Designer Jing’s Life in Finland: Stay Inspired!

Photo / Jing's work time

Interviewed by Jane & Zhang Qingyu

Finalized by Jing

English Translation by Eva, Wang Yiman

From Jingdezhen to Finland

My name is Wang Jing, born in Chengdu, Sichuan. In 2012, I came to Aalto University in Finland to pursue a degree in Applied Art and Design. It has been nearly thirteen years since I first set foot in this northern land. Before that, I studied Industrial Design at Jiangnan University in China. Upon graduation, I began to wonder which path I should take. The traditional route of an industrial designer didn’t quite attract me — I preferred working with my hands, creating objects that carried warmth, where art and design intertwined.

At that time, I was deeply drawn to ceramics, so I went to Jingdezhen, the ancient porcelain capital of China, and spent a year there crafting ceramics. Yet, after a while, I found it less inspiring. The atmosphere was becoming overly commercial, and I longed for something new. I decided to apply to schools abroad, using my ceramic works from Jingdezhen as my portfolio. I chose Aalto University because, during my junior year, I had spent half a year as an exchange student in Denmark, where I fell in love with the Nordic design philosophy — functionalism infused with artistry, bringing beauty into everyday life.

The program in Applied Art and Design turned out to be exactly what I wanted. It encouraged exploration — from ceramics, glass, woodworking, to textile and fashion design. The school gave us both freedom and resources, along with creative workshops, to discover our own direction.

Exploring Sustainable Design

While studying in Finland, I noticed that many design brands and startups were highly committed to sustainability. The materials they used were often recycled or made from dead-stock fabrics. Even their packaging tended to be plastic-free.

I was amazed — every brand was living by the principles of sustainability!

That realization inspired me to pursue something related to sustainable design. I turned my attention to plastic. The idea for what later became Upcycle with Jing began when I saw a YouTube video teaching how to make flowers from plastic bottles. I tried it myself, and the flowers turned out to be full of life. During my student years, I would sell these plastic-bottle floral jewelry pieces at Christmas markets, and they were well received.

Buy products from Upcycle with Jing

After graduating in 2018, I officially founded my sustainable design brand — Upcycle with Jing. Today, it has two main product lines: one featuring jewelry made from recycled plastic bottles, and another using fabric scraps from factories to create hair accessories.

My First Startup with My Husband

I met my husband at Aalto University — he was a programmer, I was a designer. Together, we founded a digital agency, taking on web and graphic design projects. It was exhilarating — no more rigid 9-to-5 hours, and we could choose our own clients and projects. This experience taught me patience and gave me a deeper understanding of Finnish society and its business ecosystem.

Our startup began quite casually — one time we designed a poster and website for a school party, and then realized: why not do this professionally? Finland supports entrepreneurship strongly; we received an €800 monthly startup grant, which helped us get on track.

At the start of our venture, we brought in a mutual friend as our accountant. He also ran a startup incubator at a Finnish technical school and quickly became one of our biggest supporters. Maybe it was because we worked with devotion and finesse, polishing every project to near perfection—always over delivering, as if excellence itself were our unspoken creed.

In Finland, the startup support policy is very inclusive. As long as you want to start a business here — whether you are a local or a foreigner — you can apply for support. When we applied for the government’s startup grant, we spent two days writing our business plan. There is an official website with many detailed questions that must be answered one by one. After submitting it, government officers will review your plan and invite you for a one-hour interview. If your application is approved, you first receive a six-month startup allowance, which totals €4,800. After six months, the government will schedule another meeting to check your business progress. If things are going well, they will grant you the remaining six months of support, making it a total of twelve months of subsidy. For us, this financial support was very important at that time — it helped us purchase equipment and get our business off the ground.

The Habit of Painting Shaped Who I Am

Since primary school, my mother had forced me to learn the electronic keyboard, but I really didn’t like it. She was very strict with me. I told her I didn’t want to learn anymore — I wanted to paint. She agreed, saying, “Alright, I won’t make you practice the keyboard anymore. Let’s focus on painting.” She enrolled me in an art class, and I’ve been painting ever since. This hobby has accompanied me all my life. After giving birth, I went through a period of low mood, and it was painting that helped me get through that rather dark time. Even now, I paint regularly with a friend — we meet twice a week, while the dads take care of the kids, and we paint together in a café.

