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We speak to Nuandao co-founder, Natasia Guo, about her involvement in Beijing Design Week 2012.
How were you involved in BJDW this year?
Nuandao.com, sponsored by Dashilar Investment, curated 8 offline pop-up stores on Yang Mei Zhu Xie Jie, featuring works by local Chinese designers and brands such as Idle Beats, Casual Locations, twelve moons, Wear and Tear, and nearly 20 others.
What prompted you to get involved?
At Nuandao, we aim to offer our customers an alternative shopping experience, both online and offline, where every login is a surprise. There was a lot of synergy between the BJDW platform, the Dashila(b) team, Nuandao and our partners to interpret the ‘craft thinking’ theme for Dashilar. It was a great opportunity for us to engage with, not only design lovers, but also Chinese tourists and locals. They were certainly intrigued and supportive of our stores.
What were you looking to achieve? Do you feel you were successful?
We wanted to be involved in the dialogue this year since many of our partners are contemporary craftspeople. We built relationships with new like-minded designers whilst promoting Nuandao adventures in design. It was a great experience.
We also hosted 4 small workshop-type events led by different design partners like Hannah Ren, Casual Locations and Been. This was an initiative to engage the community through hands-on craft events.
What did you think of BJDW 2012 overall?
BJDW is a great platform that stirs design thinking for the growing local design scene. In order to promote ‘designed in China’, more events like this will help foster discussion.
What is next on the horizon for Nuandao?
We are working hard on our next web version that will provide shoppers with additional browsing options, brand pages and more social features. A mobile version is also underway.
Nuandao will be hosting a creative market at CX Games from 1-4 November at the Bird’s Nest, Beijing. Their Wine & Design Party is also coming up on 3 November. RSVP to hello@nuandao.com for free entrance.
