Craft Platforms: Case studies Tatara Huayao Cultural and Creative Studio
July 19, 2020 2020-11-15 9:28Craft Platforms: Case studies Tatara Huayao Cultural and Creative Studio
塔塔拉花瑶文创工作室
Tatala Huayao Cultural and Creative Studio
HIGHLIGHTS
- 塔塔拉花瑶文创工作室主要做的是传统文化的传承与创新。其中以溆浦虎形山的花瑶挑花为代表，包括溆浦龙潭的当地传说，道教文化等。在传承传统文化的同时设计出符合当代潮流的作品。
- 塔塔拉花瑶文创工作室采用互联网加实体的销售模式，是一家宣传传统文化，设计产品，生产产品，销售产品为一体的工作室。主要围绕花瑶民族风产品设计开发问题，重点进行研究设计和改良，开发出一系列旅游文化创意类产品，解决花瑶挑花手艺急需传承，带动和丰富当地旅游文化发展，解决瑶族地区劳动就业等问题进行实施。
- 对传统文化的改良只是在传承的基础上让挑花融入现代生活之中，去繁为简让挑花更符合现代人的欣赏眼光。
- Tatala Huayao Cultural and Creative Studio mainly works on the inheritance and innovation of traditional culture, including Huayao cross-stitch and local legends of Xupu mountain, and Taoist culture. The studio aims at inheriting the traditional culture and designing products keeping up with the current trend.
- The studio develops the selling method of combining the online services and offline services, integrating the traditional culture promotion, products design, manufacture, and sales. The studio focused on the design and development of Huayao ethnic-style product, developing a series of cultural-derived creative products, which helps solve the problem of Huayao cross-stitch inheritance, promote the development of the local tourist industry, and provide more employment opportunities in Yao-inhabited regions.
- The improving of traditional culture is based on the inheritance of traditional culture and aims at integrating the cross-stitch into modern life, which simplifies the cross-stitch to fit with the modern aesthetic standards.
BRIEF INTRODUCTION
图 1：（左）塔塔拉花瑶文创工作室的标志，（右）谌鲲鹏本人和他的作品
Figure 1: (Left) Logo of Tatara Huayao Studio (Right) Chen kun peng himself and his work
2016 年，谌鲲鹏和同是服装设计师的妻子黄夏茵离开了大都市，回到怀化市溆浦县龙潭镇老家，成立了塔塔拉花瑶文创工作室，致力于挖掘本土的民族民俗元素，开发文化创意产品。宣扬一种从容淡定的生活方式，不媚不俗的人生态度。设计推出了花瑶风箱包、花瑶风服装、花瑶风布鞋、花瑶风工艺品等特色产品。现有设计师2人，生产工人10人。工作室的实体店铺位于湖南省怀化市溆浦县龙潭镇新兴街。
In 2016, Kunpeng Chen and her wife Xiayin Huang, who are both costume designers, went back to their home in Longtan town. The set up the Tatala Huayao Cultural and Creative Studio, which committed to the local folk-art research and cultural-derived product design. The Tatala studio has launched products including Huayao-style bags, clothing, shoes, handicrafts, and other special items. It has 2 designers and 10 workers, located in Xinxing street, Huaihua.
图 2：工作室部分成员
Figure 2: (Left) Studio overview
DIGITAL ‘TOUCH POINTS’
Use of Digital equipment
图案设计过程中均为纯手工。后期做衍生品设计时会用到高清印刷，热转印等相关技术。
他们使用的数字设备有：手绘板，用于手绘图案、插画等；手机，用于拍照、拍视频等；印刷机，将手图案印刷在产品上；以及将图样转印在布料上面的数字设备。
The process of pattern design is made by handwork. High definition printing and thermal transfer technologies will be used in the later work of derived product design.
