The living room. Photo provided to China Daily

The 42-year-old designer's busy schedule affords him little time to unwind. He works around the clock Monday to Friday and often devotes his weekends to business trips.

"I'm always striving for perfection, even though I know it's unattainable," he says.

As the first boy born in his family after his grandfather moved to Taiwan in late 1940s, he was subjected to a strict education.

TV and toys were banned, so he began making them himself. Soon, kids in the neighborhood were lining up for him to make them a toy car, gun or doll, he says.

Both creative and prodigious, he learned 10 musical instruments at school before switching over to painting and moving to England to pursue architectural design as a post-grad at University College London.

After several years in London, he grew homesick and bought a one-way ticket to Shanghai. Why? Because it was close enough to Taiwan to feel like home, and far enough away to feel exotic.