing is not to repair the afterlife and go to heaven, but to have the kindness to repair the afterlife and live with the desire to go to heaven every day, which makes people feel how wonderful it is to live.

Zhu Xiaojie travels around the world every year and experiences the folk customs of different countries. The simplicity of the folk customs fascinates him. He hopes that he will always look at the world like a child and keep a childlike innocence. Only in this state can he understand the truth of things and design will have a state. Travel is a good way to keep this state.

I hope to publish a book every year.

Zhu Xiaojie said that he likes Stark's design, from architecture to fly swatter. From his works, he saw the essence of life. He also likes the design of northern Europe full of delicate feelings about life, and Spain full of passion and dreams is no exception.

Zhu Xiaojie likes to share his experiences with others. The year before last, Zhu Xiaojie wrote a book about furniture design, entrusted by the editorial board of China Famous Contemporary Designers Series. Last year, I compiled a book, The Sense of Wu. This year, he is writing a book called Building Interior and Furniture. Zhu Xiaojie hopes that he can publish a book every year, communicate with you in this form and share his happiness.

A designer, a carpenter, a child, loves nature and life. Put these into one, Zhu Xiaojie. To interpret Zhu Xiaojie, it is best to start with his unique base camp-Opal Studio.

Opal Studio is mainly engaged in furniture design, solving technological processes and completing sample making. It has more than 30 employees with various skills, including graphic designers, furniture designers, interior designers, architectural designers, drawing engineers and photographers. Most importantly, it has a group of carpenters, woodcarvers, painters, sewing masters and mechanical engineers with traditional skills. It is the only design studio in China with such a system.

Zhu Xiaojie, deputy director of China Furniture Design Committee, director of Shanghai Furniture Design Committee and opal furniture designer, defines himself as a carpenter. Zhu Xiaojie chose "Sparrow" as the theme of the exhibition. He wants a bird to express this idea. He said that we often lose ourselves for "foresight". Living in the high opinion of others, people should be able to get rid of the shackles of the secular and find the essence of life. No matter what kind of life style, you should know yourself.

A sparrow is on the lamp.

Forest dining table

Qingshui chair

have a conversation

Text/Liu Chaoxia Jess Zhang

Zhu Xiaojie, who has always been regarded as the top original furniture designer in China, believes that "there is no originality, only everything in nature is original". He just redecorated the design of my grandfather's grandfather. The core of beauty is that "artists must combine with craftsmen". Does his opinion surprise you? Zhu Xiaojie, a furniture designer who doesn't play by common sense and insists on originality for fourteen years, how does he understand design?

Yangcheng Evening News: How do you understand the original design?

Zhu Xiaojie: There is no originality, only everything in nature is original. We just find that we take apart what we have and reassemble it in our own language. Only by recognizing this, can we not be self-righteous when designing, and it is possible to maintain a normal heart. Only with a peaceful mind can you discover the essence of everything. Knowing the truth of everything, it is very simple to design some furniture that people like. No matter what I do, truth is the foundation of everything, and I want to design more.

Yangcheng Evening News: What is the current situation of furniture design in China? What's the difference between other designs and yours?

Zhu Xiaojie: The design of China is still in the primary stage, including myself, because we neglected the design for some time. Now that we are working hard, there will be some good works. But for such a big nation, the amount of good works is still too small. Without a quantitative accumulation, it is difficult to make a qualitative leap. China's design needs some time. Everyone's experience, cultural background and regional differences lead to different standards for examining beauty, so the design will be very self-centered.

Yangcheng Evening News: How do you feel about going abroad for the first time?

Zhu Xiaojie: It is important to participate in international activities and let others know about the lifestyle of China people. After all, we have been behind closed doors for too long, which is a bit worrying. Perhaps this kind of participation will gradually turn this worry into joy, because making furniture is a craft that China people are good at. China furniture more than 400 years ago, even in modern exhibitions, "she" is still so fashionable. I just changed some materials and added some new technologies to her. In fact, in this world, many things are interlinked, whether East or West, white skin or black eyes. Tracing back to the source, you will find that they are so similar. Bauhaus is the cradle of modern designers in the world. His birth makes real life full of art and fun, and its core is that artists must combine with craftsmen.

