Interest blooms in glass flowers

During the recent 19th Asian Games held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, He made a set of more than 200 osmanthus flowers, the city flower of Hangzhou. It took him two weeks to complete.

He started to learn about lampwork glass techniques last January while in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province. He took a five-day class to learn the basics, and has since learned from online tutorials and a lot of trial and error.

"My skills and techniques have definitely improved from last year and I think I am very gifted in the craft."

In order to create the flowers, he first researches the history and culture of the city, the shapes of the flowers and what they symbolize.

Afterward, he tries to come up with an artistic expression of the flower.

"The glass flowers are not an exact copy of the real thing. We need to find ways to make sure they can be made into glass, while also maintaining the essence of the flower," he says. "The key to our work is to make sure the flowers are beautiful and pleasant to the eye."

Most of his customers come to the store because they have seen his videos on social media. Most are young people and students, even middle school students, He says.

"Young people like to experience new things and they also like beautiful items, so our store is a good choice for those interested in art," he says. "They are also fans of traditional Chinese handicrafts, but they do not know where they can learn about them, so our store is a good choice."

After they come to the store and experience glass making, they will often post their work on social media, so it is a good way to further promote the store, according to He.