Sian Zeng’s upbringing was anything but ordinary. Produced in China, she moved to Hungary with her parents when she was seven years old. The many fairy tales she consumed growing up have affected her present job, which showcases flying actors, magnetic wallpaper, talking donkeys and bespectacled bears.
“Being the sole Chinese woman from the course meant that for nearly half a year, I had no other way of communicating with my classmates compared to my illustrations or hand gesturing,” says Zeng. “At the moment I loved looking at these beautifully drawn pictures from Hungarian folktale books. I wholeheartedly replicated and altered these pictures so they’d become my tales to tell to my classmates.” Her interest in visual story telling has continued in the products she designs.
“Layout and artwork were something I was always interested in, however it was not popular with my parents, so I needed to obtain an economics degree at first before I moved to Central Saint Martins to research … which then lead me to a three-year B.A. textile design course,” Zeng says.
“Since then I’ve done several client projects and started my own firm.” She won last year’s Elle Dekor‘s (Hungary) Young Talent of the Year Award and is presently working on expanding her merchandise to speak to a young, cellular demographic with ever-changing decor needs.
Sian Zeng
What inspires your work?
I draw a lot of inspiration from stories, be it ancient narratives or something that I have experienced myself. I really like stories that are humorous or somewhat weird. I interpret those ideas into products so that other people may also experience the tales. Together with my magnetic woodlands wallpaper, I needed to create something that allowed users to tell their own tales using the magnetic characters, buildings and dry-wipe speech bubbles.
Sian Zeng
What projects are you working on now?
I’m working on a string of magnetic boards like the magnetic woodlands wallpaper individuals can hang in their homes. A lot of men and women may move around a lot or are leasing a apartment, so these smaller hangable magnetic wallpaper boards will allow them to readily take their magnetic wallpaper with them where they move. It can be a piece of artwork on the wall which varies as you move the magnetic characters, buildings, blossoms around and write in the speech bubbles.
Sian Zeng
This magical woodlands wallpaper printing in toile is printed in England with eco friendly inks on paper made from sustainably harvested trees.
Sian Zeng
Zeng understands how frequently our thought patterns vary through the day. That is why her thought bubble magnets allow you to write your thoughts over and over again with a dry-erase pen.
Sian Zeng
Using solvent-free inks, Zeng hand-makes and screen-prints these tender toy bears …
Sian Zeng
… and also this particular giant pair of scissors. Both may be used as graphic throws or pin cushions and are 100% machine-washable cotton calico.
Sian Zeng
What and who are your design inspirations?
I have a huge admiration for Tim Walker, the style photographer. His photos consistently tell an epic tale and are staged so beautifully. Though a lot of his themes come from well-known fairy tales, he has managed to twist them and present them in a poetic and unique way.
Sian Zeng
Which are some of your favorite design trends right now?
I’ve noticed that folks really like to create their own things and like to buy kits that they can then gather. I’m a big fan of kits or DIY tips I read on several different blogs myself. When they really work, it is fantastic, and when they fail they eventually become a different item from the closet you will feel bad throwing out for another couple of decades.
Can you still draw by hand, or is everything digital in your studio?
I mostly draw my designs by hand and then control them digitally. There are still a lot of advantages with drawing. By way of instance, you may use a huge variety of mark-making programs; the colors blend more randomly, and I believe that I have a much better control over my drawings when I draw. On the flip side, drawing with a tablet permits you to control the image more readily to alter its shape, touch up on areas, create different colorways and repeat patterns.
The most significant thing in your work desk is …
a string of colorful plastic mini animals in addition to my computer. They seem as though they are on a march in my computer. I have them there because they make me laugh when I get in my studio in the afternoon. Also, they remind me when my pc needs dusting.
More:
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Tastemakers: Object Creative
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