The ‘Made in China’ tag has become synonymous with massive factories staffed by thousands of workers, stuff rolling off assembly lines in container-load quantities, reports The Vancouver Sun.
But one home-based Vancouver company is chipping away at this widely held image.
Twinklebelle Design Inc. is a tale of two sisters, a small sewing group and two knitting groups in Nanjing on China’s coast, and further afield in Binzhou, a city that would be unknown to most Westerners.
Together, they make hand-knitted hats and blankets, as well as painting smocks, aprons, bags and other accessories for babies, kids and families. All very colourful, sweet and with minimal packaging. You could put them on a table at a farmer’s market.
“When I met [Luo], she really introduced for the first time in my mind the idea that there are crafters in China, that these people are the same as the people we value here,” Molly Sweeney said. “I think it’s so easy to believe what you hear and to take what little you do hear and make these grand, sweeping generalizations about entire countries, companies or people.
Photo by Vancouver Sun.