Up and Coming: Alison Chi

Every product that crosses Alison Chi’s desk has a story. As the managing director of Tzelan, Chi finds aesthetic inspiration around the world, then matches the design to the ideal manufacturing company. The inspiration behind Tzelan’s Cookie Jar, for example, came from an antique crystal jar Chi found in Buenos Aires; she then enlisted a family-owned Czech crystal company to fabricate it en masse. Tzelan’s original designs, combined with found objects like the Cookie Jar, come together to create a brand both eclectic and international. Chi was born for the job: Her father is Tony Chi, principal of Tonychi and Associates, a venerable design studio specializing in hospitality. But it’s Chi’s mother, Tammy Chou, who is the inspiration for the brand (Tzelan is Chou’s Chinese name). Chi speaks of her mother with pride. “[As vice president of product development] she is less on the forefront of the Tonychi side, but she’s probably the one in the studio who has the most inherent sense of style,” says Chi. “The brand was named after her because we wanted to take her sense of style and package it into little pieces that people could take home.” What unites Tzelan’s disparate product line is Chi’s desire to curate a lifestyle for her clientele. She focuses on the beauty in more mundane moments—like the stillness in washing your hands or coming home alone—and fabricates a product to enhance that everyday experience. Because if you knew your catch-all dish was inspired by a 19th-century silversmith, you might just smile when you drop in your keys.

Note: this article originally appeared in the April 2016 issue of Surface Magazine.