FEMALE POWER 她力量

Five powerful female entrepreneurs discuss their work, interests and great passions.

五位充滿“她”力量的女性創業者，分享了她們有關創業、愛好和熱情的故事。

Amber Xiang
相海齊

Founder, The Beast
野獸派創始人

“There are a group of Chinese working women, who have a great worklife balance. They love their job, love trips, reading books, self development, lifestyle, a curiosity for the world.

有這樣一群中國職業女性—她們能很好地平衡生活和工作。她們熱愛自己的工作，熱衷于旅行、閱讀、自我發展、追求生活方式，對世界充滿好奇。”

I read that The Beast was born on Weibo?

Yes. I saw a friend of mine post a picture of a cupcake and she said she bought it from someone on Weibo. So I opened an account and started posting photos of flower arrangements. The messages came flooding in! Even Boran Jing made an order. It's hard for some people to express themselves and say “I love you”, but it's easier with flowers. Love is a complex thing – it's not always about happiness. Flowers can express sadness too. A whole range of emotions, actually.

When did you leave your full-time job and start to concentrate on The Beast? And was that nerve-racking?

About six months after into working on The Beast I was on a business trip to Paris during the new year and I was getting calls from The Beast's office: all members of the customer service department had quit because Valentine's Day was approaching and there were so many orders that they couldn't take it. That's when I realised that this was something big that deserved my full attention.

What is most challenging aspect of running your business?

The challenge is finding the right employees. They have to be professional, have good taste and be curious about the world. But it's funny, when the interviewee seems to be glamorous with good taste, they seem to drop off over time. But when an interviewee doesn't have great style but truly believes in the brand, they end up being a much better fit.

Your store at XINTIANDI, Little B, is like a highend convenience store. Who shops there?

Just because women in the Chinese market are over 40, doesn't mean they're not still searching for something young and fun to buy. It's for the modern Chinese woman. There's no limitation to the age at which you could shop at Little B. Without being too general, there are a group of Chinese working women – very similar to that of the western working woman – who have a great work-life balance. They love their job, love trips, reading books, self development, lifestyle, a curiosity for the world. Housewives too! All Chinese women really. It's not about dividing the old and young generation by their age.

Have you had a female mentor?

Yes! Anita Lal, my friend in India. She's in her 60s and was a housewife, more than 10 years ago she started the Indian equivalent of The Beast called Good Earth. We discuss our businesses a lot. Hers is fantastic – all of the senior management are women, and all the people on the factory floor are men!

有報道說野獸派是在微博上誕生的，是這樣嗎？

對。我的一個朋友有天發了一張紙杯蛋糕的照片，說是從別人的微博上買到的。所以我就在微博上開設了一個賬號。起初是發一些插花的照片，后來訂花的單子暴漲，井柏然也來下過單。很多東方人常常羞于表達自己的情感，用花來表達的話，相對來說容易一些。愛的定義其實挺復雜的，它不總是關于幸福、美好，花也可以代表著傷感、苦澀，它飽含著很多錯綜復雜的情緒。

你什么時候決定離開你的上一份工作，開始專注在野獸派事業上的？那時內心會有些忐忑嗎？

差不多是創立野獸派的六個月以后。當時是新年，我人在巴黎出差，突然接到辦公室打來的電話說客服部集體辭職了。因為情人節就快到了，大家擔心2月14號的時候爆單，根本做不過來。那個時候我才開始意識到，真的得把它當成一項事業去全身心投入。

在創業過程中，你覺得最具挑戰的部分是什么？

挑戰在于找到合適的員工。他們得有專業素養和野獸派風格相符的好品味，對世界充滿好奇和探索精神。不過挺有意思的是，有時候來面試的人看起來光鮮亮麗，品位也挺好的，但漸漸地他們就各自離開了。當面試的人看起來比較樸素但對野獸派有很大熱忱，反而往往會成長得很快速，并和野獸派一路走下去。