The digital devices used by Tatala studio include graphic tablets, iPad, mobile phones, and printing machines. The graphic tablets and iPad are used for drawing illustrations. Mobile phones are used to take photos and videos. The printing machines are used to print the pattern on the products. The studio also has digital devices for transfer printing the pattern into the textile materials.
Use of Digital technologies
激光刻字用于产品定制
Laser inscription is used for product customization.
他们面临的挑战有：
技术上的挑战，用烧热的铁扦，在椴木上烫出各种人物、山水花卉、飞禽走兽等纹样需要用不同的技法来表现。
艺术的创新。例如：如何将烙花与国画更好地结合，怎么样的形式更满足现代人的审美需求。
The challenges :
- The technical challenges: There should be more multiple techniques to control the heated iron spike to burn different patterns like human figures, animals, and landscapes in the woods.
- The innovation on art form: It’s difficult to find better ways to combine pyrography art with Chinese painting and adapt to modern aesthetic standards.
他们的机会点有：
谌老师说“ 创作烙画的过程中开发了很多文创衍生品，丰富了文创产品的类目吧”。
新的合作机会，例如在展览中一位顾客想购买花瑶风情的手工烙花作品作为自己民宿的装饰画。
The opportunities:
- Founder Chen said, “Many cultural-derived product have been developed during the creation of pyrography, which has enriched the category of cultural and creative products.”
- They can find new cooperation opportunities, such as one customer from the exhibition wants to buy Huayao-style handmade pyrography works for the decoration of his hotel.
图 3：（左）微信个人号，（右）微信公众号
Figure 3: (left) WeChat personal account, (right) WeChat public account
图 4：朋友圈部分内容展示
Figure 4: Display of some content in wechat
图4（左）为新品设计开发（花瑶挑花+侗锦）的朋友圈。
图4（中）为在怀化市非遗馆的展示介绍。
图4（右）为道教文化衍生品（太极系列竹制陶瓷杯垫）的介绍。
Figure 4 (left) is a circle of friends for new product design and development (Hua Yao Picking Flowers + Tong Jin).
Figure 4 (middle) is an introduction of the non-heritage museum in Huaihua.
Figure 4 (right) is an introduction of a Taoist cultural derivative (Tai Chi series bamboo ceramic coasters).
图 5：朋友圈部分内容展示
Figure 5: Part of the content in WeChat
图5（左）为《龙之传说》第五幅作品的完成图。
图5（中）新作品《龙之传说》创作过程的一则小视频。
图5（右）背包衍生品的诞生过程。
Figure 5 (left) is a completed drawing of the fifth work in “Legend of the Dragon”.
Figure 5 (middle) A small video of the creative process of the new work “Legend of the Dragon”.
Figure 5 (right) The birth of backpack derivatives.
Online sales platform
他们的线上销售平台包括：微信朋友圈推广；淘宝店铺。
谌鲲鹏老师说：“我们在销售这方面也找了很多的平台进行推广，以前还做过微博的账号，后面也因为各种原因搁置了，包括现在的微信公众号也是我和我妻子在做，做的比较简单，排版什么都是自己的设计，做什么内容也是自己决定。”
Their online sales platforms includes promotion in wechat moments and online stores in taobao.
Founder Chen said, “We have also used many platforms for promotion and sales, for example, we set up an account in Micro-blog before and suspended the update for some reason. My wife and I are managing WeChat public accounts currently. It’s relatively easy and simple to operate, we can decide the contents and layout of articles by ourselves.”
图 6：（左）微信号朋友圈推广产品，（右）淘宝店铺首页
Figure 6: (left) WeChat friends circle to promote products, (right) Taobao shop homepage
Use of digital software
平面类设计软件。所有的原版烙花作品都是手工绘制。而在衍生品设计、宣传、包装等方面会运用到平面的软件，主要是Photoshop。
Graphic design software. All the original pyrography works are hand-painted. Graphic design software like Photoshop will be used in the process of product design, promotion, and package.
