It's in the bag

Not surprisingly, wood in various kinds and shapes is the main material of most of the company's products.

"Wood has strong vitality, it has better resistance to the erosion of time than leather and fabric", says Qi, explaining his preference for the natural material, adding "it grows warm, glossy and smooth to the touch through frequent use."

Born in 1983 in Beijing, from an early age Qi was interested in painting and handwork. As a result, he later chose to study architecture at Tsinghua University and the University of Pennsylvania, with the major providing a combination of both of these two hobbies.

Collection, his third hobby, led him to his current career path. He started to buy and sell ancient Chinese coins at college, and he discovered that there were not many nice packing options for valuable objects.

"People packed museum-quality pieces, worth tens of millions of yuan, into whatever was available, such as a shoebox or a moon cake box," recalls Qi.

In 2011, Qi established Duanmu and started to design and produce storage boxes for both collectors just like him and for organizations like Christie's auction house.