THE PORCELAIN FORM
Made in Dehua, Shaped for the Weave
The porcelain body is produced in Dehua, Fujian, to specifications developed for the Daily Cup.
Dehua is one of China’s historic porcelain centres and is internationally associated with its white porcelain tradition, known as Blanc de Chine—“white from China.” For the Daily Cup, this material heritage enters a contemporary vessel made for regular coffee and tea use.
The cup’s 275 ml capacity, proportions, balance, rim, base, and intended bamboo coverage are considered as connected parts of the same form.
The interior and drinking rim remain uncovered, preserving a smooth glazed surface where the porcelain meets the drink and the lips. The exterior provides the fixed form around which the bamboo will later be woven.
Before weaving begins, each porcelain body is checked for its surface, structural condition, stability, and suitability for bamboo fitting.
THE CRAFT
Porcelain-Body Bamboo Weaving
Known in Chinese as citai zhubian (瓷胎竹编), porcelain-body bamboo weaving brings finely prepared bamboo together with a porcelain vessel that has already been formed and fired.
The craft is recorded in China’s national intangible cultural heritage register as Bamboo Weaving (Porcelain-body Bamboo Weaving), Project VII-51, and was included in the second national list announced in 2008.
Bamboo over Porcelain is THE YUNXI’s series name, not the official English name of the heritage project. It describes the material relationship at the centre of the series: bamboo woven directly around porcelain.
BAMBOO PREPARATION
Before the Weave
The visible weave begins long before the bamboo reaches the porcelain.
Raw bamboo passes through more than a dozen operations before it becomes fine enough to follow the cup. The work begins with selecting and opening the bamboo, removing unsuitable outer and inner material, and controlling moisture through drying and heating.
The prepared bamboo is then separated into thin layers. These are divided, scraped, conditioned, and drawn into slender filaments with the consistency and flexibility required for close weaving.
Every stage affects what becomes possible later. A filament that is too thick may resist the curve of the cup. An uneven or rough filament can interrupt the structure, surface, and feel of the finished weave.
By the time the first filament crosses another, much of the craft has already taken place.
HAND WEAVING
Woven Around the Porcelain
The porcelain reaches the weaving stage as a finished, fixed form. Its rim, base, height, and changing circumference determine how the bamboo structure must develop.
As the weave moves around the cup, the maker adjusts spacing, direction, and tension by hand. The structure must remain aligned as it follows changes in diameter and approaches the transitions between bamboo and exposed porcelain.
This is where professional judgment becomes visible. The maker is not simply repeating a pattern, but continuously responding to the form and the behaviour of the bamboo.
The result is not a printed motif or removable sleeve. It is a woven structure formed directly around the porcelain.
THE QUALITY STANDARD
What Varies—and What Does Not
The Daily Cup is produced in considered batches, allowing the fit between porcelain and bamboo to be reviewed closely through weaving, finishing, and inspection.
Natural differences in bamboo grain, tone, and handwoven rhythm remain visible. These variations belong to the material and give each cup subtle character of its own.
The intended quality standard does not vary. Each finished cup is assessed for:
- secure and consistent weaving;
- close fitting between bamboo and porcelain;
- comfortable contact points and finished edges;
- sound porcelain;
- and overall stability and balance.
Loose weaving, sharp or uncomfortable edges, cracks, unstable fitting, and functional faults fall outside that standard.
The aim is not to remove every sign of handwork. It is to preserve the character of the material while maintaining consistency where structure, touch, and use are concerned.
THE COLLABORATION
Made with Liu Luolin and Her Studio
The bamboo weaving for the Bamboo over Porcelain series is developed and carried out in collaboration with Liu Luolin and Hualin Banghu Culture and Art Studio.
Liu is an officially recognized representative inheritor of bamboo weaving. She works directly on the weaving alongside her studio team and contributes to product development, craft direction, and the cultural interpretation of the work.
THE YUNXI defines the product intention, including its use, overall form, proportions, and intended bamboo coverage. Liu and the studio contribute the specialist knowledge required to realize it through bamboo preparation, woven structure, tension, transitions, edges, and finish.
Design decisions are considered alongside the behaviour of the material. The porcelain must support a coherent woven structure, while the weave must remain appropriate to how the finished cup will be held and used.
FROM CRAFT TO DAILY USE
The Daily Cup
The Bamboo over Porcelain Daily Cup brings together porcelain, prepared bamboo, and skilled handwork in an object made for coffee, tea, and repeated daily use.
Its woven structure is shaped by the decisions traced throughout this page—from the preparation of each bamboo filament to tension, transitions, edges, and finish. Subtle variations in tone and weave remain as visible traces of the hand behind each cup.
The result is not a reproduction of a traditional vessel, but a contemporary expression of the craft—made to be held, used, and lived with.