A skillful hand
"Rose Diary" opened for over a month, and business was better than Zhiwei had expected. The chubby rabbit became the store's signature item, and other goods also sold quickly. She had to increase her visits to the Suzhou workshop and, through Huang Zijun's introduction, established a partnership with a small factory specializing in high-end fabrics.
Jingnan chose a weekend and went to Zhiwei's store again. As soon as she entered, Xiaoli saw her and hurriedly came up to her, saying, "Miss Wang is here?"
Zhiwei happened to be there too. Hearing the voice, she looked up from behind the table and said, "Jingnan, you're here?"
Jingnan saw that she was wearing an apron and had set up a small workbench in the corner of the room, where she was fiddling with the things on the table.
What are you doing?
"Oh, I'm making a mold for a glass hand mold."
"You can make this yourself?"
“My previous glass products were just designs I would create, maybe a prototype, and then I would ask a glass workshop to make the samples. Recently, I had a sudden idea to make a hand mold. That way, I would make the silicone mold, the wax mold, and the plaster mold myself, and then ask the glass workshop to do the final firing. This way, I can make very fine and unique pieces.”
Jingnan looked at the shape of a hand on her desk, with the thumb and forefinger touching, and the other three fingers bent. It was a vertical orchid finger, and the forearm was thin and hollow.
"I was thinking that besides being a decoration, this could also be used to hold a flower, and one could smile while holding the flower, wouldn't that be beautiful?"
Right now, she's carefully trimming the wax mold that's been removed with a knife. Zhiwei's fingers are slender and long, but not overly bony; they are truly delicate and beautiful hands.
"This can be fired into glass?"
"This isn't good enough. This is just a wax model. We need to wrap the wax model with refractory plaster, then melt the wax at high temperature. Then the plaster negative can be used to place the colored glass on it and fire it."
"That's really complicated."
Jingnan glanced around the store; some of the merchandise had already been replaced with new items. "You're updating your inventory pretty quickly."
"There's nothing I can do. I didn't order a lot of each item initially, and once some were sold out, they were gone. The glass paperweight you bought last time was quite popular and sold out quickly. The new ones haven't arrived yet, so I had to order another batch of throw pillows and cushions to make up for it."
What's the best thing you bought?
"I bought quite a few rabbit-themed pillows, plush toys, and some glass ornaments."
"You little rabbit, don't you have a name or something? Want to register a trademark or something? Oh, right, the company registration is already done, and I've also applied for a batch of design patents for you. If anyone dares to pirate it again, I'll sue them until they go bankrupt," Jing Nan said domineeringly.
Zhiwei laughed so hard she bent over, "My little thing is so small, how could anyone possibly copy it?"
"That's hard to say, but it's better to be prepared."
"Then I'll wait for the day when a pirated copy comes out. I'm so looking forward to it. Haha, I'm afraid the losses from piracy won't even cover your hourly wage."
Jingnan generously said, "It's alright, that dress of yours is enough to fund two counterfeit lawsuits for you."
Zhiwei said, "Then I'll make a killing! Hurry up and get a pirated copy. Haha."
"Honestly, if you're planning to come up with any more designs for this rabbit, I suggest you register it as a trademark. This will make it easier to promote the product and also protect your creative ideas."
"I designed this rabbit to be a girl. She wears clothes with roses on them, and sometimes she even has a small flower tucked behind her ear. How about calling her 'Rose Rabbit'? What do you think?"
"I think that's a good idea. When you have time, design a logo and draw up various shapes. I'll register them all for you."
When Youlin came to Rose's Diary, Zhiwei wasn't in the store. Xiaoli, seeing a customer enter, didn't rush to sell anything, letting the customer browse on her own. Only when Youlin picked up a vase and continued browsing did Xiaoli quietly hand her a shopping basket, saying, "Please feel free to look around. Just let me know if you have any questions."
Youlin put the vase into the basket, picked up a glass fruit plate, and turned to ask Xiaoli, "I heard from a friend that she bought a glass flower paperweight here. It's very pretty. Why didn't I see it?"
Xiaoli hurriedly said, "Hello, many of the glass products in our shop are hand-designed by our designers, and the quantities are very limited. The previous flower paperweights are already sold out. The new products will probably arrive next week, and they will be slightly different from the previous ones. You are welcome to come and take a look then."
Youlin nodded. When she paid the bill, she saw a very unique vase shaped like an orchid finger next to the cashier, with a rose in it.
"This vase is quite beautiful, why didn't I see it displayed in the store?"
"Oh, this is not for sale; it was custom-made using our designer's own hand mold."
"Oh, what a pity."
Three or four customers asked about the hand-molded vase, so when Zhiwei came to the store again, Xiaoli told her about it.
Zhiwei was surprised that her impulsive attempt last time actually had quite a few people who liked it. After thinking about it, she decided to make a new mold, using her own hands as the base, but elongating the overall shape to make it more artistic, and made a porcelain vase shape, which she later put in her shop to sell.
She also instructed Xiaoli that if any customers liked the vase, she could suggest that it be made to resemble their hand. She also commissioned a batch of sandalwood hairpins, combs, bookmarks, and ruyi (a type of scepter) to sell in the shop, and also offered hands-on crafting opportunities for customers.
After various attempts, and about three or four months later, the store's business finally started to steadily increase. It is estimated that in another six months, the store will be able to break even, although Zhiwei's own design costs are incalculable.
Interestingly, among the customers who came to order custom hairpins, there were roughly equal numbers of men and women. It seems every girl can't resist a sandalwood hairpin handcrafted by her beloved, even if it's not as exquisite as the ready-made ones sold in the shop. Zhiwei gave these handcrafted hairpins an elegant name, "Wan Qing Si" (绾青丝), and the packaging is exceptionally beautiful.
Moreover, making a hairpin involves many steps and takes a lot of time. Customers often have to come to the store several times, which not only boosts the store's popularity, but also often leads them to buy one or two new products.
Some customers who hadn't originally planned to order anything came in to browse the shop, saw people making things, couldn't resist inquiring, and eventually joined in. The most popular handmade items were hairpins and combs, probably because they are more suitable as gifts between men and women.
Even Li Fuqiang received a sandalwood comb made by Zhiwei herself. He was quite flattered, as this was the first time Zhiwei had given him a gift. When he mentioned this, Zhiwei remembered that she had said she would give him a portrait, but hadn't finished it. On a whim, while they were sitting and drinking tea, she took out her photo album and started drawing.
When the drawing was finished and handed to Li Fuqiang, it was a cartoon version of him, with a large chin and a friendly smile, but it was hard to tell where his image was in his expression. You could tell at a glance that it was drawn as him.
“Our Xiaowei is truly an artist; her portrait is so lifelike. Please sign it for me; I’ll hang it in my office.”
"Then it needs to be framed. But it depends on the style of your office, otherwise the framing style will not match."
"That's perfect! If you're free this afternoon, why don't you come with me to the office? We can ask the great artist for suggestions on any decorations that don't look good."
Zhiwei took this as a joke, after all, the boss's office had been consulted by several feng shui masters, and the decorations were naturally meticulously designed by a master. Since she had nothing else to do that afternoon, she went with Li Fuqiang to the company to broaden her horizons.
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