野獸派在上海新天地首次推出了時髦概念小商店Little B，它的客群是怎樣的？

當中國女性超過40歲時，并不意味著她們放棄了追求新鮮事物的權利。Little B就是為了中國現代女性而打造的。無論她正處于什么年齡都可以在Little B找到自己的心水之物。如果要具體描繪Little B的客群畫像，我認為她們是這樣一群中國職業女性—她們像很多西方的職業女性那樣能很好地平衡生活和工作。她們熱愛自己的工作，熱衷于旅行、閱讀、自我發展、追求生活方式，對世界充滿好奇。家庭主婦是這樣，應該說中國現代女性基本都這樣，很難用年齡去硬性區分她們。

你有崇拜的女性導師嗎？

當然！Anita Lal，她是我在印度的朋友，現在已經60多歲了。她以前是個家庭主婦，十幾年前在印度開了類似野獸派的品牌，叫Good Earth，我們經常聚在一起談生意經。她的公司特別神奇—所有的高級管理人員都是女性，男人都坐在地上繡花！

Tan Zhuo
譚卓

Event director, Design Shanghai
設計上海展會總監

Tan Zhuo is the event director of Asia's leading international design festival, Design Shanghai, an annual celebration that features many of the stars of China's creative scene and receives around 70,000 visitors. Design Shanghai has collaborated with XINTIANDI in presenting Design Shanghai@XINTIANDI since 2016.

譚卓是設計上海的展會總監。設計上海是亞洲首屈一指的國際性設計盛事，展示國際上最佳設計品牌和中國最具影響力的設計力量，每年吸引近7萬人參觀展覽。自2016年開始，設計上海就與新天地合作呈現設計上海@新天地設計節。

“I would love to show everyone something brand new– something they've never seen before.

我希望向公眾展現那些前所未有、令人耳目一新的展品。”

What does your role as the event director of Design Shanghai mean?

My role includes finding the right exhibitors, finding suitable sponsors and working with the operational, logistics and marketing teams. I'm in charge of managing the whole show from start to execution to finish. It takes 12 months to put together!

The 2018 Design Shanghai in March, how did it go?

Very well. It was our fifth anniversary and it was the biggest Design Shanghai show yet. We actually ended up building the biggest tent in Chinese exhibition history.

What do you think is the key to running a brilliant design festival? What do you want the customers to get from it?

I would love to show everyone something brand new, something they've never seen before. Events or exhibitions are a great place to meet really interesting people, to learn new things, and see things you wouldn't see anywhere else. I really want to make sure we have beautiful cafés, bars, places for people to sit and relax with lots of amazing components including seminars and workshops. It's a trade event so designers come to do business and learn and meet new people, but it's also a massive social event in our industry.

Has design always been an integral in your life?

I started drawing and painting when I was very little, but I actually studied business. I've always loved art and design – it's always been a personal hobby of mine. I go to a lot of exhibitions and galleries. My job is perfect because I can work in the sector I love, but also utilise my strengths as a businesswoman.

Is there much of a feminist movement in China's design world, and do you feel there is an increasing number of women in design?

Yes, there are a couple of female players in the industry trying to make noise. There will be more and more women entering the design world because the pool is getting bigger so more female designers come out of it.”

作為設計上海的展會總監，你的角色主要是什么？

我的職責包括尋找合適的參展商、贊助商并且與運營、物流和營銷團隊協力促成展會的順利開幕。我負責管理整個展會—從籌備到執行再到完成，整個過程需要整整12個月！

最近的一次展出在今年3月，整體表現如何？

展會非常成功，今年是我們的五周年慶典，也是設計上海迄今最大的展覽，更搭建了中國展覽史上最大的帳篷展區。

你認為舉辦一個精彩設計節的關鍵是什么？你希望參觀者從中獲得什么？

我希望向公眾展現那些前所未有、令人耳目一新的展品。參加這樣的活動或展覽，你可以遇見很多特別有趣的人，發掘一些新鮮事物或者飽覽你在別的地方看不到的東西。我希望人們能夠在展會期間，在我們精心籌劃的咖啡吧、酒吧、沙龍區域小坐休憩或者參與展會的論壇和工作坊。設計上海也是一個專業級的交易展會，建筑師、設計師等各行各業都會在這里尋求商業機會和互動交流，也算是行業內的的一場社交盛事。

