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Designers > Jewelry > Yu Yin & Shao Ming Li Jewelry > Yu Yin & Shao Ming Li Bio
 Yu Yin and Shao Ming Li, a successful and talented husband and wife team who have been working as artists and designers for more than 18 years. They love to mix the old with the new and have been designing unique handmade necklaces since they met almost two decades ago.
The works of art they create in the form of jewelry have both elements of yesterday and today. Both born and raised, in Taipei, Taiwan they took an ancient Chinese tradition and brought it back to life for modern day. Through the years, they have mastered the skill of traditional Chinese crochet. The method by taking a single strand of silk and nylon blend (the blend of silk and nylon make for a stronger necklace that will not fade in color or change in shape.) to create a strong frame which they shape into a necklace. They then combine old antique pieces and weave it into the necklace so it becomes one element.
The material they use to create these one of a kind art works are actually from ancient adornments which were worn by Royalty, High Officials and some Civilians during the Ching Dynasty period. They are taken from early classic elaborate head pieces, brooches, hair accessories and belt buckles that would be have been worn with traditional Chinese Costumes. Yu Yin and Shao Ming Li use these antiquated materials to create a truly unique work of art, and making it a beautiful and functional piece of jewelry to wear in today's contemporary times. Some of the jewelry they make are purely new, however most have a "Scent of Antique."
 Each and every creation has a rich and fascinating story behind it. Many necklaces have symbols meaning happiness, prosperity or protection. Others for example, carry beliefs going back centuries. In ancient China, affluent women would wear what would be known today as a hair pin. In those days, they called them a Lock Piece. The Chinese believed that people who were born in to rich families are very delicate and needed to be protected so, in otherwords these lock pieces would protect their prosperity and safety, they would "lock" the safety and riches of the childs life.
In some necklaces, you’ll find designs with the brilliant aqua blue colored feathers from the now endangered bird, Kingfisher. The Kingfisher bird was a highly revered bird and admired for it’s alluring and exquisite feathers. A very specialized technique to preserve the color was used which helps maintain the appearance of the feathers to be as radiant today as it was hundreds of years ago with no signs of fading. Today Kingfisher birds are designated as an endangered species and protected under interational environmental law. No where will you find these beautiful feathers among jewelry pieces or other accessories any longer.
Almost twenty years ago, Yu Yin and Shao Ming Li started out as merchants of the antique business. They saw there was a tremendous interest in these types of antique adornments and thought to themselves, they shouldn't be just collected, they should be worn. That’s is how it all started. Today Yu Yin and Shao Ming Li create these wonderful unique jewelry pieces in their modest boutique on -- Road. They sell mostly to private clients however every once in awhile, the Taiwanese Minister of Foreign Affairs will come and purchase some new pieces and present them as official diplomatic gifts from the Taiwan Government to US and other overseas Foreign Officials. Having one of these pieces is truly like owning a one of kind work. Each piece is unique, and no other replica in the world exists. The amount it takes to create each piece varies, however on average, it take 3-4 days to make one necklace. The first time to be distributed in the US and sold exclusively at the Museum Store in Asia Society, New York City, take this necklace home and own your own piece of history.
>See all designer products from Yu Yin and Shao Ming Li
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