Jiaxiang Wood Carving: Inheritance and Innovation Turn the Wooden Combs into Artworks

A news report from CRI Online: It is a comb if you use it and turns into a wooden artwork if not. At the product exhibition hall of Zhou Guangsheng Wood Carving Co., Ltd. in Dazhanglou Town, Jiaxiang County of Shandong Province, the comb made of red sandalwood features the pattern of a rose flower in a vase on its back, adorned with tassels. This adds vintage charm and elegant beauty to the comb, symbolizing family love, health and safety. The wooden comb is so popular that more than one million such products have been sold on online platforms such as Taobao, Tmall and JD.com.

Jiaxiang wood carving is an item of provincial intangible cultural heritage. Through creative design and production, the comb highlights vivid and artistic beauty, so that users can appreciate the charm of traditional culture.

In a bid to enhance the artistic charm of the comb and add to its novelty, Zhou Guangsheng promoted the development of the innovative design team by hiring 15 designers to specialize in the artistic design of products.

Jiaxiang’s design products with Guochao or China-chic trends are quite popular among young people and focus on online brands, available on Taobao, JD.com, Tmall, Pinduoduo, Vipshop and other large e-commerce platforms. In addition, a team of five or six people has been specially set up for live streaming. Through Douyin live marketing, online influencers and stars have been invited to promote sales.

In order to protect the intellectual property rights of wooden combs, Zhou Guangsheng Wood Carving Co., Ltd. has applied for more than 70 patents, obtained 20 utility model technologies, and 4 computer software copyrights. At the 13th China (Shandong) Arts and Crafts Expo in 2021, “Xingtan Wooden Comb Set” won the gold medal of Shandong Arts and Crafts Design Innovation Competition. Since 2022, the company has produced 500,000 wooden combs, with sales exceeding 30 million yuan (about 4 million U.S. dollars).

SOURCE CRI Online