AN UNBROKEN THREAD

Jenny Jing Zhu, Textile/Surface Design ’04

Jenny Jing Zhu is the author of the autobiography Dream Weaver: Finding Strength and Purpose in Life’s Twists and Turns (Indigo River Publishing, 2025). A related short film with the same title premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2024 and was screened at FIT in 2025.

Photo Courtesy of Basement HQ.

I grew up in a remote village in China. We didn’t have electricity until I was in second grade. My grandmother worked with her hands every day—cooking, sewing, and weaving on an old wooden loom. Her feet were bound to just three inches, lotus feet, but her hands were steady. When the yarn snapped, I’d get frustrated, but she would calmly tie a knot and keep going. She would tell me, “Weaving is just life. When the thread breaks, you tie a knot and keep going.” 
 
When I was 26, I immigrated to the U.S. I remember turning on the TV and not understanding a single word. I felt like an alien on Mars. When you don’t speak the language, you can feel invisible—like a nobody. I worked as a nanny, watched a lot of PBS cooking shows, and eventually learned English. 

Fashion: Camel Hair Double Breasted Blazer and Pants and Wright Novelty Cuff Shirt all by Lafayette 148 @lafayette148ny – Photographer: Chiun-Kai Shih @mrchunkyexpress – Stylist: Jamie Grace @jamiegracestylist – Makeup: Hawa Abdul @therealhawacosmetics – Hairstyle: Renata Ting @renatahairues – Haircut: Sei Hamada @seihamada – Production Assistant: Eilise Lynch @eiliselynch – Studio: NJ Photo Studio @station7studios

During the financial crisis in 2008, when I was about to become a single mom to my one-year-old son, I started Lush Decor, a home textile e-commerce business. As an immigrant and a mother, I wanted my home to feel like a safe harbor—a place of belonging. I knew other women felt the same way. 
 
I didn’t have much business experience, so I brought on a business partner. A year later, I had that sick, god-awful feeling that something was wrong. Then one day, he walked into the office and read me my termination letter. It was surreal: It was my business … and I was being fired. He told people I was on a Homeland Security watch list and that I would be deported. I felt humiliated, and I didn’t know what I had done wrong. It was one of the darkest times in my life. It felt like everything was falling apart. 
 
I went to court, and it took almost six months to get the company back. Eventually, I grew Lush Decor into a $100 million company. We design bedding, curtains, pillows, and more in the U.S., manufacture overseas, and drop-ship directly to the customer. 
 
Now, when I look back, I think about my grandmother. She didn’t make speeches. She didn’t call it resilience. She just kept weaving, and so did I.

—As told to Jonathan Vatner