設計始終是你人生很重要的一部分嗎？

我從很小的時候就開始繪畫，但是我的專業是商業管理。藝術與設計一直是我個人的愛好，我也常常逛畫廊，看各種展覽。我覺得我的工作特別完美，讓我可以在我喜歡的領域里工作，同時也很好地發揮了我女性管理者的優勢。

中國設計界女性力量是否正在崛起？女性設計師的人數在不斷增長嗎？

是的，有不在少數的女性設計師在圈內頗有聲望。中國的設計行業正在蓬勃發展，我相信會有越來越多的女性加入設計師行列并成為中堅力量。

Magda Dansyz

Gallery director
畫廊總監

Magda Dansyz heads up three galleries – in London, Paris and Shanghai– that represent some of the most exciting, diverse, and often slightly alternative talents from those cities. In 2014, French street artist JR – who Magda represents – created a memorable installation for which he plastered XINTIANDI with black and white portraits of its residents.

Magda Dansyz在倫敦、巴黎和上海運營著三間畫廊，她代理著這些城市中最具發展潛力和多元背景的先鋒藝術家們。在2014年，Magda所代理的法國街頭藝術家JR在上海新天地發起了一個令人記憶猶新的公共藝術項目—INSIDE OUT “萬像人間”—將當地民眾的黑白波點肖像張貼在上海新天地區域內。

“Always be ready for surprises. You never know what's around the corner.

隨時準備擁抱驚喜，你永遠不知道未來將會是怎樣。”

You launched a career in the art world at such a young age. Why start so early?

I started at 17 and everything I did at the beginning was quite spontaneous and instinctive. I'm the daughter of an artist and a mathematician, which must have helped in some way. Back then I knew I wanted to own a gallery or be involved in the art world in some way when I grew up, so I was like,“Why not just start now?” I knew nothing about the business and it was a tough learning curve, but it evolved little by little.

What's the biggest change you would like to see in the art world in the next 10 years?

It's related to an email exchange I just had with another woman who is gallerist, complaining about the art world being a big boys club. I ended up complimenting her on singling out the need for more respect. Also, people think everyone in the art world is in it for the money, when actually we are all here to keep the flame going in our society. Of course we need a lot of money to finance projects, some of them are crazy expensive. But good artists are entitled to a good life, and never forget that not all of them make it. Not everyone is Jeff Koons. I would also like there to be more respect in the art world for the hard work that is done by the gallery owners, art critics and everyone else behind the scenes.

Whats the most important thing you've learned?

You never know what's next. People ask me who the next big artist is and I don't really know what that question even means. So I think always be ready for surprises. You never know what's around the corner.

Do people always ask you that question?

Who's the next big thing? Of course! And I'm like,“I have no idea!” But I like it that way.

你在這么年輕的年紀就已經在藝術界經營著自己的事業，你是怎么開始的呢？

我17歲就開始在藝術圈闖蕩，剛開始全憑著自己的感覺和直覺做事。我父母一位是藝術家一位是數學家，這樣的成長背景對我影響挺深遠的。當時我就立志長大后要擁有一間自己的畫廊，或者投身藝術界的其他職業，但轉念一想“為什么不現在就開始呢？”。最初我對這個行業一無所知，這是一個漫長而艱辛的學習過程，但總算是一點一點積累發展起來了。

在未來的十年間，你最希望看到藝術世界有什么樣的變化？

這個問題讓我想到了最近另一位女畫廊主發給我的一封郵件，她在來信中跟我抱怨藝術圈已經變成了畫廊巨頭們的俱樂部了，后來我對她敢于發聲尋求平等尊重的態度表示了贊賞。大家總認為每個藝術圈從業人員都在追逐利益，而其實我們都是在這里維系藝術的獨立話語權。當然藝術項目需要很多資金扶持，有些金額簡直是天文數字。但優秀的藝術家有權利享受美好的生活，也請不要忘記并非每個人都能做到，不是每個人都能成為Jeff Koons。我也希望未來所有畫廊主、藝評人以及幕后人員的辛苦勞作能獲得更多的尊重。

你學到的最重要的東西是什么?

