Irene Lin Wei

Irene Wei is a pith flower maker and furniture designer whose work is deeply rooted in community and culture. Irene received her BFA in Furniture Design and a Concentration in Nature Culture Sustainability Studies from the Rhode Island School of Design. She has previously worked as a woodworking instructor at a maker space where she also made furniture on commission. In 2019, she was an Emerging Artist winner at the Philadelphia Furniture Show.

Outside of Irene’s furniture practice she runs Pith Flower Shop– a passion project meant to educate people about the importance plant Tetrapanax papyrifer ( tōngcǎo 蓪草) for its uses in Taiwanese traditional flower making. All flowers sold through the site go directly toward funding her research on this subject which has been supported by the RISD Maharam STEAM Fellowship and the Fulbright Research Fellowship.

See more images of her furniture and design work on her instagram @irene.lin.wei and website irenewei.com And find more images of Pith Flowers on instagram @pith.flower.shop and the website pithflowershop.com