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Young designer finds inspiration in the whimsical world of pirates
By Qian Jie and Xu Wei |
December 27, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
LONG hair, bearded. Two years ago when we first met Tong Yun, the young Jiangqiao Town native looked more like Johnny Depp in the pirate movies than an up-and-coming designer.
But that perhaps sizes up Tong in a nutshell.
Tong is the brains behind the Tyakasha brand, which has put pirate images onto the card stickers, compact discs, notebooks and costumes. Well-received by the younger generation, his new brand is a hot trend, according to fashion magazines.
Almost every boy at one stage in his childhood dreams of being a pirate. Tong was no exception. He imagined himself on fantastic, faraway adventures, carried along by the freedom on the high seas.
While Tong's classmates were preparing for their college entrance examinations, Tong decided to take a big gamble on his future. He would study sketching at a college of arts.
His parents and teachers tried to dissuade him from that course because he didn't have the experience to qualify for a place in an arts college. But Tong persevered, and with only a month of training and practice, he was admitted.
During his four-year study at the arts college, Tong's illustrations quickly earned him quite a reputation. After graduation in 2004, he was employed by a company as an illustrator. At first it was all very exciting, but after awhile the daily routine of repetitive design to customers' specifications grew tedious. He yearned to strike out on his own, and at the end of 2007, that's exactly what he did.
Tong began working at home. Lack of funding at the beginning restricted him to designing low-budget card stickers and compact discs. He designed rich and lovely patterns of the card stickers that could be affixed onto transportation IC cards, computers, books, containers and the surface of portable playstations.
He was once invited to display his designs at a crafts bazaar. Young people loved them. That prompted Tong to label his brand Tyakasha, the name of a fictional pirate.
The year 2008 was a turning point both in his life and his new career. The 20-something Tong fell in love when he met an Internet friend that he had known for four years but never met before. Sharing the same aspirations and dreams, the two embarked together on expanding Tong's fledgling business.
"When I met him, he had only 4,000 yuan (US$601) for the promotion and development of this brand," said Zhu Xiaojun.
With scant start-up funds and no regular sales outlets, Tong and Zhu sometimes were forced to hawk their products on the street and in Metro stations. Life was tough.
Then their fortunes took a turn for the better. In the first half of 2008, with the help of some artistic friends and a few thousand yuan in savings, Tong opened his Tyakasha Earth Store in Tian Zi Fang, a tourist attraction in Luwan District. Business was so brisk that Tong was encouraged to design a line of dolls in addition to his card stickers. In the shop's display cabinet, he exhibited his Cloth Three, Cloth Four series of dolls. They were also an immediate hit.
The Panda series, developed subsequently, also caught on.
Tong became a favorite rags-to-riches story with local media, which helped spread his reputation. The shop received orders, valued at up to 100,000 yuan, from store chains KeyRoad and SimpleMill.
By the end of 2008, Tong rented out his Tyakasha Earth Store and returned to his home in Jiangqiao Town with Zhu to start on his Tyakasha clothing designs.
They printed all their intricate, colorful patterns on clothing and opened an Internet shop on Taobao.com to sell the garments.
Tong was responsible for design work, while Zhu handled marketing and other business-related aspects. The new clothing series also proved to be a hit with consumers. In October 2009, the pair got married.
"What motivated me to launch and manage Tyakahsa was my whimsical notion that has been cherished in my heart since my childhood. I want to tell those 'pirates' who may still be hiding in various corners," Tong said. "Dreams should always be cherished and preserved because one day they will come true."
But that perhaps sizes up Tong in a nutshell.
Tong is the brains behind the Tyakasha brand, which has put pirate images onto the card stickers, compact discs, notebooks and costumes. Well-received by the younger generation, his new brand is a hot trend, according to fashion magazines.
Almost every boy at one stage in his childhood dreams of being a pirate. Tong was no exception. He imagined himself on fantastic, faraway adventures, carried along by the freedom on the high seas.
While Tong's classmates were preparing for their college entrance examinations, Tong decided to take a big gamble on his future. He would study sketching at a college of arts.
His parents and teachers tried to dissuade him from that course because he didn't have the experience to qualify for a place in an arts college. But Tong persevered, and with only a month of training and practice, he was admitted.
During his four-year study at the arts college, Tong's illustrations quickly earned him quite a reputation. After graduation in 2004, he was employed by a company as an illustrator. At first it was all very exciting, but after awhile the daily routine of repetitive design to customers' specifications grew tedious. He yearned to strike out on his own, and at the end of 2007, that's exactly what he did.
Tong began working at home. Lack of funding at the beginning restricted him to designing low-budget card stickers and compact discs. He designed rich and lovely patterns of the card stickers that could be affixed onto transportation IC cards, computers, books, containers and the surface of portable playstations.
He was once invited to display his designs at a crafts bazaar. Young people loved them. That prompted Tong to label his brand Tyakasha, the name of a fictional pirate.
The year 2008 was a turning point both in his life and his new career. The 20-something Tong fell in love when he met an Internet friend that he had known for four years but never met before. Sharing the same aspirations and dreams, the two embarked together on expanding Tong's fledgling business.
"When I met him, he had only 4,000 yuan (US$601) for the promotion and development of this brand," said Zhu Xiaojun.
With scant start-up funds and no regular sales outlets, Tong and Zhu sometimes were forced to hawk their products on the street and in Metro stations. Life was tough.
Then their fortunes took a turn for the better. In the first half of 2008, with the help of some artistic friends and a few thousand yuan in savings, Tong opened his Tyakasha Earth Store in Tian Zi Fang, a tourist attraction in Luwan District. Business was so brisk that Tong was encouraged to design a line of dolls in addition to his card stickers. In the shop's display cabinet, he exhibited his Cloth Three, Cloth Four series of dolls. They were also an immediate hit.
The Panda series, developed subsequently, also caught on.
Tong became a favorite rags-to-riches story with local media, which helped spread his reputation. The shop received orders, valued at up to 100,000 yuan, from store chains KeyRoad and SimpleMill.
By the end of 2008, Tong rented out his Tyakasha Earth Store and returned to his home in Jiangqiao Town with Zhu to start on his Tyakasha clothing designs.
They printed all their intricate, colorful patterns on clothing and opened an Internet shop on Taobao.com to sell the garments.
Tong was responsible for design work, while Zhu handled marketing and other business-related aspects. The new clothing series also proved to be a hit with consumers. In October 2009, the pair got married.
"What motivated me to launch and manage Tyakahsa was my whimsical notion that has been cherished in my heart since my childhood. I want to tell those 'pirates' who may still be hiding in various corners," Tong said. "Dreams should always be cherished and preserved because one day they will come true."
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