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'Beard man' feels spark to create woolen knitwear
By Xu Wenwen |
November 16, 2011, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SOMETIMES one little idea can change a person's life. Zhang Bo, the CEO of Beard Man Creative Wool, a woolen knitwear brand he founded last year, says he was surfing the Internet when he came across a funny picture that changed his life.
He says he was on an English website when he saw a picture of a man wearing a wool hat with a fake wool beard attached.
"I thought it was fun!" says Zhang, 29, who then decided to start a business by designing woolen knitwear such as odd-shaped hats, ties, bags and bracelets.
"I am from northeast China, a cold place where people wear a lot of wool," he adds. "I wanted to help others feel warm and I believed I was capable of designing funny knitwear."
The former graphic designer is from Changchun, Jilin Province, and has lived in Hangzhou since graduating from college 11 years ago. Since 2004, he has also run an online fashion store.
However, Zhang says he didn't know how to knit so he asked his mother in Changchun to help.
His first piece was a copy of the bearded hat he saw online. He sent a picture of it to his mom.
After putting it up for sale in his store, he says dozens of orders flooded in. To commemorate the success, Zhang named the brand Beard Man Creative Wool.
Zhang soon began designing his own pieces. He draws pictures and uses an online video chat to explain it to his mother. She then produces it. Usually, every new piece needs to be altered four or five times before it is introduced in his online store.
Among Zhang's works, some are playful, like a wolf-head hat with ears and mouth, and an octopus-like hat that boasts a dozen frizzy woolen "tentacles" that dangle.
He also designs practical items like knitted iPad bags, cellphone bags, as well as accessories like woolen bracelets, hair bands and belts.
Prices vary from 20 yuan (US$3.15) to 200 yuan and most of his customers are from 20 to 35 years old.
Not long after starting the business, Zhang says his mother could no longer handle the workload. He invited other "mothers" - his mother's friends and their sisters in Changchun to work for him. He now employs 20 "mothers." They also contribute ideas to his designs.
His bow ties are a best seller. They come in vivid colors and are a little larger than ordinary ones, leading to an exaggerated effect. At a just closed local cultural exposition, a Hong Kong designer bought two dozen bow ties for his wedding party.
Zhang is now designing more stuff for the winter season, and he hopes to open a shop in his studio, where he will place several large woolen installation artworks.
And, to think, all this happened by seeing a funny photo on a website.
He says he was on an English website when he saw a picture of a man wearing a wool hat with a fake wool beard attached.
"I thought it was fun!" says Zhang, 29, who then decided to start a business by designing woolen knitwear such as odd-shaped hats, ties, bags and bracelets.
"I am from northeast China, a cold place where people wear a lot of wool," he adds. "I wanted to help others feel warm and I believed I was capable of designing funny knitwear."
The former graphic designer is from Changchun, Jilin Province, and has lived in Hangzhou since graduating from college 11 years ago. Since 2004, he has also run an online fashion store.
However, Zhang says he didn't know how to knit so he asked his mother in Changchun to help.
His first piece was a copy of the bearded hat he saw online. He sent a picture of it to his mom.
After putting it up for sale in his store, he says dozens of orders flooded in. To commemorate the success, Zhang named the brand Beard Man Creative Wool.
Zhang soon began designing his own pieces. He draws pictures and uses an online video chat to explain it to his mother. She then produces it. Usually, every new piece needs to be altered four or five times before it is introduced in his online store.
Among Zhang's works, some are playful, like a wolf-head hat with ears and mouth, and an octopus-like hat that boasts a dozen frizzy woolen "tentacles" that dangle.
He also designs practical items like knitted iPad bags, cellphone bags, as well as accessories like woolen bracelets, hair bands and belts.
Prices vary from 20 yuan (US$3.15) to 200 yuan and most of his customers are from 20 to 35 years old.
Not long after starting the business, Zhang says his mother could no longer handle the workload. He invited other "mothers" - his mother's friends and their sisters in Changchun to work for him. He now employs 20 "mothers." They also contribute ideas to his designs.
His bow ties are a best seller. They come in vivid colors and are a little larger than ordinary ones, leading to an exaggerated effect. At a just closed local cultural exposition, a Hong Kong designer bought two dozen bow ties for his wedding party.
Zhang is now designing more stuff for the winter season, and he hopes to open a shop in his studio, where he will place several large woolen installation artworks.
And, to think, all this happened by seeing a funny photo on a website.
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