Yangcheng Evening News: How to understand the word craftsman?

Zhu Xiaojie: China Ming style furniture is so classic. Looking back at history, you will find that more than 400 years ago, China entered the Central Plains, and the rulers killed the literati and left the craftsmen behind. In order to survive, literati had to work as craftsmen, and the participation of a large number of literati improved the artistic and cultural level of craftsmen. The combination of literati and craftsmen is not a combination, not an intersection, but a combination. Ming-style furniture that makes the world proud is produced in such an environment. In the history of China, this is just an accident, but no matter what the process is, the core of artists and craftsmen is the same.

In China's 5,000-year-old civilization, there are inexhaustible essences. As its people, in the reality of rapid development, we only need to stop, calm down and think about how to inherit our own culture, and we will find endless creative sources. Make the design simple and interesting from inheritance, instead of imitating and copying blindly, which will only throw yourself away. Qi Baishi, a painter in China, said that if you learn from me, you will live as if I were dead. Not to mention the culture of a nation. Crazy to rob others, in the end, you will be assimilated and swallowed up by other people's culture. Imitation and copying by hook or by crook will have the same result. I think this is a historical law, and everyone should follow this law. I hope that through this exhibition, the world can understand China from the perspective of furniture design.

Yangcheng Evening News: So what new works have you seen in the exhibition hall in Cologne, Germany that we haven't seen in China?

Zhu Xiaojie: No, the theme of my personal exhibition hall is/kloc-Chinese classical furniture more than 0/00 years ago. I just renovated the design of my grandfather's grandfather, just to show international friends the furniture of China hundreds of years ago, which will be so fashionable and classic.

Yangcheng Evening News: Why do you call these renovated classical furniture fine bamboo series?

Zhu Xiaojie: I didn't really think about it. I just blurted it out. Because all structures are made up of extremely thin wooden pipes, such as bamboo. Perhaps bamboo is a symbol of the East, and it has been with me all my life. Maybe I've always wanted to show the characteristics of bamboo "combining rigidity with flexibility" in furniture design. I don't have to have the image or material of bamboo. I just hope to give this series the spirit of "bamboo" and truly express the artistic conception of bamboo.

From a distance, these furniture are completely in the form of metal structure, but when you look closely and touch them, it is another feeling. Natural materials, such as wood or bamboo, make people feel kind and warm, which is exciting in form and technology. "Fine bamboo" was thus settled.

Yangcheng Evening News: Many high-end products in the world use "Made in China" cautiously, but you always insist. Do you have any ideas?

Zhu Xiaojie: Making furniture well is a craft that the Chinese nation is good at. It is normal to do well, but it should not be done badly. Unlike cars and mobile phones, this is western culture, and it is difficult for us to surpass it in this respect. Therefore, if a nation wants to know what it can do, it is only a matter of time before China furniture becomes a world-class brand. My furniture was originally made in China, China and China. Why not?

The story of "forest dining table"

The birth of "forest dining table" won its heart. Zhu Xiaojie recalled: "I remember once going to the dock to see the wood. I was very excited to see the big tree lying in the pile of wood, but later I felt it was a pity. Why not let them continue to stand there? " Or every living thing will have its own life cycle, but these can't convince yourself. Anyway, I just want her alive, and in the most primitive posture. So, there was the idea of making furniture with end faces. Only in this way can she keep her original shape. No one can make furniture like this, and no book has introduced the technology of shaving. Because this cutting method violates the common sense of wood processing and the characteristics of wood structure. Many problems will be encountered in the process of drying and processing, which will bring difficulties to design and manufacture. I just tried to express an idea in this way at first. After countless attempts, I gradually became familiar with wood and knew how to make friends with her. Faced with the furniture made, many people will ask,' Is this really wood?' After careful cutting and polishing, the texture of ebony is like a work of art on every side. The most gratifying thing is that when you appreciate these furniture cut from the end, not only will the beautiful texture of the rings make people feel unreal, but you can also imagine her standing in the forest. At this time, people will be very happy. "