Xiao Yumei, an inheritor of the craft, creates a hair clasp at her home in Beijing. This is where the kingfisher feathers, after being cut into small pieces, are inlaid into the metal plate, Xiao Yumei explains, and the process is like embroidery as the tiny pieces of feather must be pasted subtly according to the edges of the decorative …
She guides a learner at a training class in a Beijing school. Ancient craft of delicately decorating a metal base still intrigues but faces challenges of changing fashion, Xin Wen reports. The craft harks back to another era as kingfisher feathers are mounted in gold or gilt-metal surroundings. The combination of metalwork and feather crafting to put the brightly colored …
