Musician hits right note in bid to save traditional crafts

Speaking of how she integrates ancient skills with modern products, Zhu says acclaimed artists such as Michael Young and Jeff Shi were part of a design team who traveled with her to Suzhou in Jiangsu province and Hangzhou in Zhejiang province in 2013, which have been centers of handicrafts since the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

There the artists, who are themselves established designers, who were so impressed by the local craftsmen that they created impressive works that bridged the past and the present.

She then took their works to Milan Design Week in 2014, hoping to raise awareness of the originality and quality of Chinese design.

The brand now works with 50 designers and traditional craftsmen. And her designers also regularly travel to Southwest China and the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, studying handicraft techniques and making the case to rejuvenate them where they are dying.

She says a 10th of the brand's profits go to a "one plus five" cultural inheritance project, which finances the costs of a handicraft master training five young apprentices.

Separately, Zhu has also launched a subsidiary brand that aims to bring affordable designs into the lives of ordinary people so that more handicraft traditions can get a chance to survive the onslaught of modernity.

British designer Tom Dixon says he collaborates with Kanjian because he hopes the success of the brand can benefit local crafts.

"It is now the best time for 'created in China'. The country can be a new source of original design," he says.

"It is only a question of time. It will arrive soon."