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Duma Mtimkulu is a South African ceramicist blending art and ceramics with each piece he makes. Referring to himself as an ‘Earth Bender’ Duma is drawn to clay for the freedom it gives him to create and the opportunity the medium offers for manipulation.
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Xigera Safari Lodge officially opened its doors in January, welcoming guests into a space where South African design takes centre stage. Situated on the western edge of the Moremi Game Reserve in Botswana’s Okavango Delta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Xigera offers
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Lulas Clan is an award winning family business that creates bold textiles inspired by the diversity of Africa’s vibrant heritage and cultures. The company was founded by Bonolo Helen Chepape a South African textile designer on a mission to preserve culture and heritage, by enabling them to evolve yet retain their meaning and have a continued presence in our contemporary world.
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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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The golden sandy beaches Durban, South Africa and orangy desert vistas of Muscat, Oman provide the inspiration for a collection of furniture by Bofred. BASK merges the evocative emotions that emerge from both places. The Bofred signature linear style translates across a complementary collection of chairs, tables, and lighting.
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A private safari residence set in the Thornybush Game Reserve, Kubili House is setting a new standard for the safari experience or as the founders like to call it ‘safari lifestyle’. Built as a summer vacation home for South African-born, New York-based Julian Koski and his wife, Aida ‘Kubili’ means two, given its name in reference to the couple’s twins.
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Afri Modern is an award-winning multi-disciplinary design studio that tells stories through design. The studio, based in Johannesburg, South Africa was founded in 2018 by Sifiso Shange. An interior designer and storyteller Sifiso refers to himself as a modern Zulu man, one who taps into his culture to create statement, modernist designs that tell the African Nguni stories of his heritage.
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Earthy and organic describe the interiors of a private home in Waterberg, South Africa. Waterberg is located in the Limpopo Province and is home to nature and game reserves offering some of the best safari experiences and vistas in the country. It was here that a young family chose to create a secluded bush retreat that would be a showcase for the very best in South African design.
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Furniture and product designer Thabisa Mjo has teamed up with Houtlander and master weaver Beauty Ngxongo to create the Hlabisa Bench. A striking object showcasing the best of South African design, craftsmanship, and technique that has become an instant classic. The collaboration came about when the curator of Revelations, a biennale Fine Craft and Creation Fair in Paris, invited Thabisa to participate in the 2019 event.
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Marianne Fassler is a doyenne of the South African fashion industry. Her brand Leopard Frock is a recognised game-changer, her inimitable style and anti-fashion stance always pushing the boundaries between fashion and art resulting in collections that rewrite the rules with their profusion of animal print, colour, patterns and textures. It, therefore, comes as no surprise that her home reflects all that inspires her.
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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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Contemporary African designers and artists inspired by scarification and referencing the ancient African tradition in their work. Scarification is the process of superficially cutting, scratching, etching or burning permanent designs into the skin. This form of body decoration is a practice common to West Africa where for centuries the resultant markings expressed a form of unspoken communication such as rank, tribe, beauty, and strength. Patterns in the form of scars would range from simple markings to those more elaborate and intricate adorning the face, chest, torso arms and legs. Scarification is not for the faint-hearted, undergoing the practice was said […]
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Across Africa bold, colourful and intricate patterns can be found throughout fabric and surface designsthat reach back through the centuries. Pattern continues to influence the expressions of modern design emerging from and inspired by the continent. Here is a selection African designers and artists creating their own unique pattern adorned creations.
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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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Collaboration is a powerful thing, the meeting of ideas to create new ones and at times offering up unexpected viewpoints. Collaboration offers those involved a chance to learn, pick up new skills and show off each other’s skills at their best. And in this spirit I have rounded up seven inspiring modern African design collaborations that have come together over the years:
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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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Taking their name from the gold signature disc on the bottom of every pot, Gold Bottom is a limited-edition collection of striking geometric patterned ceramic pots. The Gold Bottom pots collections are inspired by local culture and the environment.
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In a preview of its forthcoming collaboration with African designers IKEA introduces ÖVERALLT a limited edition collection of tableware, textiles, and seating inspired by the modern rituals across all cultures that punctuate everyday life, what we do and use to make us feel at home. The collection was developed by ten designers from seven African countries partnered with IKEA’s team of designers.
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It’s cold here at the moment, and when the temps dip towards the minus figures, it’s all I can do not to spend the days hibernating, drinking tea and snuggled under a blanket for some much-needed warmth. The cosy cashmere and wool blend blankets from Dedani Collection would be perfect allowing me to hibernate in style. Dedani Collection is a South African textiles brand that is creating handcrafted interior and fashion textiles from luxurious natural fibres.
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TheUrbanative by South African product and furniture designer Mpho Vackier is a collection of furniture and products that aim to tell the stories of African culture both past and present. TheUrbanative’s designs are characterised by bold geometric shapes and graphic patterns based on the patterns of diverse African cultures fused with midcentury European design.
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