Alison and Bo Jia at their Georgetown home. Photograph copyright by Morgan Howarth
I first met them when I heard that they are locally based, but manage an operation on China where artisans make their designs and then hand-paint them. Bo, a native Chinese, goes to China at least twice a year to oversee the production. I had written a blog post about them for Washington Spaces, and then did a full feature on their colorful Georgetown home in the magazine.
But then Alison told me recently that The Victoria & Albert Museum in London had chosen their works for a permanent display in their famed ceramics galleries, which also include Wedgwood, Sevres, Nympenburg and Meissen — decent company, don’t you think?
But as they say in the commercials, that’s not all! Middle Kingdom’s sweet, tiny vases are a part of the “Flutter of Romance” wedding package designed by Martha Stewart for the Sandals Resorts in the Caribbean. So if you decide to get married there and choose this pink butterfly theme, those vases will be on your table:
Photo courtesy of Sandals Resorts
The buyers for Neiman Marcus have also recently discovered Middle Kingdom, and the vases are in its catalog for the first time:
The Middle Kingdom vases are on the bottom in this catalog spread called "Little Gems."
Locally, you can find Middle Kingdom porcelain through Timothy Paul Bedding & Home, And Beige, Susan Calloway Fine Arts, the National Gallery of Art Shop, and the Freer Gallery shop. I have one of their sweet pink vases in my office, which makes me smile when I look at it.
I will leave you with Morgan Howarth’s photographs of the Jia home, which is filled with their own porcelain, as well as beautiful paintings done by Bo Jia himself.
The living room, filled with Middle Kingdom porcelain. The painting above the mantel is by Bo. This photograph and all that follow are copyright by Morgan Howarth.
The Jias built a gallery into their dining room to house a rotating display of their designs.
Bo's expertise with color extends beyond the porcelain. This detail of the dining room ceiling displays his intricately chosen combinations.
Jennifer Sergent. Native Washingtonian. Former editor at Washington Spaces magazine and HGTV. Currently searching for – and writing about – DC’s design voices. Write to me @
What a lovely home. The detail of the dining room ceiling is incredible. Thanks so much for taking time to leave a comment on my blog. I’m an ex-Washingtonian so it’s nice to discover yours.
I hope you get out from under all that snow soon!
Alison and Bo’s home is amazing and I am in awe of their talent! What a wonderful post. I will be dreaming about their pink vases!!!
I recall the article in Washington Spaces and am very inspired by their home and love of art. How impressive to have their pieces displayed at the V&A Museum.