In the spring of 2024, Romy, the founder and creative director of Studio ROOF, and Anaël, the marketing manager and Romy’s right hand, visited the manufacturer in South China with whom Studio ROOF has been collaborating for over ten years. It had been more than ten years since Romy last visited the factory, and for Anaël, it was his first time in China.
We were warmly received as honored guests, picked up from Hong Kong airport, and directly taken to the city in southern Guangdong where our supplier is based. That same evening, we were invited to a traditional Chinese dinner, where we met Roy, our account manager, and Jack, the son of the printing company’s owner, for the first time. It was an enjoyable evening with delicious food, during which we not only discussed work but also shared personal stories and talked about cultural differences.
The chain process has been clearly defined by distinct departments, each demonstrating excellent organization and structure.
The factory is always seeking out new technology and investing in the latest printers; however, some manual work remains irreplaceable.
The next morning, we were given a comprehensive tour of the factory. Our printer is a family business that was founded in 1972 and has since grown into a modern, innovative company with around 100 employees, equipped with the latest sustainable machines. The pride of the factory was their new six-color printer with an advanced color calibration dashboard. The factory is clean and ISO certified. We gained insight into all stages of the production process and observed the strict quality control up close, meeting various employees along the way. We were impressed by the organization and the structured way in which all steps in the production processes were carried out.
Guan Gong, the protecting Chinese god displayed at the entrance of most of the buildings.
The lunch bowls of every workers being displayed neatly on the walls.
We had the opportunity to inspect the recent transition to bio-laminate packaging and watched as the laminate rolls were changed when our packaging was up next. The worker operating the laminating machine explained that working with bio-laminate required a bit more effort since the material tears more easily, but he was proud of his work. The women assembling our products were friendly and focused, chatting quietly with each other. We also visited the company canteen, where simple but good food is served. The staff fills their own bowls, which they then wash themselves and place back on the racks. The racks looked cheerful with all those brightly colored pots and bowls, which made us wonder why we don’t eat in company canteens in a similar way in the West.
The rest of the trip felt like a journey to a fantasy world. We visited Guangzhou, the largest city in the region, just two hours’ drive from the factory. Guangzhou is a modern metropolis full of life, and we were fascinated by the vibrancy on the streets, the many bright neon lights, and the variety of food available everywhere in simple food stalls. Anaël even managed to order a ‘frozen’ oat milk latte with the help of a few friendly young locals who were happy to connect with someone from another world. Despite being in a completely different country and culture, we felt surprisingly at ease.
After Guangzhou, we spent a few more days in Hong Kong, where we witnessed the famous evening light show ‘A Symphony of Lights’ on the river, visited the Hermès store in Hong Kong where we designed Pegasus ornaments last year, Romy scored her long-desired copper teapot, and in the early morning, we took the ferry to attend yoga classes. All in all, it was an enriching experience that made us realize how happy we are with our partnership with our printer. We look forward to the next ten years of collaboration.
Watch a short video impression of our trip here:
