atelier 55 – The Curator of Contemporary African Designatelier 55 – The Curator of Contemporary African Design
Africonté is a contemporary Zambian homeware and lifestyle brand that upholds the skills of local artisanship and culture. Following an artisan-led aesthetic, Africonté works with women weavers and other skilled artisans in marginalised communities seeking to support and financially empower them.
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MADE51 is a pioneering initiative that brings together designers with refugees to create and craft products for a global market. Conceived by UNHCR MADE51 is part of the agency’s activities to protect and save lives. Finding themselves in a foreign country craft has become a way of restoring dignity to refugees. Craft helps those who have been displaced to hold onto their culture, giving them a sense of purpose and stability, and to earn an income as they begin the process of rebuilding their shattered lives. Working with some of Africa’s leading design brands such as A A K S, […]
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Craft has often been used as a tool for unity, healing and empowerment, harnessing the traditional skills of local communities to make lives better. Doing just that is WomenCraft, a social enterprise that empowers over 600 women artisans from Tanzania and Burundi to earn a living from their craft skills
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Passing the rich creative knowledge from one generation to another is the mission behind Refixit, a social enterprise crafting natural eco-friendly sisal fibre art decor products. Based in Tanzania Refixit was founded by Leandra Lyimo who pivoted from a career in architecture to focus on her love of design and help provide youth skills development, training, and employment.
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In keeping with his colourful patterned signature style artist and designer Yinka Ilori introduces his debut technicolour homeware collection. Featuring textiles, dinnerware, art prints and socks the collection came about by accident. With projects cancelled due to the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, Yinka used the time to create the collection.
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There is something deeply reverent about the Evoke London website. Its design speaks of a platform committed to upholding and nurturing the rich heritage of global craft. Sourcing one of kind rare cultural pieces Evoke London’s collections are thoughtfully curated and as its name suggests is a space that recalls and brings forth the precious craft traditions of cultures past and present.
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Fibre art has risen in popularity in the past few years. There is something about the soft tactile textures that have a way of soothing the soul and bringing character into a home or work space. One textile designer who is creating striking fibre art pieces is Nom. Characterised by bold geometric patterns Nom’s pieces are handcrafted from 100% cotton fibres woven onto beech wood frames.
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South African jewellery designer Kirsten Goss, has launched a new homeware line that builds on the crafted metalwork that defines her jewellery designs.
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Artist and designer Bouchra Boudoua is upholding the age-old techniques of Moroccan craftsmanship with her patterned ceramic collections. Blending craft and design Bouchra draws inspiration from Morocco’s traditional pottery heritage reinterpreting the patterns, and forms for contemporary living.
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The instability of life on the road led former punk rock musician Osa Atoe to seek an alternative creative outlet. Pottery was something that had always been at the back of her mind so one day she signed up for classes and was hooked setting up her business Pottery by Osa in 2015 from her kitchen. Initially running her business part-time while working as an after-school art teacher Osa has since transitioned into working in it full-time from her dedicated studio in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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The first thing I thought when I some of these vessels was that they are ceramics. The organic sculptural quality of the forms and the textured surface patterns display the qualities of clay. The vessels in fact are made from wood, hand-turned in a process that retains and reveals the unique characteristics of each piece used. The vessels are the creation of Darren Appiagyei a self-taught wood-turner and founder of In The Grain.
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Mid-Century Modern meets African print and traditional textiles in the furniture and interior accessories collections by Workshop Nairobi. A social enterprise based in Kenya’s bustling capital city Workshop Nairobi was founded in 2015 with a mission to contribute to the country’s furniture industry by connecting local artisans and furniture manufacturers and giving them the means to design, develop and craft their products.
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While catching up on the latest international tradeshows I came across some simple elegant baskets by Twenty One Tonnes an online retailer that seeks to celebrate the beauty of global craft by working with artisans around the world to create beautifully-crafted home decor collections and. The baskets are beautiful and sophisticated in their simplicity, using size, the colour of the material, and the woven patterns to give them character.
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Endo² is a stylish minimalist art-led brand by Kenyan-Japanese sisters Yvonne and Patti Endo. Born in Tokyo and currently living in Kenya the sisters came up with the idea of pairing Patti’s continuous line drawings with Yvonne’s business marketing and management acumen.
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Tucked away in Harare’s Miombo Woodland you will find Mutapo, a ceramic studio producing one-of-a-kind collectable crockery. Owned by Zimbabwean ceramicist, Marjorie Wallace, Mutapo has gained international recognition for its intricately decorated porcelain ceramics often coloured with the studio’s signature blue and white glaze. The patterns adorning each product are inspired by the patterns found in Africa’s basket weaving traditions. Marjorie’s love for baskets stems from childhood and her memories of being surrounded by baskets.
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South African textile brand Skinny laMinx turns up the heat with their latest collection. The SunnySide is a feelgood collection that encourages us to bring a little sunshine and positive energy into our everyday lives. The collection of dining and kitchen textiles features bold patterns and colour prints in the Skinny laMinx signature style, which blends midcentury style, pattern and colour, with African chic.
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Basketry is a skill that has been practiced up and down the continent for centuries with examples from the past coveted by collectors around the world. Today Africa’s basket weavers are redefining the art form employing ingenious methods to create modern functional home decor products. But whilst these baskets may appear to be merely functional or decorative products, taking the time to look beyond the aesthetics reveals the layers of stories woven into the strands; as basketry -a skill traditionally practiced by women- carries within it the stories of livelihoods, of hopes, dreams, achievements, and sacrifices. Highlighting just how powerfully […]
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Atelier Fifty Five spotlights the work of 9 dynamic designers whose innovative use of Africa’s diverse craft heritages is translated into modern sophisticated products for contemporary living. And in doing so are upholding the banner of Well Made In Africa. Re-imagining techniques and materials these designers are paying homage to the skill of making things by hand thereby recognising how craft is at the heart of true luxury.
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As I highlighted in a previous editorial on Adinkra symbols are a much-referenced communication system that has endured to present day. The Adinkra symbols designs carry within them centuries of wisdom and are among one of the African continent’s oldest writing systems. The symbols have inspired designers and artists the world over who have drawn on the distinctive graphic shapes to create anything from jewellery to patterned textiles. I introduce 5 contemporary African brands referencing the Adinkra symbols in their designs, and in doing so giving them relevance in a modern day and age.
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Jewellery is one of my great loves, and was the main reason I started this blog. I wanted to use the space as a place to store my finds. So I couldn’t help but be instinctively drawn to a collection of string pendant lamps by South African product designer Candice Lawrence. Inspired by the beaded layers of traditional African jewellery, the African Woven Necklace Lamp Shade features three interconnected circular hoops each punctuated with colourful bands of hand wrapped thread.
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