Every stitch has made a difference
Embroiderers in the city of Hami turn tradition into a fashion success story
Kader Reheman used to herd sheep and cattle for 1,000 yuan ($150) a month.
Now, the 44-year-old makes 4,000 yuan embroidering traditional clothing at a crafts center in Hami, part of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
It has been quite a turnaround for the former herdsman, who learned the art of embroidery from his mother when he was just 7 years old.
“I quickly established a reputation as an embroiderer in the neighborhood,” Reheman said.
“In the past, embroidery was only a part-time job, which gave me additional money of about several hundred yuan per month,” he added.
But last year, he decided to work at a traditional cultural and arts work station, which makes clothes and pillows, as well as notebooks and even headphones.
The project was set up by the Atron Art Group in Beijing, the Academy of Arts and Design at Tsinghua University and the local government.
Around the same time, Shanghai-based designer Qin Xu was attracting global attention after her debut show at Paris Fashion Week highlighted a Uygur-style hand-embroidered dress entitled “Blossoms”.
For Reheman, his change of job has opened up new possibilities.
“I was taken to Guangzhou University for embroidery training and it was the first time I had traveled to a firsttier city in China,” he said.
“The experience was mind-blowing as it not only opened my horizon but also enabled me to realize the great potential of traditional Uygur (crafts) in this increasingly modern world,” Reheman added.
The embroidery center has created its own brand, known as Mi Zuo, which literally translates into “Made in Hami” and promotes traditional Uygur embroidery by transforming it into daily, stylish products.
By cooperating with design groups, the station has managed to develop more than 400 exquisitelymade items, combining tradition with modernity.
You can even buy beautifully-finished protective covers for iPhones. Prices for an array of products range from 80 to 800 yuan.
“Each pair of handmade headphones, with embroidered covers, takes five days to make and costs 800 yuan,” said Wu Guangliang, a local official. “Pillows cost 120 yuan while notebooks go for 90 yuan.”
Last year, the center sent 50 workers to Guangzhou University to learn how to
Each pair of headphones, with embroidered covers, takes five days to make and costs 800 yuan.” Wu Guangliang, an official in Xinjiang
blend modern fashion with traditional Uygur embroidery, as well as needlework techniques.
It also offered free training in embroidery, pattern design and marketing to more than 3,700 Hami locals.
On the commercial front, the Atron Art Group signed long-term cooperation contracts with embroiderers in the prefecture-level city.
The first batch of orders of more than 10,000 handmade embroidery products were delivered last year by 1,000 skilled workers from various ethnic groups.
“They earned on average 1,200 yuan from the orders, with skilled workers earning as much as 3,000 yuan,” Wu said.
Qin’s Paris Show debut also made a splash. The embroidery along the waist of one catwalk dress was stitched by the Shanghaibased designer and Renaguli Supi from the Wubao township of Hami.
Since then, Supi embroidery business has taken off after receiving orders from companies in Shanghai, Xi’an of Shaanxi province, and Zhejiang province.
Her hand-embroidered hats with flower patterns, which used to sell for 25 yuan, now cost ten times that amount. Certain customized items have even been sold for 10,000 yuan.
“By incorporating fashion elements into traditional Uygur embroidery, I hope more people in the world can appreciate this unique cultural heritage,” Supi, 34, said.
“As the industry grows into a more mature and lucrative one, I believe more young people will inherit the exquisite techniques of Uygur embroidery,” she added.
Listed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage asset in 2008, traditional Hami embroidery has a history which spans thousands of years with beautiful patterns and skillful knitting.
There are 21 Uygur embroidery experts and 4,000 skilled female embroiderers in Hami.
The center plans to expand the number of skilled staff to 10,000 in the next three years.