• Tell me a bit about yourself

My name is Xin Zhao, and I live in Woburn, MA, which is about 16 miles north of Boston. I grew up in China, and came to US about 9 years ago. I live with my dear husband, our pet fish and lots of my precious plants (I call them my babies). I love my culture and all kinds of Chinese folk arts.

• What is the name of your Shop?

I opened my Etsy Shop, TranquilityKnots, earlier this year.

• Please describe your creative process

Normally, I will draw my designs first, select different basic knots and combine them together in a tasteful way. Then I will gather all the materials, like satin cords, glass beads, porcelain beads, jade pendant and beads, or other semi precious gem pieces base on the shape and colour of my design. I use pins and foam board when making complex knots, and pull the cords and adjust the shape after each section. This adjusting part is actually the hardest, you can destroy your knot right here. Depends on the complexity of the piece, it can take anywhere from 30 minutes to a whole night to finish.

• Where do your ideas come from?

There are more than a dozen basic knots in Chinese knotting, once you learned them all, you can combine them in any way you like, sky’s the limit. I get my inspiration from all sorts of things, especially the costumes in chinese operas and old movies. I think about them so much, these knots jump around in my head all the time. I carry a little notebook with me everywhere I go, so I can write down my designs and ideas before forgetting it.

• How did you get into your craft?

I loved all kinds of crafts ever since I was little, and my mom sent me to a Chinese brush painting class (for adults) when I was 13. That started my passion about tradition chinese arts, I guess. After I came to US, I appreciated my culture more and more. About 7 years ago, my mom bought me these wonderful books about Chinese knotting and a whole bunch of materials. I got so excited and started making some basic ones. I don’t like to repeat the same design, so I would look for challenging designs in the books and tried them out. I hang all my creations on my living room and gradually they became my one of a kind decoration. All my friends loved them, and kept asking for them. I probably gave away about 200 of them. Then everyone started telling me that I should sell them, especially after my knots were on TV 2 years ago. (I was in one of the episode of Ask This Old House, and they showed off 3 of my knots at the end of the show) I finally made the decision earlier this year, and opened TranquilityKnots. And a big thank you to all my friends who supported me when I started. I couldn’t do it without you guys.

• Apart from creating things, what do you do?

I love gardening and sewing. Actually I will introduce a new line of products in my store later this month. I have been making cute baby gifts and aprons for friends, and felt in love with them. So I have to share them with my customers. They are not really “Chinese”, but they are just so cute, and practical at the same time.

• How do you promote your work?

I chat with people on the Etsy forums. BTW, I had so much fun doing it, you guys are awesome. I also have a Blog, where I talk about all aspects of my life, including my knots of course. I told all my friends and co-workers about my stores, and they help me spread the words as well. I am planning to join some local crafts shows to get more local customers. I have been looking for other creative ways to promote my work and Etsy concept. So if anyone has better ideas they like to share, please go to my store and convo me. Thanks.

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