"Taiwan Tea Culture,” a joint initiative by the National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute and the Ministry of Culture's office in the UK, marked Taiwan's first foray into the London Craft Week.
London Craft Week is an annual event showcasing international and British creativity and craftsmanship. It offers an opportunity for exhibitiongoers to experience a wide range of activities, including meeting designers and makers, viewing performances, eating and drinking, and making crafts.
Hosted in iconic institutions like the British Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum, this year's edition brought together more than 230 exhibitions, performances and workshops featuring emerging and established makers, designers, and brands from around the world.
Lin's Ceramics Studio (陶作坊), which produces quality ceramic teaware, hosted two sessions at the fair. The creative brand founded in 1983 is known for bringing such vessels into everyday life by integrating traditional cultural elements with contemporary design.
The studio performed the traditional Taiwanese tea ceremony and demonstrated the process of steeping loose tea leaves. The two free sessions allowed audiences to learn more about Taiwan's tea culture and sample Formosan teas.
Native & Co., which offers an exquisite selection of Taiwanese and Japanese crafts in London, also prepared a special exhibition for the fair.
The British homeware shop is run by Taiwanese product designer Hung Jo-yun (洪若筠, second right) and co-founder Chris Yoshiro-Green (right).
Titled "Wu: Five Oolong Teas from Taiwan," the exhibition explored the theme of "Wu (伍)," meaning "five" in Mandarin, through five kinds of oolong tea and five types of clay that are native to Taiwan.