對未知的期待吧。別人問我誰是下一個大藝術家，這問題沒什么意義。所以應該準備隨時擁抱驚喜，你永遠不知道未來將會是怎么樣。

大家會經常問你這個問題嗎？誰是下一個大人物？

當然！我就說“那我哪知道啊！”，我覺得這樣也挺有趣的。

Linda Wang

Founder, Mr Choi Patisserie

蔡嘉法式甜品創始人

Linda Wang is the brains behind Mr Choi, a charming, wildly popular French-style patisserie offering delectable sweet and savoury treats, nestled in the heart of XINTIANDI.

Linda Wang是蔡嘉法式甜品的主理人，坐落于新天地新里的蔡嘉是一家廣受好評的精致法式甜品店，它主打的甜味和咸味點心為往來的顧客帶來獨特的味覺享受。

“Usually there are two scenarios that bring customers happiness: delicious food and sincere friendship.

有兩種東西能給人帶來幸福感：美味的食物和真摯的友誼。”

What is the secret to excellent pastry?

I firmly believe that ingredients and quality control are instrumental to creating excellent pastry. High quality ingredients and a precise process are key. First and foremost, you should never disappoint your customers, and you should be putting all of your effort into bringing them happiness and joy.

Why do you think eating together is important?

Usually there are two scenarios that bring customers happiness: delicious food and sincere friendship. I believe it is very important that happiness should be shared between people.

What do you look for when hiring chefs and a team to work around you?

Loyalty and utmost effort. Technique can be learnt, but a person's moral fibre can not be.

Food aside, what do you look for in a dining experience?

In my opinion, who you eat with is more important than what you eat. Therefore I'd say that the key to a spectacular dining experience would be to eat together with your loved ones at a restaurant you all adore.

Why do you think there is a lack of female chefs in the world, and what change would you like to see to combat that?

In my opinion there is no need to go out of your way to stress and emphasise gender equality in every field of work, and I have also never been particularly opposed to the dominance of the male or the female in different industries. Actually my own team, who work with cuisine and pastry, consist of over 80% female chefs.

What is the biggest challenge you have come up against in your career?

The biggest challenge is always your next step. I don't particularly like to dwell on the past, but I always look forward to bettering and strengthening myself through uncertain territories and the unknown.

你認為制作一流甜品的秘訣是什么？

我堅信對原材料和出品質量把控是制作出一流甜點的重中之重。這就要求原材料的品質一定要高，制作的過程也需要一絲不茍的精密。甜點本來就應該給人帶來愉悅和幸福感，所以永遠不應該讓你的客戶失望。

你為什么覺得一起分享甜點很重要？

通常，有兩種東西能給人帶來幸福感：美味的食物和真摯的友誼。人和人可以通過食物傳遞、分享彼此的幸福感。

你聘用廚師或者團隊的時候，你都會看中一些什么特質？

忠誠度和用功程度吧，技巧可以通過學習獲得，但一個人的道德品質卻很難培養。

拋開食物本身的話，你會在一次就餐體驗中尋求什么？

在我看來，和誰一起吃比吃什么更重要。如果和我愛的人們在我們彼此都心儀的餐廳里一起享用美食，我覺得這就挺開心的。

你覺得現在缺少女性廚師嗎？在行業性別比例中你希望看到怎樣的改變？

在我看來，沒有必要在每一個工作領域去突出強調性別問題，每個人都努力做到最好才最重要。而且我也從來不會特別反對不同行業中男性或女性的主導地位。就我自己團隊來說吧，餐飲加甜點，有80%都是女性成員。

在你在的職業生涯遇到過的最大挑戰是什么？

最大的挑戰始終是你的下一步。我不太喜歡沉浸在過去發生了什么，我更期待通過不確定和未知的領域來改善和提升自己。

Sara Kim

Founder, Monday Edition

Monday Edition創始人

Sara Kim is the founder of Monday Edition, a hip jewellery brand based in South Korea which in 2018 collaborated with XINTIANDI as a curator for the pop-up Social House.

