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Atelier Fifty Five Tapiwa Matsinde African Interior Design Liz Riley Photography

Dedicated to Modern African Design

The ateliers of Africa are overflowing with creativity and ingenuity. atelier | 55 by Tapiwa Matsinde invites you to discover the soul and stories of African design

Our Mission

To support the development of the African design industry and bring the work of talented designers, makers, and creatives from the continent and its diaspora to the attention of local and global audiences.

Atelier Fifty Five by Tapiwa Matsinde African design consultant Liz Riley Photography

Meet Tapiwa

I feel privileged to be a part of what I call the golden era of contemporary African design, a time when we are witnessing a continent-wide, collective, creative reawakening. I celebrate this creative expression by participating in it and working to expand its reach.

I feel privileged to be a part of what I call the golden era of contemporary African design, a time when we are witnessing a continent-wide, collective, creative reawakening. I celebrate this creative expression by participating in it and working to expand its reach.

Services

By sharing information – about contemporary African design with curators and collectors; about best business practices with makers and creatives, and making connections between these groups of people, I contribute to the growing, thriving world of modern African design.

Atelier Fifty Five by Tapiwa Matsinde African design Consultancy Liz Riley Photography

Consultancy

Consultancy and Guest-Curation

Consultancy and Guest-Curation for cultural organizations that want a deeper understanding of Africa’s dynamic design and creative landscape.

Atelier Fifty Five by Tapiwa Matsinde Creative Entrepreneurs Liz Riley Photography

Creative Entrepreneurs

Resources for the creative business owner.

Creative business support designed to help growing brands, and fledgling creative business owners expand into new, high-end design and lifestyle markets.

“

Power is gained by sharing knowledge not hoarding it

African Proverb

Curated Content

Browse through objects, commentary and perspectives of modern African design, chosen carefully and thoughtfully for you. As important as the creations themselves are the inspiring stories, insights, and profiles that enhance our understanding and appreciation of the work.

Atelier Fifty Five by Tapiwa Matsinde African Design Writing Content Liz Riley Photography

Books, Writing, Publications

Capturing the dynamic African design industry.

We collect information to help us make sense of things, and, to create records of what has happened and is happening. I’m proud to contribute to the collection that chronicles and captures the dynamic African design industry.

We collect information and cushion it with context to help us make sense of things, and, more importantly, to create records of what has happened and is happening. I’m proud to contribute to the collection that chronicles and captures the dynamic African design industry.

Atelier Fifty Five by Tapiwa Matsinde buy African Design Liz Riley Photography

Shop African Design

Beautiful products.

A selection of sophisticated products for contemporary living from some of Africa’s finest design ateliers.

atelier | 55 offers a selection of sophisticated products for contemporary living. Thoughtfully sourced from some of Africa’s finest design ateliers.

