It Takes a Village

Lagos-based furniture designer, Lani Adeoye, is on a roll. With her work being heralded in the world’s top design publications, she has released a new collection, EKAABO, which adapts historical design traditions for modern living. “EKAABO means ‘welcome’ in Nigeria’s Yoruba language, echoing West African hospitality at its finest,” she says. The engaging collection’s biomorphic forms evoke an organic rhythm, while its use of materials from the earth offer a sense of warmth together with contemporary interpretations of heritage materials, like Adire, Aso-oke, and Benin bronze. The collection was inspired by the Nigerian city of Abeokuta (which means “under the rock”), the undulating topography of which merges organically with the surrounding architecture. It celebrates black heritage and elegance, welcomes new futures and imagined possibilities, and presents a pleasing mix of philosophies intended to celebrate traditional Nigerian craftsmanship in a modern-day context.

SOURCE: DESIGN INDABA