Large French windows flood the room with natural light and furniture in complementary colors dot the office. Mannequins attired in the company's latest designs are scattered around Zhu's desk.

Zhu Weiming, founder of the leather wear brand Natural Gift

"I was born to be a designer and I established the company not only to make my own designs, but also to provide a platform for young designers to showcase their talents. I know the disappointment of being a designer who has come up with a really great idea, but failed to get the required support from his employer," said Zhu.

Zhu said that almost all his design ideas were rejected when he was working at his uncle's leather jacket factory in 1998, because his uncle did not want to take any risks.

"I always believed that leather wear should go beyond necessity. It should reflect the latest fashion and the style of the people who wear the items. Hence, I decided to be my own boss and work out the designs that were in my mind," he said.

Zhu established his own factory in 1999, with 100,000 yuan ($15,800) he borrowed from his uncle. In 2005, he created his own brand, Natural Gift, and positioned it as casual fashion leather wear.

It was the hardest time in Zhu's career. Companies manufacturing leather jackets usually receive their orders from August onwards, but Zhu's company had no orders until the end of September.

"At that time, all leather wear looked the same, and most people were reluctant to accept new styles. Many people advised me not to take the risk, but I insisted," he said.

Zhu proved that his determination was justified. After his first order sold out, the company saw its sales revenue grow by 20 percent every year.

As one of the leading leather wear companies in Haining, touted as China's center of leather products, Natural Gift is also representative of fashionable design and has made its presence felt at a vast number of fashion shows.

"The products sell very well, even though the prices are higher than average," said Zhang Shigang, who runs a fashion shop that sells Zhu's leather wear in Beijing's upmarket Sanlitun area, and only deals in haute couture or extraordinary costumes with unique designs.

Most of the products that Zhang sells are limited editions of brightly colored products with prices starting at 10,000 yuan.

"They can stand out even in a building like this. Sometimes when I get new samples, I have to replenish them the next day due to the huge demand," he said.

Pei Xiaoqin is one of the chief designers in Zhu's company. She has been in Haining for more than 10 years.

"I have witnessed how people are now attaching greater importance to original designs. I found my values here at Natural Gift because I am given opportunities to work out whatever idea I come up with. This is the biggest advantage of having a boss who is also a designer," she said.

Zhu said his intention is to give a free hand to the designers if they come up with a new idea. "Some of the products are not for sale, but only for art collections. They are so beautifully designed that I cannot give them up," he said.

But he is also very strict about the style of his products. If a piece of new design has not been sold in 10 days, it goes off the shelf.

As an increasing number of Zhu's designs entered public life, Natural Gift also managed to attract the attention of the showbiz fraternity.

Zhu is now cooperating with the fashion brand of Jay Chou, China's top pop musician, and is also planning to work with the fashion brand of Andy Lau.

"Cooperating with famous stars is one of the easier ways of getting publicity and this is only a starter for my company in this field," he said.

Apart from designing, Zhu also considers marketing strategies to be of prime importance. He changes models and photographers every year to constantly keep fresh faces and minds on his clothes. He also attends business conferences and forums to attract publicity for his company.

"During the 2011 Halter Financial Conferences which was held in Guangzhou, I met the former British prime minister Gordon Brown and gave him one of our company's products as a gift. It does not really matter whether he wears it or not. It is an achievement for me that he is acquainted with the name Natural Gift," Zhu said.