We, as the Designer Interviews ("DI") had the distinct pleasure and opportunity to interview award-winning, most creative and innovative Kay Jiaqi Zhou ("KJZ").

Kay Jiaqi Zhou is the founder and designer of POPORCELAIN, a contemporary porcelain jewellery brand based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her jewellery has been carefully designed and handcrafted. Every piece of porcelain has experienced more than 15 hours of kiln firing, with temperatures reaching over 1200°C. She believes that creating, refining, handcrafting is what her jewellery is all about.

Kay Jiaqi Zhou Designs

We are pleased to share with you original and innovative design work by Kay Jiaqi Zhou.

Designer Interview of Kay Jiaqi Zhou:

DI: Could you please tell us more about your art and design background? What made you become an artist/designer? Have you always wanted to be a designer?

KJZ : I didn’t know if I would like to be a designer when I was little. When I was about 16, I was facing the issue about choosing a major to study in school. I wasn’t sure will I be good at science, maths or languages, but I was quite sure I like drawing. I didn’t want to give up this hobby so I decided to go for the art and design route. I did my Product Design diploma in China Academy of Art and I finished my Product Design master degree in Birmingham Institute of Art and Design in the UK.

DI: Can you tell us more about your company / design studio?

KJZ : My company is called ‘POPORCELAIN’. It’s about contemporary handmade porcelain jewellery. Currently locates in Copenhagen, Denmark. I work alone.

DI: What is "design" for you?

KJZ : ‘Design’ for me is like an approach which helps me to discover and understand the world.

DI: What kinds of works do you like designing most?

KJZ : Perhaps something light-hearted, fashionable and fun.

DI: What is your most favorite design, could you please tell more about it?

KJZ : It’s hard to name my most favourite design, but I can say one which has stuck in my mind for a long time. It’s the collaboration watch piece designed by Uma Wang for Swatch. It’s called the Black Dancing Rose.The design is a fully black tone wrist watch with artistic leather strap around the dial. Swatch is a brand I like. I appreciate that they smartly balance the commercial side and the creative side. For this special collaboration piece, it’s like a pioneer telling the audience how arty Swatch watch could be.

DI: What was the first thing you designed for a company?

KJZ : A collection of kids watches full of cute and floral patterns. They were not fancy pieces at all, but I quite enjoyed drawing those kiddie patterns.

DI: What is your favorite material / platform / technology?

KJZ : Porcelain. I feel porcelain is magical and miracle. The more I work with it, the more I appreciate it.

DI: When do you feel the most creative?

KJZ : Be alone, not under much time pressure.

DI: Which aspects of a design do you focus more during designing?

KJZ : Aesthetic, functionality, creativity

DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when you design?

KJZ : Unsure, challenging, satisfied

DI: What kind of emotions do you feel when your designs are realized?

KJZ : Satisfied, delightful, appreciated

DI: What makes a design successful?

KJZ : The ways how they help people solve a problem or assist people to achieve certain positive purpose.

DI: When judging a design as good or bad, which aspects do you consider first?

KJZ : Is it ‘anti-human or anti-environment’ ?! I would judge a design as good design if it’s under a healthy developing process, which includes environmentally friendly, designers and workers friendly. Not abuse using materials. Not over-pressured on designers nor under-valued on workers.

DI: From your point of view, what are the responsibilities of a designer for society and environment?

KJZ : Certainly designers play a very key role in creating new pieces for the world. I feel designers should have the responsibilities to lead people to understand and adapt eco-friendly and aesthetic concepts and products.

DI: How do you think the "design field" is evolving? What is the future of design?

KJZ : Design field is getting more and more globalised nowadays. Everything seems full of possibilities. Could the future of design be: wakening the olds and creating the news, or combining these two.

DI: When was your last exhibition and where was it? And when do you want to hold your next exhibition?

KJZ : I didn’t have a proper exhibition of my branded products yet. I am not sure when would be my next exhibition after this A’ design award exhibition.

DI: Where does the design inspiration for your works come from? How do you feed your creativity? What are your sources of inspirations?

KJZ : From the nature, daily life or other design areas. Sources of inspirations could be browsing images, shopping nice clothes and accessories or spending lots of time by browsing crafts shops or vintage shops.

DI: How would you describe your design style? What made you explore more this style and what are the main characteristics of your style? What's your approach to design?

KJZ : Contemporary, fashionable, handmade, feminine. My approach to design is to try what I can do. If it failed, make another one or try something else. I believe that creating, refining, handcrafting is what my jewellery is all about.

DI: Where do you live? Do you feel the cultural heritage of your country affects your designs? What are the pros and cons during designing as a result of living in your country?

KJZ : I currently live the Denmark, while I come from the very south part of China. I do feel the cultural heritage of my country affects my designs, especially when we are talking about ‘china’! Pros: Denmark is like a wonderland for designers. It’s full of design atmosphere in Denmark. The ‘hygge’ cosiness can calm me down and warm me up. Cons: Winter, the sun disappeared.

DI: How do you work with companies?

