Innovation sees paper cut biz boom

VO:Armedwithnothingmorethanredpiecesofpaperandapairofscissors,FuZhao’ehasrecreatedeverythingfrmChinesefolktales,cartooncharacters,tointricateflowersandanimals.The53-year-oldfromnorthwestChina’sNingxiaHuiAutonomousRegion,hasbecomewellknownforherpaper-cuttingtalent,whichmanythinkreflectthelivesandcustomsofthelocalpeople.

Fufirstfellinlovewiththeancientchineseartwhenshewasjust6-years-old.

Shelearnedthecraftfromhermother,whotaughtherdaughtereverythingsheknows.

In1983,herfirstpapercutwaspublishedinalocalnewspaper.Fuwasdelighted.Thisalsoinspiredhertotakepartinmorepapercuttingexhibitionsandcompetitions.In1997,shestartedherownbusiness,sellingpapercutsinafilmcenterinthesuburbanareaoftheregion’scapitalYinchuang.

[SOUNDBITE]FUZHAO’E,Paper-cutArtist

Istartedsellingpapercutstothetouriststhere.Theywouldjustpickedupapieceofredpaper,andtellmewhatdesigntheywanted;Iwouldthencutitwhiletheywaited.

Theygottoseehowtheywereallhandmade.

[VO]Tocatertotourist’sneeds,Fustartedtocomeupwithnewconceptsanddesigns.Shestartedputtingherpapercutsintodifferentpendants–itwasasmallinnovation,butitwonthecustomers’hearts,andalsosawherincomebegintoboom.

Overtheyears,Fuhasbeenabletoearnagoodlivingwithhertalent.

Shehasbeenabletobuyherfamilyanapartmentinthecity,andhaspaidtosendallofherthreedaughterstocollege.

Butaswellasthematerialrewards,Fuhasalreadyearnedherselfagoodreputation.

In2004,Fuwasawardedthe“ChineseFolkArtistartistbyUNESCOforheroutstandingskills.

However,Fuunderstandsmorestillneedstobedonetokeeptheartalive.

Sheknowsthatonlyconstantinnovationcanturntheancientartintosomethingmorevaluableandappealingtotoday’scustomers,andthereby,preserveitforgood.

Fu’sdaughtersarealotlikeher.Havingbeenbroughtupinaworldofpapercutting,thegirlsnaturallywentontochooseart-relatedmajorsatcollege.

Followinghergraduationin2009,Fu’sseconddaughter,LiJian,returnedhomeandopenedherowncompanyinthehopeofexpandingthemarketbyofferingdifferentkindsofpapercutproducts.Heraimistodevelopthepapercutartintheregionintoalucrativeindustry.

[SOUNDBITE]LIJIAN,Paper-cutArtist

Iknowithasnotbeeneasyformymother.SoIbecamedeterminedtocarryonthecraftwhenIwasincollege.Italkedwithmycollegetutorsabouthowtorunsuchacompanysoastobetterpreservetheart.

[VO]ToLi,innovationincludesbothbrandingandpackaging.Inthefirstyearsinceshefoundedthecompany,shehasdevelopedakindofpaper-cutscrollmadeofsilk,whichhasalsosuccessfullybeenpatented.

[SOUNDBITE]LIJIAN,Paper-cutArtist

Mymother’sworksinthepastwereallhand-madepapercuts.Nowwehavedeveloped36procedures,includingframingandinlaying-thisincreasesthevalueofapaper-cut.Thesemakegreatgifts,becausethey’resoartistic.

[VO]Thankstothe28-year-old’sefforts,thecompany’sproductsnowrangefromgreetingcards,calendars,tohardcoverbooks.Theseproducts,whicharemainlyusedasgiftsandsouvenirsforgovernmentsandenterprises,havebecometheepitomeofthelocalIslamicculture,thankstodesignsthatincludeimagesoftypicalHuisouppots,traditionally-dressedwomen,andmosques.

[SOUNDBITE]LIJIAN,Paper-cutArtist

Thisisapaper-cutalbum,whichtellsthestoryofthecustomsoftheHuipeople.Italsoincludessometypicalfolksongs,allofwhicharefeaturedinthreelanguages:Chinese,EnglishandArabic.ThealbumgivesanideaoftheHuiculture,andisagoodwayfortheoutsideworldtolearnmoreaboutNingxia.

[VO]In2010,Li'spaper-cutproductsweredisplayedattheShanghaiWorldExpo.In2011,hersilkpaper-cutscrollswereselectedasthereceptiongiftsfortheChina-ArabStatesEconomicandTradeForumheldinYinchuang.Herproductswonpraisefrominternationalguests,andasaresult,wererenamedagainasthereceptiongiftsforthefollowingannualforumheldin2012.

Liandhermotherhavenowestablishedapapercuttingassociation,throughwhichtheyhavetrainedmorethan100localwomen.It’samovethathasbroughtnewbloodtotheindustry,increasedtheincomesofthelocalwomen,andmoreimportantly,givennewlifetotheoldcraft.

[SOUNDBITE]LIJIAN,Paper-cutArtist

Ithasprovedtobeawin-winwayofpreservingthecraft.Ithascreatedjobsforthelocalwomen.Aslongasourmarketcontinuestogrow,wehopetocontinuerecruitingandtrainingmorewomen.

[VO]Nowacompanyof15staffmembersandover100skilledcraftswomen,theannualsalesofLi'scompanylastyearamountedto3millionyuan,whichisaround480,000U.S,dollars.

After40yearsofworkinginthepapercuttingindustry,itwasthemoderntouchofherdaughterthathasgivennewenergytoFuZhao’e’sancientcraft

[SOUNDBITE]FUZHAO’E,Paper-cutArtist

Ilearnedthecraftfrommyparents,andthenIpasseditdowntomydaughter.Nowwehavecomplementedeachother'sstrengths,andperfectedanewdirectionpapercutworks.

[VO]Thoughstillayoungartist,Lihassetheraimshigh.Shehopestoestablishahandicraftproductionbaseinthefuture,whichwilldevelopandpreservetraditionalfolkarts,notonlypapercutting,butalsootherculturalheritages.