Sara Kim是來自韓國的精品珠寶品牌Monday Edition的創始人，她還曾以策展人的身份，與新天地共同呈現了第一季Social House快閃店。

“Whether you're designing or consuming, keeping an aspect of“fun” makes fashion consistently different and new.

無論是站在設計還是消費的角度，我覺得在心態上保有一些“趣味”會讓你的時尚態度保持先鋒性，也更與眾不同。”

What is the story of the birth of Monday Edition?

Before I launched Monday Edition I was working as an art director at a fashion advertising agency. I came across many brands during my time there, and dreamed of one day being able to make my own. Then, one day, a close friend and I had a conversation about the charming nature of jewellery. At that moment an idea sprung to mind. It was like fate. After that I immediately started studying jewellery, and Monday Edition was born.

What should good jewellery do?

Jewellery should be beautiful! Elements of experimental and unique aspects of the design are good too, but in the end I think good jewellery should show a balanced and elegant beauty.

What jewellery do you wear every day?

I wear jewellery that matches whatever style I'm wearing. I usually wear comfortable clothes, but I pair outfits with bold earrings and fancy shoes. When I wear fancy clothes I prefer to go with more simple jewellery styles.

Why do you think retaining a level of fun is important in the world of fashion?

Without knowing it, we spend our lives connected to fashion and style. I can't imagine how boring life would be if those things were always the same and never changing. We can't ignore the “fun”element in fashion because we're always pursuing something different and I think whether you're designing or consuming, retaining an aspect of “fun”in your attitude makes fashion consistently different and new.

What is the thing about Monday Edition that makes you really, really happy?

When I meet people and customers who say they've been a big fan of Monday Edition for a long time it makes me so happy. It ends up making me even more passionate about design.

Monday Edition的創立背后有什么故事嗎？

在創立Monday Edition之前，我在一家時尚廣告公司擔任藝術總監。那段時間我接觸了許多的品牌，也想著日后可以創立自己的品牌。后來有一天，我和一位特別要好的朋友正談著珠寶的自然之美。那一瞬間，我腦中突然閃現創立品牌的想法，有點命中注定的感覺。隨后我就馬上投入到珠寶設計的學習中了，Monday Edition就這樣應運而生的。

你眼中的珠寶是怎樣的呢？

珠寶就應該是美的！從設計的角度看，實驗性或者劍走偏鋒的設計也挺棒的，但是好的珠寶最終展現的是一種優雅平衡之美。

你會佩戴怎樣的珠寶？

我會根據我當天的穿衣風格搭配合適的飾品。我通常會穿著比較舒適的服飾，所以會搭配式樣大膽的耳環和搶眼的鞋子。如果哪天我穿著比較華麗，我就會選擇一些款式簡潔一些的做混搭。

你覺得在時尚圈保持一定程度的“有趣”很重要嗎？為什么？

我們的生活和時尚息息相關，無法想象如果一切一塵不變會有多么無趣。我們都在追求某種讓自己顯得不一樣的特質，所以我們需要這種“有趣”。無論是站在設計還是消費的角度，我覺得在心態上保有一些“趣味”會讓你的時尚態度保持先鋒性，也更與眾不同。

創立Monday Edition帶給你最開心的事是什么？

每當我遇到那些說自己一直是Monday Edition粉絲的顧客，我會特別感動和高興。他們的鼓勵讓我對設計變得更富有激情。