KJZ : I work alone at the moment, but I keep in touch with my different suppliers. I feel good to maintain the stable relationship with them.

DI: What are your suggestions to companies for working with a designer? How can companies select a good designer?

KJZ : Thoroughly and friendly communication between companies and designer is more likely to lead a satisfied design result. Before companies selecting a designer, they could arrange a design brief for the designer to finish. If they are happy with the result then that could be the good designer for them. Once they have selected them, the company should be open-mined and trust in the designer.

DI: Can you talk a little about your design process?

KJZ : My design process sometimes begins with sketching. Sketch the idea I got from different bits and bobs, could be an old piece from a vintage shop, or some patterns I have seen from an image. Sometimes I may skip the sketching process. I go directly to the clay and play with it then make something up. My design making process usually includes moulding, crafting, painting, firing, glazing, polishing and assembling. The most time consuming parts would be crafting and firing, sometimes also assembling.

DI: What are 5 of your favorite design items at home?

KJZ : Piuma chair by Piero Lissoni for KartellRevolve sofa bed by Numen/ForUse for ProstoriaWood sparrows by NovoformCircus Set boxes by Marcel Wanders for AlessiPastel pink colour rain coat by RAINS

DI: Can you describe a day in your life?

KJZ : My workdays usually begin at 7, with simple breakfast and coffee. Then check my emails and social medias. It’s a luxury for me to work from home. My studio is just next to my kitchen. Depends on the work schedule, sometimes I sit in front of the computer to sort out the digital issues, like photo editing, design specifying, emailing or document archiving. But what I enjoy more is to turn my Wi-Fi off then turn the music on and facing my clay or jewellery bits. I allow myself to have a long lunch break. Usually is an hour or even more than that, because it’s very common I work more than 9 hours a day. A long lunch break can refresh myself. I try not to work too many hours in a day. That is possibly one of my principle for being a good designer – not overworking.

DI: Could you please share some pearls of wisdom for young designers? What are your suggestions to young, up and coming designers?

KJZ : Be open-minded, be humble, be concentrated, be cheerful, be patient

DI: From your perspective, what would you say are some positives and negatives of being a designer?

KJZ : Positives: As a designer, I can feel a product more then a shopper, buyer or user. I can understand more of the product not only from the look or the function. I would see things in more details and think more. Negatives: Being picky when something didn’t finish in a nice way. I would complain more when a design makes me feel uncomfortable or inconvenient.

DI: What is your "golden rule" in design?

KJZ : Form follows fun, if not fun, why do it.

DI: What skills are most important for a designer?

KJZ : The skills on creativity, execution, analysing and summarising.

DI: Which tools do you use during design? What is inside your toolbox? Such as software, application, hardware, books, sources of inspiration etc.?

KJZ : Software such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Wacom, Microsoft office. My studio room is full of big and small hardware and tools: the ceramic kiln, different glaze jars, different kind of powder, potters’ tools, pens…

DI: Designing can sometimes be a really time consuming task, how do you manage your time?

KJZ : Indeed, designing can be very time consuming. I try to record my daily routine on my dairy by every half an hour. The purpose for this is to keep myself up to speed and try not to waste so much time. While I am in the studio room, I like to turn my Wi-hi off from my phone. This really helps me concentrate on what I am doing.

DI: How long does it take to design an object from beginning to end?

KJZ : Unlike fast fashion jewellery, my jewellery design comes relatively slow. It could be some two months or half a year, some of the pieces could take even longer time to develop.

DI: What is the most frequently asked question to you, as a designer?

KJZ : ‘Shall I try?’

DI: What was your most important job experience?

KJZ : While I was working with my previous job, I learned how to analyse a trend; how to deconstruct and reconstruct a design.

DI: Who are some of your clients?

KJZ : Brides, fashion lovers.

DI: What type of design work do you enjoy the most and why?

KJZ : I enjoy working on something more artistic, creative, alternative, less commercial, less mainstream. I don’t mean the commercial and mainstream products have less value. On the contrary, they power the global business running. I just feel there are plenty of talented designers working on those. I don’t think I can be even better, so perhaps I should do something else.

DI: What are your future plans? What is next for you?

KJZ : The next step for me would still be developing more good designs for POPORCELAIN. In the future I would like to set up my brand shop and design studio.

DI: Do you work as a team, or do you develop your designs yourself?

KJZ : I develop my designs by myself.

DI: Do you have any works-in-progress being designed that you would like to talk about?

KJZ : Some of my designs have been paused because I haven’t found the suitable components for them. Very often I face the issue about sourcing the right components, especially in metal. I only make them in small quantity, so that the manufacturers are not interested in dealing with me. This is one of the difficulty in my design process.

DI: How can people contact you?

KJZ : Email, is the best way to contact me. Or nowadays can also be Facebook page or Instagram message. I don’t feel like to answer phone calls especially when I am working - my hands are covered with gloves and muds.

DI: Any other things you would like to cover that have not been covered in these questions?

KJZ : Although I usually work alone, I am happy to work on collaboration design with other designers or companies.