Taste of Chinese Culture at Work...& Fabric Specifications

In Hong Kong, onn the 15th of each month there is a blessing for good luck. Incense is lit and several tea cups of water are placed around a large piece of meat to be offered for the blessing. The incense permeates the room, reminding the employees to be thankful, and to bless their work establishment.

One of the employees is leaving to have a baby, so yesterday a group went to lunch at a family-style traditional Hong Kong restaurant. The restaurant had several private rooms with one large round table or a room with two large round tables. "Having lunch" in Hong Kong and China is very popular for people to get together. This restaurant specializes in dumplings, filled with various meats, seafood and vegetables. The dumplings are different from the dumplings often seen in the U.S. because the dough is made from rice, which has a white transluscent appearance. A couple of the employees choose what to eat and we all shared. Along with the dunplings we had stir-fried rice and sweet dough dishes. One of the girls explained that this type of meal and sharing is common for a casual lunch; usually for special occasions and on Sundays with family.

This week I worked with a fabric technician at Tungtex. He is in charge of creating new fabrics and approving existing fabric before, during and after production of the fabric. There are many many types and terms for each fabric. I have heard several of the terms at my internship in New York and now understand some more thoroughly.

The majority of fabric is broken into; cottons, polyester, rayon, wool, knit, linen and silk. Most common subdivisions are; cotton blend, synthetic blend (which includes polyester, nylon and rayon blends), wool blends, linen blend and silk blends. Then, the fabric can be more specifically identified by gorgette, jacquard (I believe those two are the most common) CDC, crinkle, crepe, chiffon, satin, emboss, corduroy, embroidery, laser cut (which is in trend now) twill, tweed, poplin, dobby, taffeta, lace, check, stripe, yoyo, organza, plain, print, foil print (usually metallic print), digital print, burnout and cutout.

I also believe the most commonly used fabric varies depending on which manufacture you are working with. Each manufacturer and country specializes in a certain fabric or two due to their climate. Asia/China is known for silk.