{"id":17129,"date":"2014-11-03T11:55:29","date_gmt":"2014-11-03T10:55:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.amber.com.pl\/chiny-sa-otwarte-na-design-rozmowa-z-mariuszem-gliwinskim\/"},"modified":"2025-12-07T18:46:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-07T17:46:09","slug":"china-is-open-to-design-interview-with-mariusz-gliwinski","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amber.com.pl\/en\/aktualnosci\/chiny-sa-otwarte-na-design-rozmowa-z-mariuszem-gliwinskim\/","title":{"rendered":"China is open to design - an interview with Mariusz Gliwinski"},"content":{"rendered":"

Promotional events, exhibitions, jewellery and design fairs in China - probably no Polish designer is so active on the market there.
<\/strong>
I have been travelling to China for various promotional and exhibition events for six years. I started with Hong Kong, which is very distinctive and belongs more to the Western world. For the last two years, I have also been visiting cities in mainland China, mainly Shanghai and Beijing, which are also very different: in Shanghai, you can clearly see the British, German, French and Portuguese influences, while Beijing has a typically official character. All this is of course reflected in the mentality of the locals, their lifestyle, as well as the jewellery on offer. That's why I vary the offer depending on the city I'm going to, as well as the nature of the event. I started going there actually by accident - at the instigation of my business partners, both Chinese and Polish, operating in the local market. I was persuaded by their arguments and the promotional vision they had for me, but also by the fact that they often bear the costs of these trips. The people of the Middle Kingdom have opened up to the West and look at us with interest, hence their interest in me as well. <\/p>\n

What events have you visited in China so far?<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Since the beginning, three years ago, I have been participating in the Baltic Amber Festival organised by Amberozia in Hong Kong, which is accompanied by, among other things, a fashion show featuring my jewellery. In September this year, I was invited to Design Week Beijing, a celebration of design in Beijing. I was surprised by the momentum of this event - which is not Chinese, but international. Europe was very strongly represented by designers from different countries, only no one was present from Poland apart from me. I wonder what this is due to, especially as we have some really great designers, not only in jewellery, but also in furniture and other utilitarian objects. The situation was similar at this year's luxury goods fair in Shanghai, where, alongside the latest and most expensive Lamborghini and Bugatti models, exclusive furniture and pure art from all over the world, Poland was represented only by me and Adam Kale\u0144ski. We still think that Europe is the navel of the world, but unfortunately this is no longer true. The whole world is flocking to China to present its novelties. It is the Middle Kingdom again, although it does not necessarily draw inspiration there as it used to, but offers business cooperation. For me, each such event is first and foremost a very valuable experience: the priority is not to sell, but to build the brand. The effects are already visible and it is now the most important market with the most serious prospects for growth.

But you didn't have to wait six years for sales to take off, did you?<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Of course not. In retrospect, however, I can see how all these promotional events for Poland and Baltic amber, as well as the fairs and exhibitions I take part in, have been instrumental in building my image and supporting sales. It takes place in two ways: I run it myself and I also have a representative, who is the Amberozia company. I am quite satisfied with my own results, how Amberozia is doing is still difficult to say, because after two years of promoting the company's brand and Baltic amber, the company only two months ago opened a stand with amber jewellery from Polish companies at the exclusive Kai Tak Cruise port terminal. Its co-owner Nancy Chui has been conducting promotional activities at a very high level, having introduced amber jewellery to exclusive showrooms for several years. Such promotional activities in China are also often very kindly patronised by Polish consulates and embassies.<\/p>\n

To what extent does the fact that China is your biggest market influence your jewellery design? <\/strong> <\/p>\n

I don't dedicate any of my collections to a select audience, but to all those to whom my aesthetics, my thinking about jewellery appeals, but also, of course, to those who are interested in buying it regardless of their latitude. However, I won't hide the fact that China has a certain influence on my design: every trip results in interesting inspirations, although I actually try to emphasise the primarily European character of these collections. I don't even try to think \u201efor the Chinese\u201d, because I know that it is impossible for us Europeans to fathom the Chinese mentality. Therefore, I address my jewellery more to those inhabitants of the Middle Kingdom who are open to Europe, who cultivate a close relationship with it - this is not only easier, but it works better in practice. <\/p>\n

One would expect that jewellery aimed at the Chinese market should follow the canons of feng shui, yet yours seems to contradict it....
<\/strong>
At first glance, this may indeed appear to be the case. But in fact, feng shui is all about balance, even with harsh finishes - many examples of this are provided by both ancient and contemporary art and especially architecture. Here we have the CCTV building, for example, which breaks all the rules of feng shui and yet has become a symbol of modern Beijing. Or the Bank of China building designed by Norman Foster, also an icon of modern design. Driving around the country, I see not only the big ones, but also small examples of the adoption of Western designs, such as posters, furniture, crockery - modern, clean in form, classic, and therefore far from what seems to be typically Chinese. I must honestly admit that I am full of admiration for the Chinese for being able to adopt these trends so quickly for their own needs. Although, unfortunately, it is usually a reproduction rather than an inspiration to create something of their own, perhaps even better.
In my jewellery, even if it is sometimes angular, this balance is maintained. I am often inspired by architecture, as in my latest collection Urban<\/i> - This makes this jewellery stand out. And this, in turn, makes it part of the trend, which is gaining momentum worldwide, to emphasise one's personality with jewellery. It is also quite strong in China, where unique jewellery is becoming the more valuable item. <\/p>\n

So what is the perception of your jewellery? <\/strong><\/p>\n

It can certainly be said of her that she surprises (laughs). I have observed that Chinese audiences are generally more attracted to round forms, which makes the interest in the collection all the more surprising. Urban<\/i>, which is even rather angular by my standards. I have also noticed that it not only arouses emotions, but also raises many questions about my previous work. This is jewellery that is so distinctive and expressive in form that its purchasers are people with expressive personalities, which they want to further emphasise with at least equally expressive jewellery. <\/p>\n

How do you see the prospects for growth in this market?<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Designer jewellery from Europe is very different from what the designers there offer. There is a certain audience interested in this design, and even if it is a small percentage, it is quite a large group on the scale of China as a whole. On the one hand, the Chinese are opening up more and more to the world, while on the other they are increasingly searching for their own roots, rebuilding their culture that has been destroyed for decades. Which direction will prove stronger? It is difficult to say. Invariably, they copy a great deal themselves, although I don't think that designer jewellery is at risk because of this - too little of it is currently sold there to make it profitable on a larger scale.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mariusz Gliwinski is said to be the chief Polish jewellery designer in China. His trips to various events, which have lasted for six years, have resulted in a recognisable brand, business contacts, but also interesting insights and inspirations.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":17128,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"slim_seo":{"title":"Chiny s\u0105 otwarte na design \u2013 rozmowa z Mariuszem Gliwi\u0144skim - Amber Portal","description":"Mariusz Gliwinski is said to be the chief Polish jewellery designer in China. His trips to various events, which have lasted for six years, have resulted in a"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[118],"tags":[],"sekcja":[245],"class_list":["post-17129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wywiady","sekcja-ludzie-opinie"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/amber.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/amber.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/amber.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amber.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amber.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/amber.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17129\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amber.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/amber.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amber.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amber.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17129"},{"taxonomy":"sekcja","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/amber.com.pl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sekcja?post=17129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}