{"product_id":"silk-into-bloom-the-traditional-chinese-art-of-rong-hua-with-joni-zhou","title":"Silk into Bloom: The Traditional Chinese Art of Rong Hua with Joni Zhou","description":"\u003cp\u003eDiscover the centuries-old Chinese craft of velvet flower making (Ronghua) through this beginner-friendly course, designed for those with no prior experience of the technique. Recognised as a cultural heritage craft, Ronghua is a tradition that produces flowers of exceptional realism and permanence, with silk worked to create the appearance and delicacy of a living bloom. Led by Joni Zhou (Zhou Xueqing), a Suzhou-born embroidery and textile artist with over thirty years of experience in Su and Cantonese embroidery, who has presented work in more than ninety exhibitions worldwide and delivered a lecture at the Royal School of Needlework in October 2025, the course is centred around the creation of a velvet rose. You will begin with an introduction to the specialist materials and tools used in the process, including silk thread, brass wire, a specialist brush, wooden rolling board and shaping tweezers, learning the purpose of each before beginning your flower. You will then work through the complete process of preparing the velvet, learning how to comb and compact the silk, brush it to create an even loft, cut and wire each strip, roll it to a uniform thickness, taper the ends and press it to set. Once your velvet strips are prepared, you will learn how to shape individual petals, applying adhesive and carefully bending and curling each strip to recreate the natural form of a rose petal. You will then assemble your flower from the inside out, beginning with the inner petals before building successive outer layers and adding the leaves and stem. By the end of the course, you will have worked through the complete process of traditional velvet flower making and created your own finished velvet rose.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Royal School of Needlework","offers":[{"title":"Monday 8th - Wednesday 10th March 2027","offer_id":63630448623946,"sku":"HCP27025","price":295.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1036\/4541\/3706\/files\/Silk_into_Bloom_The_Traditional_Chinese_Art_of_Rong_Hua_with_Joni_Zhou_1.jpg?v=1790071927","url":"https:\/\/rsn.org.uk\/products\/silk-into-bloom-the-traditional-chinese-art-of-rong-hua-with-joni-zhou","provider":"Royal School of Needlework","version":"1.0","type":"link"}