Mengjinongga is a long-term creative project initiated by Heyan’er Buyan Buyu. The name comes from a dialect of the Miao people in Guizhou, meaning "come home for dinner." This simple call initiates an action of "returning."
Guizhou holds valuable life experiences and is an important creative starting point for the founder of the brand. After 30 years, the project deconstructed and extended Miao traditional culture and traditional craftsmanship. Through materials, techniques, and innovative designs, presents a new understanding of life.
Mengjinongga transforms genuine feelings into various product forms, defining the relationship between objects and people with a unique measurement method. We aspire to establish an ideal relationship between people and objects by responding to daily sensations.
The phrase “Mengji Nongga” originates from a dialect of ethnic minorities in Guizhou, translating to "come home for dinner.” We named our brand after it because this seemingly simple, everyday summon has deeply inspired us. It has revealed that the most fundamental aspects of existence are found in the mundane moments around us.
Our team has conducted multiple in-depth visits to the mountainous regions of Guizhou, researching and studying the local traditional crafts and the culture behind them. We have invited local artisans, eager to expand the possibilities of the generational skills they have inherited.
During a visit to Guizhou in 1994, we observed a traditional practice of cutting old clothes into strips, reweaving them, and using them to patch quilts.
Cherishing possessions is an emotion deeply embedded in the lives of the locals, where everything around them is treated with care and affection.
These fabric scraps were once part of tattered clothes, bearing the stories of generations. They were mended and re-mended, with patch upon patch. Their clothing and textiles often serving as an unbroken emotional bond for the family.
Inspired by this discovery, we began sending the leftover fabric shreds from garment-making process to a small village in Guizhou, where elderly women took on the weaving work.
The women in the villages of Guizhou are remarkably adept, particularly in the art of needlework. From a young age, they craft their garments with meticulous stitches.
We sent the fabric scraps accumulated over the years of making clothes to the village, they regarded these remnants as precious treasures.
Through the creative project "Mengjinongga," we innovate and reconstruct using remnant fabrics and reclaimed materials. This initiative brings economic benefits to the women in a village in Guizhou while preserving and passing down their traditional craftsmanship.
Textiles crafted by these women were sent back to our studio, where we transformed the refined handmade panels into garments, accessories, and home goods. These creations, whether worn or used，we strive to innovate traditional craftsmanship through inheritance, integrating these products into contemporary daily life and create interactions that transcend time and space.
We also worked on these traditional handicrafts passed down through generations. The locals in the village use these traditional techniques to reweave the fabric scraps into various textiles.
Over the past 30 years, the brand HEYAN’ER has focused on creating a sustainable model for utilizing materials, aiming to reuse natural textiles, reduce resource waste in garment production, and bring new life into discarded fabrics.
Originally from Jinxi County, Jiangxi Province, born in Heilongjiang.
HaiyanHe graduated from the Biology Department of Nanjing Normal University. After graduation, she became a biology teacher. Later, she decided to resign and studied in the Dyeing and Weaving Department at the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts (1992-1993). Then began working in clothing design and production.
Key Milestones:
-
1994: Opened an unnamed clothing store near the south gate of Peking University, producing handcrafted clothing in Beijing.
-
1995: Began collecting ancient textiles, artworks, and ethnic minority costumes.
-
2000: Registered brand "Heyan'er BuyanBuyu", opened stores in Beijing and Shanghai.
-
2007: Established a studio in Guizhou (Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture).
-
2018: Opened Heyan'er Space exhibition hall.
-
2020: Registered independent brand Mengjinongga.
-
2023: Opened gallery Heyan'er Gallery.
Heyan'er (Haiyan He)
Founder of "Heyan'er BUYANBUYU"
Initiator of Creative Project "Mengji Nongga"