At present, I really enjoy developing derivative products. Apart from Upcycle with Jing, I also have another brand called Art by Jing, which mainly focuses on stickers and other cultural and creative items. I like to capture small Finnish habits that people can relate to — for example, Finns love drinking coffee and eating cinnamon rolls. I designed a sticker that says “Powered by kahvi ja pulla” (meaning “powered by coffee and cinnamon rolls”). It sells very well at the Finnish Design Museum and in our store. Many people see it and think of a family member or colleague who fits that description — it resonates with them, and they buy it right away. Many tourists also love it and feel that it represents Finnish culture.

My inspiration often comes from the hope that my works can create emotional resonance with others. I am also designing some stickers that are partly humorous and partly encouraging. I draw some with messages like “Stay strong,” “Keep going,” and “You are good enough.” In Finland, people love putting positive stickers like these in their notebooks.

Depression in Finland is partly related to the climate and partly to the culture. Finns value personal privacy and tend to keep a certain distance from others. Many live alone, and once you live alone, it’s easy to feel lonely and depressed. In addition, the unemployment rate is relatively high, so people often feel that it’s hard to find a job, and some become somewhat discouraged and give up easily. They need encouragement.

I also pay attention to what competitors are doing. I often collect stickers from designer brands sold at MUJI, and sometimes I exchange my jewelry for them. I collect them in my own notebook. From this, I try to design products that are different from others, to find my own unique point. I also absorb some good elements from other people’s works and then look for differences based on that foundation.

I have a personal principle: Stay inspired. When I was in China, I felt that a 9-to-5 job didn’t suit me very well. I was more suited to freelancing. The environment I was in back home wasn’t particularly inspiring. I preferred the kind of design found in the Nordic countries — pure, refined, and aesthetically pleasing. I was naturally drawn to it.

At that time, I felt that staying too long in Jingdezhen wasn’t sustainable for me. I might have had to work just to make a living instead of devoting my energy to creating inspiring works. If I had stayed longer, I might have lost myself. I wanted to keep improving my sense of design and artistic aesthetics, so I knew I had to go somewhere better. That’s why I left and went to Aalto University in Finland.

The Difference Between Finnish and Chinese Education

In Finland, graduate studies require strong self-motivation. The Finnish master’s system is actually better suited for local students, because Finnish students have already developed a general direction from a young age, and teachers simply help them go deeper in that direction. It’s not like in China, where you take one course today and another tomorrow. Here, it’s more of a free-range approach. When I first came, I found it quite hard to adapt. Later, after observing my Finnish classmates, I realized that they all had their own opinions and a very mature sense of aesthetics — something cultivated since childhood. Aesthetic sense must be accumulated from an early age. University provides a platform for you to shine, but you must already be an excellent person to begin with.

I wasn’t a very self-driven person growing up. My high school was one of the top schools in Chengdu. At that time, our grade had about twelve classes, each with sixty students, and there were always rankings. The pressure was intense, and everyone was constantly competing with each other. One influence that Chinese education left on me is that I love writing to-do lists — it’s a habit carried from middle school or high school. Every day before doing things, I like to write them down on paper. Crossing out many tasks at the end of the day gives me a strong sense of accomplishment, as if the day hasn’t been wasted.

Even now, I still have nightmares about taking the college entrance exam. My high school education affected me in two ways. First, in my second year, I went to Tsinghua University’s School of Continuing Education to study art for two semesters as part of art exam training, so I missed two semesters of regular classes. When I returned, I found my academic performance had dropped sharply. In our class of sixty students, my rank fell to around fiftieth. Before going to Beijing, I used to rank around twentieth or thirtieth. I felt so down — I suddenly found myself among the lower-performing students. My chemistry was especially poor, and I often dream of taking chemistry or math exams in my sleep.

