We recently connected with Jiangying Guo and have shared our conversation below.

Jiangying, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

Before I started Mud Silk Studios, I had diverse design experiences, working in interior, visual, and experience design. I often believe that good design should be a fusion of various disciplines rather than isolated branches. Just as a well-designed space requires integrating furniture design, decoration, visual color schemes, an understanding of sustainable materials, and even the tactile, auditory, and olfactory experiences within the environment, these elements collectively influence people’s interaction within the space.

During my undergraduate studies, I majored in interior design. However, I felt that the curriculum was not enough to fully understand what design truly is. So I continued to study furniture design, sustainable design, and brand design outside of college. These seemingly unrelated fields have become essential tools in my design practice today. Multidisciplinary design is like a symphony; each instrument may seem insignificant when played alone, but together, they create an inspiring piece of music. Similarly, multidisciplinary design emphasizes integration, combining different design fields and methods to solve complex problems creatively.

To become a multidisciplinary designer, I continuously learned about various design-related fields, from photography to illustration, and even baking. These explorations across different domains and mediums have enriched my understanding of design and provided unique inspiration and skills for my creations.

After founding Mud Silk Studios, I continued working as a multidisciplinary designer. Our brand’s philosophy centers on sustainable lifestyle products. In our brand visual design, product research, and exhibition space design, I again see the importance of multidisciplinary design. These skills span multiple mediums and need to maintain a cohesive tone, consistently conveying our brand’s message across different platforms. This process is challenging, but I firmly believe that this multidisciplinary approach can create more unique and powerful design works.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello! My name is Jessica Guo, and I am a multidisciplinary designer and artist from Hainan Island, China, now residing in Brooklyn, New York. My journey into the design industry has been profoundly influenced by my diverse background and experiences living in Guangzhou and Seattle, which have shaped my appreciation for both traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design.

This early exposure inspired me to pursue studies in design, leading me to explore various disciplines, including visual design, space design, and experience design. My career has spanned working with prestigious companies and organizations such as IDEO, 2×4, TikTok, Gensler, Neri & Hu Design and Research Office, and New York University. These experiences have given me a broad perspective and a deep understanding of the multidisciplinary design field, allowing me to see how different design disciplines connect and intertwine to solve complex design problems. Alongside my full-time job, I also founded Mud Silk Studios, where I am dedicated to creating sustainable lifestyle products and continue to design using a multidisciplinary approach.

Designing is both my work and my passion. As a designer and artist, I find inspiration in the often-overlooked objects of everyday life, collecting and documenting items of mediocrity and triviality. My work emphasizes the timeless elegance and enduring charm of these everyday objects, creating a harmonious balance and peaceful moments between the old and new. Through my photographs, illustrations, and interactive installations, I want to invite viewers to pause and appreciate the subtle interplay of daily life, capturing fleeting yet eternal moments of its essence.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

As the founder and designer of Mud Silk Studios, I am dedicated to creating sustainable design products, including clothing, home decor items, and lifestyle goods. Our approach is deeply rooted in a multidisciplinary design mindset, embracing a holistic perspective that blends traditional craftsmanship with modern elegance.

I see great value in traditional craftsmanship, yet I recognize the challenges it faces in today’s fast-paced world. These items are often costly, labor-intensive, and their aesthetics can be challenging to integrate into everyday life. Consequently, traditional techniques are slowly fading, replaced by fast and mass production. At Mud Silk Studios, we aim to promote a more sustainable and mindful lifestyle. Our team delicately combines ancient Chinese craftsmanship with contemporary design, creating products that carry timeless traditional elements and the rich culture of craftsmanship, yet seamlessly fit into modern design aesthetics.

Mud Silk Studios addresses the problems of fast fashion and disposable decor by offering high-quality, durable items meant to last and be cherished across generations. Each piece reflects meticulous craftsmanship, showcasing the intricate artistry of traditional Chinese dyeing techniques. This approach ensures that our products are not seen as “antique” pieces but as unique blends that can fit into various occasions.

What truly sets Mud Silk Studios apart is our unwavering commitment to sustainability and cultural preservation. Unlike many brands, we emphasize slow fashion, producing high-quality, timeless pieces that resonate with modern consumers while honoring ancient traditions. Our focus on sustainability extends beyond our products; we source materials locally, minimize waste, and use eco-friendly shipping practices to reduce our carbon footprint.

We recently showcased our work at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) during NY Design Week, and we are preparing for our next exhibition at NYC Fashion Week. Our goal is to introduce the market to the value and significance of our products, highlighting how they bridge the gap between tradition and modernity.

My journey with Mud Silk Studios is driven by a passion for blending traditional craftsmanship with modern design, aiming to make a lasting impact in the world of fashion and home decor. I am excited to continue this journey, creating beautiful, sustainable, and culturally rich designs that resonate with people around the world.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

To me, it is about discovering something unexpected through the process of exploration. In the creations, I am often inspired by small, mundane things. I frequently ponder why they are the way they are and not something else. As a result, I engage in multidisciplinary creations and experiments. These experiments are often not aimed at achieving a specific outcome or proving something; they are not like scientific experiments. Yet, in the process, I often discover many interesting things and achieve unexpected results.

For example, in one of my projects, “Photography Through Hearing,” I was inspired by photography and curious about whether blind people could create great photograph works. Photography is primarily visual, relying on good aesthetics or storytelling, which typically requires visual observation. Blind people might not be able to appreciate these works, but could they create good photography? I believe sound is also rich in stories and emotions. If we could capture these unusual moments, couldn’t we create good photographs? Driven by this curiosity, I used creative technology to combine sound and photography, creating a wearable camera that takes pictures using sound. This camera operates in fully automatic mode. When it detects sounds that differ from the surrounding average sounds (indicating significant environmental changes), it automatically takes a picture and records the sound. The camera has lenses in all four directions to capture different angles. I walked on the streets of New York with this camera (although its bulky design surprisingly attracted a lot of attention). The results were unexpected; it captured many things I had not noticed or remembered, such as an artist playing the violin in a noisy subway passage or an invisible installation that made wind chimes sounds when stepped on.

What started as a simple experiment ended up recording these surprising details of life. Encountering the unknown is, I believe, the greatest reward that being a designer brings to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jessica-guo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessieloveslife_/
• Other: https://mudsilkstudios.com/