Capturing the Good Stuff: Photographer and Blogger Lionel Derimais

For over 30 years, Parisian Lionel Derimais dedicated his life to taking photos around the world, from Tokyo to New York to London. His photographs have appeared in publications like National Geographic, New York Times, Reader’s Digest, Fortune Magazine and more. Now he is expanding beyond photography and into blogging. His recently established Nicely Made in China blog – available in English, Chinese and French – highlights all the quality products and services springing up around town. Agenda caught up with him for a chat about his passion for photography and why good things are so hard to find.

You’ve lived all over the world – how do other cities compare to Beijing? I studied photography in New York, and lived in Tokyo for one year and in London for four. I suppose Beijing is still a city in the making, so it’s difficult to compare. What’s unique about Beijing? Probably the street life and atmosphere. Also, the fact that the vibe is very relaxed, despite being a city.

What first drew you into photography?
I’ve always liked street life. I’m a Parisian and there’s a lot of street life there, but I’ve always been interested in what’s happening outside. I think a camera is a good way to get close to people and discover new things, to get into their lives and share them.

You’re renowned for focusing the bulk of your portfolio in Asian regions – why here, and what has motivated you to move your base to China?
The focus of my portfolio has just recently changed. I was in Europe for many years as well. But in the past five years I’ve shot a lot here. The Olympics drew me here, but it’s difficult when you’re a photographer and you just keep jumping from one city to the other. People lose track of you. That’s never a good idea. You know the old adage, “A rolling stone gathers no moss” – if I didn’t eventually settle down, at least for a little while, I’d just be another rolling stone with no moss on it.

Why run a blog on the Internet, rather than publish a book?
I think that the power of the Internet is that no capital is required. The only costs I have to deal with in Beijing are the taxi fares. A blog is the low-cost approach to publishing.

What is the basis of your blog Nicely Made in China? What inspired you to create it?
Well, the phrase “Made in China” doesn’t have a good image. But while living here, I’ve noticed more and more well-made products. Given my photography background, I thought it might be interesting to show the public that there is nicely made stuff here. The challenge at first was to see whether there’d be enough to cover. The answer is yes. There’s a lot, in fact. When I first said I’m going to do this blog, some people told me I wouldn’t find enough subjects. But funnily enough, my blog didn’t come to an end after one month, and it didn’t end after two, either. It’s now been going on for four months, and there are still more people to cover.

How do you determine what is right for the purposes of your blog?
I consider anything of quality for my blog. Things I don’t cover are restaurants and art, for example – they’re too subjective and open to change.

Why do you think it’s so difficult to find “nicely made” items in Beijing?
What we’re used to in the West is consistency. There are shops that have been around for over ten years. But in Beijing, a shop can be there one month and gone the next. It’s harder to find the good items and places. So that’s also why I try and find people who have been around here for awhile. And again, those people exist. But as I said, China is so huge and it’s so difficult to Google names. A good friend of mine wanted me to find a double-base maker like the one I featured – he sent me a message saying to look for a guy who lived in Beijing named Wang. [Laughs] You can probably guess how that turned out.

What do you hope to achieve with your blog?
The goal of the website is to raise awareness about what the Chinese themselves are doing. So far, many people may notice there are many foreigners featured on the website – that’s because in starting out, that was the easier approach. But these days, I’m finding more and more Chinese people.

In French, we say, “We don’t want to burst through open doors.” It’s kind of obvious to say that things are changing – everyone knows that, it’s nothing new. But in doing my blog, I can document the change. People want more and more quality, and now they can see that they can get it. It can be done.

Find the good stuff on Lionel ‘s blog at www.nicelymadeinchina.com.