Another influence was that my close friends from before no longer talked to me after I returned. Perhaps because I had been away for so long, they already had their own small groups. I could understand that, but it still hurt. One of my best friends stopped talking to me, and I was really sad at the time. Fortunately, our relationship has been repaired since then.

Marriage, Children, and Career Choices

For me, whether to get married or not doesn’t really matter anymore. After living in Finland for a long time, I found that many couples are simply partners who have lived together for twenty years without getting married. I thought, maybe I’ll do the same. I had no special feelings about marriage and was actually afraid of holding a wedding — the kind where both families meet and everything is formal. I didn’t want that. I just wanted to keep things simple, to get the marriage certificate and be done. My husband and I only had a small ceremony in India. Having a child wasn’t planned either — it just happened naturally, without any preparation.

My husband is Finnish. He’s 35 now and still hasn’t finished his master’s degree. He thinks Aalto University’s courses are too easy. He told me that if necessary, he’ll turn one of his projects into a master’s or doctoral thesis someday. That’s his choice, and I respect it.

In Finland, work focuses more on experience, ability, problem-solving, and communication skills. Educational background is only one factor. Finns are guided by interest when choosing jobs. Being able to do the work you love is considered success. I believe that if you are to do one job for a lifetime, it must be something you truly enjoy — something that keeps you motivated.

In Finland, children’s interests are nurtured from kindergarten. For example, my son started kindergarten when he was one and a half. After his first semester, during the parent-teacher meeting, the teacher told us, “Your son really enjoys painting. You should encourage him and prepare more art materials at home so he can draw.” This semester, the teacher found that he also likes singing, so we’re encouraged to let him sing more. From kindergarten on, they observe what a child likes, and parents are expected to support and prepare accordingly.

Gender Differences in Family Life

When our child was small, I often complained to my husband that I was doing more childcare. At first, he helped quite a lot, but over time, he began staying up very late and waking up late, so in the mornings, I was always the one with the child. I felt it was unfair.

Later, we went together to Finland’s family counseling center, and by this year, we’ve gotten used to it. My husband and I reached an agreement: at the beginning of each week, I tell him which days I’ll be going out with my friends to paint or to socialize, or when I need to work — for example, taking photos or running a workshop. On those days, I can’t take care of the child; he has to do it. Making this schedule in advance has helped us balance things better.

At first, I wasn’t used to it. When I needed him, he couldn’t come immediately, and we often argued about it. Over time, we got used to each other’s style, and things gradually improved. Now that our child is older, my husband has also become more engaged as a father, though it took him longer than me to adapt. He really enjoys playing with our son.

When I face difficulties, I’m not ashamed to seek help. I have many friends in similar situations — after having children, we all complain about our husbands sometimes. We often vent together, and after that, we feel much better. We also share information about good or bad psychologists. This kind of exchange is very important. In the first three years after having a child, almost every family goes through something similar.

Our family counselor once mentioned that postpartum hormonal fluctuations can last for several months. In our first counseling session, my husband wanted more intimacy and couple time, while I wanted time for myself. He felt I was giving all my time to the baby and none to him. I told him, “I need time for myself first; then I can think about other things.” He eventually adapted. I told him, “Without my own time, I would die.” He understood and stopped insisting. The counselor also suggested that the father and mother should regularly discuss how to divide household and childcare duties, and reach an agreement. Both my husband and I practice yoga and meditation. Although we had conflicts at first, most issues were gradually resolved, and I came to see that he truly wants to be a good father.

Becoming a mother is actually a wonderful thing. There is joy every day with the child. The beginning is difficult, but it can be overcome — the key is communication. Children give you a fresh perspective on life. To new mothers, I would say: “Seize every opportunity to rest, and practice self-care. Only by taking care of yourself can you take care of your family — especially your mental health. Don’t pursue perfection. Being an okay mom is enough. You don’t need a perfect home — if the house is messy, that’s fine.”

Read Chinese Version https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/2m2Zml9rcxh1byctjOEKzw