African Design Goes Global with IKEA

Ikea is set to release its new collection ÖVERALLT in May 2019 in collaboration with Indaba Design, the South African conference focusing on African talent.

Ikea.com

The home and furnishing giant selected 10 African designers to create a series of furniture, textiles and kitchen pieces around the concept of African rituals and objects that make us feel at home. Here are my 3 favorite pieces from the design collection selected based on their originality and sustainability:

ÖVERALLT CHAIR

by Issa Diabaté (Côte d’Ivoire)

According to Mikael Axelsson, “When you put your mark on something, you’re much less likely to throw it away,”. Truer words were never spoken. The IKEA designer collaborated with the Ivorian architect Issa Diabaté to create the ÖVERALLT chair, a plywood chair that assembles as a jigsaw and that is not without reminding us of the traditional west African carved chairs. One thing I love in Ikea designs is the multitude of ways you can personalize the furniture and accessories to make them work for your personal style. The ÖVERALLT chair is easy to put together and a canvas for your creativity. It can be spray painted or decorated with cushions to fit any home.

ÖVERALLT BASKET

by Selly Raby Kane (Senegal)

The Senegalese Selly Raby Kane used the creativity and versatility of African hair braiding in her basket design. African hair is a wonderful base for sculpture of all sorts and applying it to homeware is a new expansion. You cannot miss the feminine influence in the curves of the design and the material used. Let’s hope there are also other colors available to fit into diverse decors.

ÖVERALLT BAG

by Hend Riad and Mariam Hazem (Egypt)

Upcycling is the future! Finding creative ways to tame the environmental plague that is the single use bag is urgently needed. These totes bags designed by the Egyptians Hend Riad and Mariam Hazem are made from reused and processed chips bags into textiles. This takes you back to the real and authentic African tradition of turning trash in to beautiful new art pieces. The metallic shine from the original material takes the concept of reusable shopping bag from banal to eye-catching. Now you can both be ecofriendly and stylish!

Read more here and here. All Images from Dezeen.com and Ikea.com