Zhang Chen received five orders for the black walnut desk she created as her graduation work, an exciting moment for the young designer. However, when the five desks came out of the factory none of them looked the same as the prototype she created.

"I had to carry them to my own workshop to modify everything," says Zhang, the 24-year-old founder of furniture brand Guiju.

Like many young designers, Zhang finds it difficult to persuade veteran manufacturers to work with her. Most of her work is expensive, custom made products.