by Siyan and Patrick

This is part 2 of our interview with Lin Hanpeng, the co-owner along with Chen Chunhong, of an Yixing Teapot Studio. Click here to read part 1 of our interview.

by Siyan and Patrick

​The first time we met Chen Chunhong and Lin Hanpeng was at the tea table of their shop in Guangzhou. Chen Chunhong chatted with us as she poured us each a cup of shu pu'er. Her husband Lin Hanpeng was discussing clay with some customers. At the time the two were very busy with a growing customer base - thanks largely to word of mouth among zisha (Yixing Clay) enthusiasts in the city. Their shop was known for the authenticity of its teapots - only using original ore zisha and focusing on functionality. They worked with a few reliable artists out of Yixing. They soon left their shop in Guangzhou to establish their own studio in Yixing.

Seeing how busy their little studio is today, it is clear that whatever challenges they faced initially, their move had been a success. We spoke with Lin Hanpeng to hear more about these challenges and how their studio fits into the modern zisha industry.

by Patrick

​We were very happy to talk with Mr. Chen Feng-Ji this week. A promising young sculptor working in the medium of porcelain, Mr. Chen has devoted the last decade to improving his craft, first under an apprenticeship and then as a contract sculptor. Since 2016 he has been running his own studio, producing sculptures and tea ware for the Chinese market, and since 2019, for the international market.

by Siyan

This April, while the people around us were busy with the spring tea harvest, we made a visit to Mr. Lee Shanming’s (李善明) studio, Shan Kiln 善窑, in Jingdezhen to see his new spring products, and to take some photos back with us for our blog. Lee Shanming is our featured Ruyao artist. All of the Ruyao Teaware in our shop is handcrafted in his studio in Jingdezhen.