A leather-carved necklace designed by Li Xiaofang.[Photo/China Daily]

In 2022, she joined Embroidering for the Future, a public welfare program by the YouChange China Social Entrepreneur Foundation and The Beijing Starbucks Foundation. In two weeks of training in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, she gained insights into product design, an area she had never formally studied. "The lectures and case studies helped me understand how to approach new designs in a structured way. It was incredibly useful," she says.

The program also introduced her to other intangible cultural heritage inheritors, broadening her perspective on traditional crafts. With the help of the program's mentors, she launched her brand which features a logo inspired by a saddle and Mongolian motifs.

Today, Li's studio spans 180 square meters, with a retail space downstairs and a workshop upstairs. With the growing demand, she hopes to expand to a larger space where she can grow her brand and offer training and hands-on experiences to those interested in leather carving.

"Hohhot now attracts tourists year-round. Last year, we even ran out of stock for some products," she says. "If we can expand our team, we plan to sell online so more people can experience leather carving."