Yuxuan Huang 
Dream Catcher 002 (Spring Flower), 2025 
Reclaimed vintage Redwood, paper, bamboo, shellac, mineral pigment, LED component 
25 x 17 x 15 inches
 
Taking the form of a small flower first sketched by the designer, Dream Catcher 002 (Spring Flower) is structured using traditional Chinese kite and lantern–making techniques. Bamboo strips trace the hand-drawn contours, while Kozo paper is stretched over the frame and painted in soft tones inspired by the designer’s impression of spring—colors that feel tender, budding, and faintly luminous. Mineral pigments and ink settle into gentle layers, and the paper is sealed with shellac, a natural resin secreted by insects, to preserve its delicacy while allowing light to breathe through its fibers. The base is hand-carved from 19th-century salvaged architectural wood sourced from historic houses and churches in New York City and Philadelphia, grounding the floral shade with quiet weight and timeworn presence.
 
Yuxuan Huang is a furniture and lighting designer based between Brooklyn and China. Working with reclaimed wood, bamboo, stone, and hand-painted paper, she creates poetic objects that merge sustainability, memory, and craft traditions. Her recent collection, My Grandpa Once Taught Me How to Fly a Kite, explores paper and shellac as mediums for illumination and storytelling. Rooted in her upbringing in Chengdu, her work seeks subtlety and serendipity in material life. She holds an MFA in Furniture Design from the Rhode Island School of Design.
 
Photo by Aaron S Cheung, Esto.