Design and Tea Culture: Taiwan and Australia

Annie Ivanova is an award-winning entrepreneur, media producer and the acclaimed author of “Taiwan by Design: 88 products for better living”.  In 2001 Annie Ivanova co-founded Australia's first media art agency, Novamedia, which she led as an executive director. Studio IVANOVA was established in 2011 as Annie's independent practice with offices in Sydney and Taipei. She leads a team of experienced exhibition curators and technical producers, working from the heart of Asia to service exceptional partners on three continents.

Taiwan designer Rock Wang is founder and creative director of Studio Qiao and believes that whenever possible objects should express the cultural confluences of their place of origin. This often determines the studio's unconventional choice of local materials. He is the creative brain behind the Tea Party Project, an innovative marketing campaign and tea experience that includes bartending artistry and 360-degree light projections amongst other things.

Corinne Smith is responsible for the creative vision and strategy behind Australia's premier organic tea company, The Rabbit Hole Organic Tea Bar — with two dedicated tea bars and a wholesale business servicing high-calibre retailers, hospitality venues, food service companies and tea lovers. Corinne has commissioned several designers, including Mark Cole who designed her branding and packaging, Matt Woods who designed the interiors of both of her tea bars and Karina Sharp who is a conceptual artist and photographer.

Taiwanese designer Starck Yeh-Yi Chung is revolutionising tradition by promoting the pleasures of wine. For a long time in Taiwan wine has been thought of as a medicine, particularly red wine because it is believed to be a colour of good health. To popularise wine drinking as a lifestyle choice, Starck designed the world’s first electronic wine aerator capable of decanting wine at the push of a button.

Vii Chen was working for a major corporation designing motorcycles when she realised all she wanted to do was make objects for the home. Soon she left her employer to start her own company creating collections of modern porcelain vessels. Her work has been exhibited internationally, including Milan, Paris, London and Tokyo design fairs, and recognised with numerous prestigious awards for product and packaging design.