Read The Edit, Be Inspired

- Ep 7: A masterclass in marketing your brand beyond social media and why having your own platform matters with Kwabena Oppong Boateng
  In this episode I chat with Kwabena Oppong Boateng. Kwabena is a dynamic communications professional with extensive social media, telecommunications and advertising experience across public, private and corporate sectors in Ghana, Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He is the founder of Kayobi clothing, and Nkanee, a 21st century strategy consultancy based Accra, Ghana that specialises in innovative physical and digital experiences powered by ideas and creativity. If first came across Kwabena having seen an article he posted on LinkedIn that spoke of the effect that social media outages in Ghana have on local business relying solely on these platforms to build their businesses. And the dangers of doing so. With a wealth of experience as an entrepreneur and a digital marketing specialist Kwabena, shares his tips for creating a business marketing strategy: Tie your strategy to your real business goals, goals that help you make money. So decide what these goals are, is it to get sales, or to get clients. Choose you platforms wisely – try not to be on every platform, because you may not have the resources, people time and money to manage everything. So for example if you are a fashion brand you might be better off on Instagram, if you are a consultancy LinkedIn might be better. So think about your audience and choose the platform where they are. Create a content plan – your chosen platforms need content. This could be video, pictures captions, but you need to know what is the purpose of the content, because there is no point in creating beautiful images if no-one buys. Content ideas include blog posts to help keep your website fresh, and rank better in Google. Writing an article for LinkedIn can get you an interview or you can do audio books. You need a budget – digital marketing can be highly ineffective without paying money. Are you going to put your money into Google ads, or Facebooks ads, and which ever you choose do you know how to make them work for you. If not you can lose a lot of money with little in the way of results to show for it. Once your strategy is up and running measure the results, using tools like analytics. If you are not getting returns try something different, until you find what works. Also look at other brands, not just the big names but the little ones too. Look at a wide variety of brands and see how they try to convert customers, to getting their attention, or getting them to take some kind of action. We talk about: His LinkedIn article, Blackout, which discusses social media outages in Ghana, and the effect this has on businesses and sales The dangers of using social media platforms as the sole place to run a business The difficulty for African brands and access to reliable commerce solutions and the solutions Why having a website even if it is a simple webpage matters, and the advantages of having your own platform The importance of using offline in your marketing strategy The value of collecting customer data and cultivating real relationships with your customers How to create a business marketing strategy that works for your business Analytics and how to use them in your business Attracting attention to your your business “The advantage of having your hub is that you can … build a long term relationship with the client, and have more sales over a life-time.” – Kwabena Oppong Boateng Links and resources mentioned in this episode Blackout LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/kboateng?originalSubdomain=gh Jumia – https://group.jumia.com Shopify – https://www.shopify.co.uk Bigcartel – https://www.bigcartel.com Bigcommerce – https://www.bigcommerce.co.uk Orijin Culture – https://orijinstore.com Christie Brown – https://www.christiebrownonline.com Duro Olowu – https://www.duroolowu.com Quicksell App – quicksell.co Where you can go to find out more about Kwabena: www.koboateng.com www.nkanee.com www.kayobiclothing.com/collection.html You can listen to the podcast on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher (Android) And before you go I have a favour to ask, if you could you take a few minutes to do the three R’s: that is rate it, review it, and recommend it to anyone you feel would benefit. It will really make a difference and I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks again. Tapiwa... Read more...
- Ep 6: Tracing the journey of turning an idea into a globally stocked ethical fashion brand with Akosua Afriyie-Kumi
  In this episode I chat with Akosua Afriyie-Kumi. Akosua is the founder of A A K S, a fashion accessories brand that tells an exciting story of Ghana, and offers a different perspective of Africa as a whole. A A K S’s raffia bags are handmade by a women’s cooperative in Northern Ghana, and uses ethical processes inspired by old-age craft traditions. Through her brand Akosua wants the world to see how luxury and quality can grow from traditional designs and is using AAKS bags to change perceptions of Africa through fashion. She has been shortlisted as an emerging designer from Africa by Vogue Italia and has been featured in leading press titles and the A A K S collections are stocked in 20 countries and 70 stores worldwide. Akosua always knew that she wanted own her own brand, but although she didn’t know the direction she wanted to go in, she knew she wanted to stand out. Living in the UK at the time it was on trips home to Ghana often and seeing the baskets along the road side, that she began to wonder why no-one was something new with the local skills. And that was when the idea for A A K S took hold. It took several years of research, finding artisans to work with and developing a good enough prototype before she had a saleable product. A A K S has distinctive brand aesthetic one that embraces colour, and genuine authenticity sharing the story behind scenes. We talk about: Moving from the UK back to Ghana to explore her idea and start her business Her desire to build on traditional crafts and give them a place in the modern world Finding weavers to work with and overcoming communication barriers to develop her design ideas The process from concept to getting her first saleable bag, and how she plans and develops a collection Building an authentic brand in a content noisy world How she retains her ethical values whilst meeting commercial demands The challenges of business in balancing passion and purpose with making a living Her big break and her experiences of working with stockists Creating a brand and developing her brand aesthetic The relevance of having a website to attract stockists “Mondays are my favourite days… I just love to wake up and actually work… its so nice to be part of this.” – Akosua Afriyie-Kumi Links and resources mentioned in this episode Kingston University UK – https://www.kingston.ac.uk British Library Business & IP Centre – https://www.bl.uk/business-and-ip-centre Anthropologie – https://www.anthropologie.com/en-gb/ British Council – https://www.britishcouncil.org Design Network Africa – https://designnetworkafrica.wordpress.com Lagos Fashion Week – http://lagosfashionweek.ng Pitti Trade show Milan – http://www.pittimmagine.com/en/corporate/fairs.html She Trades – https://www.shetrades.com/en UNHCR Weaving for Change – https://www.aaksonline.com/blog/2018/2/11/weaving-for-change Where you can go to find out more about Akosua www.aaksonline.com Instagram: @a.a.k.s – https://www.instagram.com/a.a.k.s/?hl=en Facebook: @aakshandcrafted You can listen to the podcast on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher (Android) And before you go I have a favour to ask, if you could you take a few minutes to do the three R’s: that is rate it, review it, and recommend it to anyone you feel would benefit. It will really make a difference and I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks again. Tapiwa... Read more...

Atelier Fifty Five by Tapiwa Matsinde Books Quote Liz Riley Photography

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If you can envision it, you can accomplish it.
If you can imagine it, you can reach the heavens!

African proverb