ABOUT
In 2024, Miao Tan and Siying Cui co-founded
qīqíqǐqì studio in London.
This name reflects our attitude: to liberate natural lacquer from fixed symbols and categories, allowing it to become a method, a relation, and a way of thinking.
qīqíqǐqì Studio focuses on material and conceptual exploration. At the same time, qīqíqǐqì Brand extends these experimental ideas into everyday life, reconstructing the relationship between people and objects through touch.
漆 (lacquer)
奇 (wonder)
岂 (far more than)
器 (artefacts)
The name qīqíqǐqì derives from the four tones of “qi” [漆] in Pinyin, represented by four Chinese characters:
ARTISTS
Miao Tan ARWS
(b. 1998, China)
Miao focuses on material research and product development, combining traditional lacquer techniques with contemporary forms and functions. With a background in fine art and sculpture, they bring sensitivity to texture, proportion, and structure into each design.
Educated in both China and the UK, Miao holds a BA in Oil Painting from Minzu University of China and an MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art. They are an Associate Member of the Royal Watercolour Society (ARWS) and recipient of the 2023 New Graduate Award.
Miao is based in London, continuing to expand lacquer’s expressive possibilities across functional design and artistic practice.
Siying Cui
(b. 1996, China)
Siying oversees the brand’s visual direction, presentation, and spatial design, shaping how each object communicates its material and sensory qualities. Their practice bridges design and art through clear visual systems with an intuitive sense of tactility.
Siying holds a BA in Environmental Design from Beijing University of Technology, and an MA in Contemporary Art Practice from the Royal College of Art.
With experience in branding, publishing, and exhibition design, Siying builds qīqíqǐqì’s identity through cohesive visual storytelling and material expression.
qīqíqǐqì Studio is a platform for research and creation, positioned at the intersection of material experimentation and critical cultural inquiry.
By combining natural lacquer with textiles, we focus on the agency of materials, expressed through their fluidity and instability, and extend this inquiry to the reconstruction of aesthetic norms, hierarchies, and narrative frameworks.
Our practice encompasses material experiments, publications, and design prototypes, emphasising process and openness while seeking to activate new modes of perception and narration.
We have tested varying proportions of natural lacquer on different types of paper and fabric, observing the differences in absorbency, hardening effects, and surface texture.
Through these experiments, we aim to explore the limits and potential of materials under the influence of lacquer, seeking new ways for fibres and lacquer
to interact, and laying the foundation for future artistic creation and functional transformation.
The writing and publishing practice of qīqíqǐqì revolves around natural lacquer, documenting and reflecting on our work from multiple perspectives. The content includes stories behind the making of lacquer, artists’ journals, compilations of material experiments, and critical reflections on cultural roots and craft orthodoxy. These texts serve as immediate records of our ongoing research and will also form part of future publications.
We are currently preparing a comprehensive publication that explores natural lacquer from multiple viewpoints. While tracing its historical contexts, we also respond to its redefinition and potential in the contemporary era.
The publication is scheduled for release in June 2026.
Alongside our publications, this section also includes selected press releases and media coverage related to our studio practice.
The design prototypes of qīqíqǐqì originate from an ongoing exploration of materials and processes. These works often emerge in an experimental state: by kneading, wrapping, and compressing paper and fabric, then fixing the forms with multiple layers of natural lacquer, allowing the softness of fibres and the strength of lacquer to intertwine.
The making process emphasises bodily experience and manual intuition. Each work unfolds without a predetermined outcome, shaped by touch, resistance, and chance.
Here, design prototypes are not product models in the conventional sense, but series of works generated through experimental processes that explore the interaction between material, body, and intuition. These prototypes are also presented in exhibitions and public platforms, becoming shared outcomes of research and practice.
qīqíqǐqì regards exhibitions as an integral part of research and an important way to engage in dialogue with the public. We have presented our works at London Craft Week 2025 and MADE LONDON 2025, placing material experiments and design prototypes within public contexts to test their sensory potential and to foster discussions around craft, material, and contemporaneity.
For the latest updates on exhibitions, events, please visit the News section.
#2 ZAOSHAN Brand
The brand ZAOSHAN transforms the studio’s explorations into everyday experiences. Centering on natural lacquer as its core material, it develops functional objects such as homeware and jewellery.
The brand creates sensory tension through paradoxical qualities that appear metallic yet remain lightweight, awakening a primal tactile connection between people and materials.
In an age where technology continually smooths over perception, qīqíqǐqì seeks to rekindle memory of touch and embodied experience.
Horsehair brushes are valued for their balanced texture, soft yet resilient, with a natural elasticity. They serve as practical tools for daily use, as well as ornamental objects or thoughtful gifts.
Each brush is bound and reinforced with natural lacquer over a rope core, giving it strength, durability, and a gentle sheen.
In Chinese tradition, the horse symbolises strength, vitality and unceasing energy. Its mane and tail hair are believed to carry protective powers, associated with yang energy that wards off negative influences. For centuries, small brushes or ornaments made from horsehair have been hung at doorways or beside cradles as talismans of protection and peace.
Our main series includes vases, trays, cups, and brooches. Though their surfaces suggest a metallic weight, each piece is astonishingly light, most weigh under 100 grams, with some as little as 30 grams.
Linen fabric is sewn, twisted, and compressed to form intuitive shapes, allowing the material’s own tension and rhythm to guide the form. Multiple layers of natural lacquer are then applied, each permeating the fibres, hardening the surface, and transforming the softness of cloth into resilience and durability, while preserving every crease and texture.
Reinterpreting traditional techniques, we experiment with finishes such as Ishime-nuri (a granular, stone-like texture) and Rōgin-nuri (a subtle metallic sheen). Applied to the fabric surface, these methods retain the pliability and tactility of textiles while adding distinctive functionality. The works are not only practical, but also water-resistant, corrosion-resistant, and acid-resistant.
Lacquer paper is made by combining natural lacquer with handmade paper. The lacquer penetrates the paper fibers, strengthening them and giving the paper exceptional toughness, resistance to moisture and corrosion, and excellent impermeability, making it suitable for long-term preservation. Its surface has a gentle matte finish with a smooth, warm touch. Each sheet is handmade, with edges that reveal a natural irregularity.
lacquered paper can withstand repeated reworking and modification. It lends itself to folding and three-dimensional construction, and when combined with pastel pigments, it produces a soft, mist-like atmosphere. It also performs well with a wide range of media, including acrylic, oil, gouache, and coloured pencil. The dense surface ensures stable adhesion and fluid blending of pigments.
#3 COLLABORATION
We welcome collaborations with designers, artists, researchers, and cross-disciplinary institutions to explore the contemporary possibilities of natural lacquer.
If you have any ideas or would like to collaborate, please contact us at qiqiqiqi.info@gmail.com.
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