The challenges of applying digital platforms
局限性。一是花瑶挑花这样独特文化的影响范围的局限性，二是工作室缺乏专业的运营推广人员。“现在也有在抖音上面发布自己的作品，效果也还可以，我们淘宝店铺遇到的问题主要是走出了怀化这个地方，大家都不认识花瑶，更别说她们的文化了，大家可能只知道一些关于瑶族的东西，但是花瑶挑花就很少有人知道了，我们的店铺刚开始做了很多关于花瑶挑花的衍生品设计，但少有人购买，后面就下架了很多，现在店铺做的比较好的是道教文化的衍生品，因为道教这个文化是中国都有的，也很符合现代人的审美，但是在花瑶挑花这一块还是会继续做下去的。”
Limitations. First, the influence of the unique Huayao culture is limited. Second, the studio lack the professional employee specialized in operation and promotion.”Now I have posted my work on Tiktok, and the effect is good. The problem we encountered in Taobao is that people out of Huaihua hardly know Huayao, let alone their culture. People may learn a few things about Yao people, but few of them know about Huayao cross-stitch (a Huayao culture). In the beginning, our shop has designed a lot of derived product of Huayao cross-stitch, but few people bought them, after that we had to remove the products from the online stores. Now the derived products of Taoist culture sell well because Taoist culture is more common in China and adapts with the aesthetics standard of modern people. However, we will continue working on Huayao cross-stitch” said by Founder Chen.
MORE DESCRIPTIONS
销售情况：道教文化的衍生品系列卖的最好，文化知名度高，也能迎合当代人的设计审美。花瑶挑花系列的衍生品的主要销售渠道是政府采购，私人订制。
如何在网上解释、传播你们的手工艺产品的价值？文化价值，自主品牌，原创设计，手工、工艺。
您是否会在数字平台上学习手工艺技能或者数字技能？（例如看一些手工艺教程视频或者社交媒体推广教程、拍摄P图教程，等等。）具体会使用哪些平台进行学习呢？具体学习什么内容呢？会使用抖音，微信公众号，烙花学习交流群等平台学习手工艺技术。
Sales: Derived products with the theme of Taoist culture are the best-selling products, leveraging the popularity of Taoist culture and the satisfaction of modern aesthetic requirements. The main sales channels of Huayao cross-stitch products are government procurement and private ordering.
How to explain and spread the value of your craft products online?
There are several aspects including cultural value, independent brand, original design, handicraft, and craft.
Do you learn craftsmanship or digital skills on a digital platform?
“I use platforms such as tiktok, wechat subscription, pyrography online learning group to learn handicraft techniques.”
SUMMARY
塔塔拉花瑶文创工作室一方面对传统文化进行了传承与创新。另一方面通过开发出一系列旅游文化创意类产品，解决瑶族地区劳动就业等问题，带动并丰富了当地旅游文化的发展。在宣传传统文化，产品设计和改良、生产产品、宣传产品、销售产品方面都有比较完善的流程。
On the one hand, Tatala Huayao Cultural and Creative Studio have inherited and innovated traditional culture. On the other hand, through the creation of a series of tourism cultural creative products, their works help provide more employment opportunities and promote the development of the tourist industry in Yao-inhabited region, establishing the mature process of traditional culture promotion, product design, manufacture, promotion, and sales.
CONTACT
WeChat personal account：SKP15118010710
WeChat public account：塔塔拉花瑶文创中心
Link to the latest article in WeChat public account：https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/siUEi5GxgQhkjx9n6q-2CQ
Contact Us
Craftplatforms.org has been produced by the project research team at Queen Mary University of London, UK, and Hunan University, China.
Contact E-mail: contact@craftplatforms.org
Prof. Nick Bryan-Kinns
n.bryan-kinns@qmul.ac.uk
School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science
Queen Mary University of London
London E1 4NS
Prof. Hao Tan
htan@hnu.edu.cn
School of Design, Hunan University
Yuelu Mountain, Changsha
