Embroidery converses across centuries

This legacy is both an inspiration and a challenge to reinterpret. Zou Yuanhan's initial forays were straightforward: licensing traditional Suzhou patterns to international brands for socks and apparel. "It wasn't very successful," he admits.

The breakthrough came from reimagining the context, not just the product. He transformed part of the family's studio in Suzhou into a cafe, pairing tea and coffee with embroidery displays and hands-on workshops. The goal is disarmingly simple: to make the craft accessible.

"We want people to touch it and try it," he says. He and his mother have developed beginner-friendly kits — tiny, predesigned patterns of a fish or a flower that can be finished in an afternoon and turned into a card, a pendant, or a sachet.

"It's about returning embroidery to all aspects of life," he says. "My mother's work shows, at its peak, as high art. We also need to show its potential as a daily pleasure."