Growing up in urban eastern China, craftsman Weizitong Kong treasured summers with his grandparents in their northern fishing village. Following his dreams to New York City in 2014 eventually led him upstate. It turned out to be the picture-perfect environment for his furniture and tableware design studio. Meet a man masterfully fusing traditional Asian craftsmanship with contemporary design right here in the Hudson Valley.
HVM: Let’s start with what brought you from China to New York. How did that move come about?
WK: I aimed to become a fine art photographer after college, so I decided to come here for graduate school since New York City is kind of the center of the art world. I attended the School of Visual Arts and had a wonderful time there. By the time I graduated, much of my life and work was rooted here, so I decided to stay.
HVM: How would you describe your journey as an artist?
WK: I think I’ve always been a maker; I’ve loved making and fixing things since I was young. Even when I was working in photography, my approach was studio-based, constructing still-life images in a controlled environment. During art school, I took a metal sculpture class, then a blacksmithing class, and I fell in love with hands-on making. My thesis work ended up being in metal. I built a kitchen space with metal furniture pieces, photographs, and a video projection. I also worked part-time for my teacher in her blacksmith shop in Brooklyn for a few years.
HVM: How did you segue from blacksmithing to woodworking?
WK: It started after we moved upstate. After graduation, my partner and I both knew we wanted more space. I was traveling frequently, and she works from home most of the time, so we didn’t need to stay in the city. We found a truly special place in Pine Plains. The house had once been a train station, built 200 years ago, and was surrounded by farms and pastures. It was stunning. There was even a little pond in the backyard. We rented it immediately.
HVM: And it worked out?
WK: Absolutely. The area has an abundance of trails, and we would go hiking and fishing in the mountain creeks, then go for a swim in a pond in town on the way back home. At first, we didn’t know anyone, but before long, we met wonderful local people and made friends.
HVM: How did wood come into the scheme of things?
WK: With so much around, it was hard not to want to get my hands on it. One of the first pieces I made was a four-legged stool, with a carved maple crossbar underneath. I incorporated inlays of Polaroid photos, birch bark, and copper metal on the seat, almost like creating a collage of photos on a piece of furniture. Over time, that design evolved into two of my products: the Bar Stool and the Dinner Stool.
HWM: What happened next?
WK: Around that time, I also started woodturning and making vessels. I learned woodworking with a few hand planes, chisels, and saws to cut mortise and tenon. Hand tools are still a big part of my workflow today. I love the intimacy with wood that comes from using them, and since I mostly make custom pieces, they can often be faster than setting up a power tool for a specific task.
HWM: Where do you source materials?
WK: Mostly from local lumberyards and woodworker friends. You’d be surprised what you can find in a woodworker’s shed. They often love seeing something they no longer need find new life in someone else’s hands. I also incorporate other natural materials I find on hiking trails, like pebbles and birch bark, as inlays in my furniture pieces. When I come across something with an interesting shape, pattern, or texture, I often find a way to incorporate it into my work.
HVM: Do you have a dedicated workspace in your home?
WK: Currently I work in a shared woodshop with two timber framers who have a wealth of tools, knowledge, and resources to share, so that makes me feel very lucky.
HVM: What is your workflow like?
WK: Usually, I have several pieces in progress at the same time. I use Urushi lacquer for my vessels, which is a very time-consuming process. [See “Shine On,” below.] Since there is a lot of waiting between steps, I always have other pieces to work on in the meantime.
HVM: Tell us about your holiday display at The Beck in Rhinebeck.
WK: The Beck showcases the work of local artists and furniture makers, which provides a wonderful opportunity for makers like me. The gallery allows each maker to display their work for three months, and I received a lot of positive feedback from people. Now my lacquerware is on display at STIJL in Cold Spring, which is the retail shop for the design gallery Studio Tashtego. But I sell most of my work through my website, kwzt.co or @weizitongkong on Instagram.
HVM: Do you think you’re in the Valley for the long haul?
WK: Yes, last year we bought a piece of land not far from the first place we lived here and are now planning to build a home.
“The ability to design and create something and then use it in my daily life is endlessly fascinating to me.”
Shine On
“I coat my handmade wooden vessels with natural lacquer, a sap extracted from the lacquer tree Toxicodendron vernicifluum. When fully cured, it becomes completely waterproof and heat-resistant, capable of a lifetime of daily use. Making lacquerware starts with an initial coat of diluted raw lacquer. The next coat is a mixture of lacquer and clay powder. Sometimes, I reinforce the rim and bottom with linen cloth, adhered with lacquer, to enhance durability. This forms the base layer of the piece. Once the base is cured, I apply multiple coats of lacquer—often more than 20 layers—to build up the finish gradually. Each coat requires curing and sanding before the next can be applied. This meticulous process means that a single batch of lacquerware can take several months to complete.”
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