Barely a decade ago, Xiong was still unemployed, struggling to support himself despite being wheelchair-bound. Now, he is a well-known stone crafter in Taiwan, and has touched the hearts of many Taiwanese with the publication of his life story.

All this was made possible through Cornerstone Works, a social enterprise based in Taiwan. The organization helped develop Xiong’s interest in stone crafting. And with marketing assistance from Taiwanese social enterprise Lovely Taiwan, Xiong’s art works can be purchased in many other cities outside of a small workshop in Hualian town where it was produced.

To describe his experience, the humble man quotes a verse from the bible: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.”

“When I first arrived in Cornerstone, I stared at the crude stones for 3 months. One day, I suddenly realized that the stones are just like me, ugly and raw. I often disliked myself, just like how I looked down on those stones. But deep inside my heart, I want to be someone to be looked upon, and then I thought the stones would be feeling this way as well,” said Xiong. “I picked up my burin (a stone-crafting tool) ever since that day, and began to converse with the stones in my special way.”

He added: “I really appreciate Lovely Taiwan for their help, the team has given me an impetus to work harder so that my stone works could tell their own stories to the rest of the people.”

And just like Xiong, many other local artists have received support from Lovely Taiwan to continue their passion.

Situated in the heart of Taipei, Lovely Taiwan provides a collective platform for all designers to exhibit and sell their wares at its small but elegant establishment. It boasts an admirable repertoire of over 100 unique handicrafts created by designers from locations all over the island, including rural or disadvantaged communities.

Examples of other delicate creations stocked by Lovely Taiwan are figurines constructed by well-known metallic artist Jiang Cheng Yao, hand-crafted organic soaps by students from special schools, and unique cases knit by the indigenous Taiwanese.

The social enterprise emphasizes the product values that go beyond mere profit such as a sense of community and the importance of cultural retention. One of its founders, senior media worker Xu Lu, pointed out that they hope to establish a platform that connects the people and the community through the products and the sharing their stories.

Giving the indigenous people an avenue to show forth their talent and skill without having to travel tremendous distances to bring their works to the market not only opens a window of opportunity for them but also connects them to the entire Taiwan.

But to achieve this is no minor feat: Lovely Taiwan’s founders have traversed across the country, visiting up to 130 communities to discover this rich variety of handicrafts, which reflects the distinct potential and style of its Taiwanese artists and communities. Through these efforts, a more holistic picture of Taiwan’s cultural heritage could then be obtained and shared with everyone else.

Still, being unique is not enough for products to succeed in the contemporary market; the products have to be given a chance to stand out. Hence,

Lovely Taiwan also ventured into giving advice and consultation to the artisans on product, image and packaging development.

Xu Lu cited an example: Handmade chocolates from Taichung Women’s Prison were simply wrapped with aluminum foil and contained in a zip-lock bag when they were first sent to Lovely Taiwan. The social enterprise would then dutifully repackage each piece with colourful, glossy wrappers before placing them in elegant, eye-catching containers. This gives products a better fighting chance in attracting the attention of potential buyers to take a closer look, whereby they would then notice the meaningful stories behind each product and its significance.

However, Xu Lu stressed that the foundation would not override the designers’ artistic integrity. Designers can be assured of retaining the avenue of expression and actualizing their ideas. The Lovely Taiwan Foundation was set up not to lead but to work hand-in-hand with these creative minds, supplementing their skill with solid marketing strategy. Lovely Taiwan also hopes to encourage other Taiwanese to set up local shops, and contribute to the community.

He added that Lovely Taiwan is just a small beginning for a greater scheme of action.

Just like how XIong has transformed the seemingly useless stones to meaningful symbols of love and beauty, by giving local talent from all over Taiwan a stage to shine, the foundation aims to achieve a sustainable development for the local industry and bring out the understated grace of the country through the products it carries.

Lovely Taiwan’s elegant wooden cat and dog figurines could be purchased at Do Things Different here.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 29th, 2010 at 2:16 pm and is filed under Feature Articles, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.