About
Dynasty is a British-Chinese house of auspicious culture, run by one person, in London.
It began in 2019 with a single set of red packets — the small red envelopes Chinese families pass at the new year, traditionally containing money and, less visibly, a wish for the year ahead. The first run sold to friends. The second to friends of friends. The brand grew from there.
What I make are objects that carry old Chinese meaning. The Five Blessings (五福) on a silk scarf — longevity, wealth, health, virtue, and a good death — are the same five blessings my grandparents would have wished anyone they cared about. The numbers on the watch (一路發, "168") are a homophone for a smooth path to prosperity. The ten thousand years on the ring (萬萬歲) is the salutation once reserved for emperors, which became, over centuries, a way of saying I hope you live forever to anyone you loved.
These are not generic Asian aesthetics. They are specific Chinese wishes, made into objects you can wear, give, and hand on. Most of my customers tell me they bought a piece because it reminded them of something — a grandmother, a phrase, a feeling they had forgotten was theirs. Some bought it because they had never had access to that culture and wanted a way in. Both reasons are equally welcome.
The two halves of the house
Most of what Dynasty makes belongs to the heritage core — scarves, red packets, watches, rings, incense, tea. These are the prosperity objects, made for the lunar new year, for weddings, for milestones, for the moments when a Chinese family quietly says: may this go well.
Alongside them I am building a slower second line, called Dynasty Editions. An annual almanac of the twenty-four solar terms. Inserts and small books that explain what the symbols on the products actually mean. Eventually, perhaps, an illustrated translation of the Daodejing. The Editions exist because the symbols deserve to be understood, not just admired — and because some of my customers want the deeper reading.
Both halves of the house carry the same imperial seal — 皇帝御寶, "Imperial Treasure" — used the way a collector once stamped a painting they had verified and treasured. It is the brand's word that what you are buying has been considered carefully.
The promise
Designed in London. Made in small runs by makers I have personally chosen. Packaged so the object arrives looking like the gift it is, even when you have bought it for yourself. Shipped worldwide. Returns accepted, no quarrel, within 30 days.
— From my desk in London,
with the year's first plum blossom not yet opened.