Tea Buds x The Slow Nook Collaboration
Contributions: Packaging illustration and design, social media illustration
Collaboration with:
Tea Buds
Year
2025
Photo Credits:
Tea Buds
I had the pleasure of collaborating with Tea Buds on the packaging design and illustration for a pu-erh osmanthus blend that feels deeply personal to me.
Pu-erh has always held a quiet significance in my life. Growing up, it was a tea that I encountered a lot through when my parents brought the family on trips to China, especially in Yunnan. From tea houses where we were taught about the history and qualities of pu-erh, to the restaurants where a pot of pu-erh always lay in the middle of the table, I grew to know about this tea as one that is mellow, earthy and great for its digestive qualities. Of course, my parents would go on to purchase them fresh from the tea houses in fancily packaged large coins. Those memories have stayed with me in subtle ways, tied not just to the tea itself, but to the days of my childhood spent drinking pu-erh brewed lovingly by my mum after a particularly heavy meal. It was thus, a really meaningful project to work with Cheryl on bringing Osmanthus Pu-Erh to life through the combination of my art and her blend.
When the blend was described to me, she spoke about the way the small osmanthus flowers are scattered amongst the pu-erh leaves like tiny stars suspended in something dark and earthy. That image stayed with me. It became the starting point for the illustration: a quiet, starry night sky.
In translating that into the packaging, I wanted to bring my own usual visual language and style into the story with soft, dreamy subjects. The illustration reflects both the depth of pu-erh and the gentle brightness of osmanthus, allowing the tea and its packaging to feel rooted yet luminous. I contributed to this collaboration by illustrating the main hero artwork, and subsequently planning and designing the various components of the packaging such as the main box, and label tin stickers.
Our collaboration went live in November 2025, with an illustration overlay for social media announcements. Since the photo provided left a lot of space on the upper half, I loved the idea of using the packaging box as a form of surface area to depict a candle lit date.
My hopes was to convey the feeling of warmth and comfort from sharing a cup of tea with a loved one.