RafaelFajardo
February 2017
“"There was a period when a great many overseas buyers were logging on to Alibaba to look for Chinese companies to produce cheap items for them instead of coming to China,“ he said. … “Those two years probably were the peak period of e-commerce trading in China, as competition was not very tough in the rapidly expanding overseas market,” Ai said. But it got harder to turn a profit as the market became saturated and labor costs rose. In 2011 and 2012, Ai could make a simple piece of jewelry for about 5 yuan, and he could sell it to overseas clients for 7 yuan. But now, despite his own costs rising due to wage hikes, he can’t raise his selling prices due to stiff competition. As a result, “I’ve paid more attention to design and drawn a wider variety of products for the clients to choose from,” said Ai, adding that “what gives me my edge is the quality and stylishness of my products.””
— Traders in Yiwu cashing in on e-commerce shops |Industries |chinadaily.com.cn
Red Barn by Roger Ferris and Partners provides an artist’s retreat in Connecticut »
Raster-Noton. Codicies (I-V)
5, 8GB sd cards of exclusive music and videos from Ryoji Ikeda, Byetone, Emptyset, Alva Noto & Frank Bretschneider in beautiful enclosures, exclusively for the “World Of Rick Owens” Rick Owens at Selfridges, London
Herzog & de Meuron – Studio for Rémy Zaugg, Mulhouse 1995. The recessed metal gutters in the roof are carefully perforated to allow drainage and oxidation in a pattern across the facade. An approach similar to the Ricola distribution center in Mülhouse. Photos © Margherita Spiluttini.
