it's china baby

did you like my Jay Chou reference? Guanie is proud to say that "Blue and White Porcelain" is her ultimate Jay Chou go to.

y'all it's christmas

Tis the season to be jolly. Tis also the season to be broke. I don't know about all you out there but Christmas. Yes, Christmas and the whole New Years holiday period … we have a pretty single sided love hate relationship. I mean, I love receiving presents. Guanie's definitely not complaining about that. Don't get guanie wrong, she loves preparing gifts too! Gifting is an art. Guanie's friends and family have honoured her the title - "living santa". Taking what ever it takes to uphold her title and reputation, Guanie aims to give it her all when she goes shopping for prezzies. Yes, that is 100%, probably more, for every single present she organises! The rational behind all this seriousness is simple. Guanie wants to make sure everyone receives a present that has had its fair share of thought and love, that comes deep from the heart. As your talented prezzie picker, guanie, owed to her quirky personality, likes to keep things interesting when it comes to the sport of gifting. Being mainstream is devastating. She likes to gift the novel, the unthought of.

However, this year - lovely 2022, living santa (guanie) has been having inspiration problems. Of course covid is to blame. It's probably that infamous brain fog thing you know. I mean, in such an industrialised world, everything is all machines, robots and Elon Musk. What is there of hand, of heart, of warmth left to gift? At least I cannot think of anything creatively handmade of reasonable, affordable price. That is, before guanie came across the heart to hand craftsmen - Fang Wu Ji 芳物集 - an under-celebrated ceramics merchant from Jing De Zheng 景德镇 - the Chinese surviving ceramics capital and the only remaining handicraft city in the whole wide world.

芳物集 Fang Wu Ji - "new Chinese styled" pots and cups made by hand and heart.

China in China - elegant, balanced, eponymic. Here guanie proposes to you a chicken or the egg riddle. Was the Country named after the ceramics; or the ceramics named after the country? Yes, you may propose - how is china affordable. China and ceramics are very expensive gifts these days. Especially in Melbourne, branded, mass manufactured vases cost around $200 AUD, let alone from more niche hand-crafting potters.

In total guanie bought two vases and one coaster from their "Yang Zhi Bai Jade" glaze collection 羊脂白玉釉系列.

The vases - depending on the style, costs around $50 AUD each:

Organic shapes, simple smooth strokes with oriental zen celebrating blossoming nature on a white jade like canvas. Guanie is not a big fan of sharp edges and corners. Round and soft is more guanie's aesthetic. It is just more natural. All this for a very sexy price, only around the ball park of $50 AUD! Where in Melbourne can you get a quality artisan gift for around about the $50 AUD mark? The vases are not made from the four traditional Chinese kilns. Though a modern approach to the traditional, guanie believes the vases nonetheless embody the delicate Chinese poetic simplicity. The "new Chinese style" 新中式 which the brand aims to achieve and in guanie's opinion has wonderfully represented, is a perfect harmony of the old China blended with the new. Just something to keep in mind, the vases are on the smaller hand. The longer vase with a larger mouth is perfect for smaller floral arrangements with longer stems. The round vase, my favourite, owed to its petite opening cannot hold as much flowers. Thus is better for exhibiting one or two plump flowers with shorter stems, such as Salvador Dalí. Even with no flowers, which guanie to some extent likes better, the vases are great ornaments, dainty highlights to your home décor.

Coaster - around $65 AUD each:

Now for the coaster. It's thick!

Yes the perfect thickness to make sure your hot tea, beverage does not burn your beloved chestnut dressing table. The fresh green hand-painted lotus pods, crown guanie's vanity with an oriental flair. It can also be used as a jewellery plate. You can even serve food on it. It's definitely one plate with multiple diverse functions!

Overall:

Does guanie need to word out why she is recommending this artisan potter?

Their products are made by hand and come from heart. Just feel it! The smooth pearly texture, the brush strokes, the talent all dedicated to a vase, a plate, a cup. Fang Wu Ji celebrates the traditional, whilst also flexibly catering to prevailing modern aesthetics and needs.

This all brings guanie back to the question of what does "made in China" mean?. We are so accustomed to assuming "made in china" to be and only be the manufactured little wind-up toys we receive in our happy meals; or the cheap Halloween costume from Kmart you wore once and threw away straight after. In the fourteenth century, Chinese porcelain were symbols of wealth and status, popular amongst the British High society. With so much history, culture and tradition, made in China could be so much more. The Silk Road and all its treasures seems long forgotten. Fang Wu Ji earns the guanie approval badge by showcasing what "made in China" could be with simple elegance and at very affordable prices.

xx guanie ʚїɞ