It’s Easier Than Ever to Get Ethical, Elegant Home Décor From Africa
Clockwise from top: Sisal baskets ($80 for a set of three) from Katel Home. A stuffed giraffe ($30) from Indego Africa. Indigo bench ($450) available at XNasozi. Stuffed elephant ($30 from Indego Africa). A raffia bowl ($80) from Kazi Goods. A Malawi chair ($660) made of woven rattan from Ngala Trading. A Lovebird Leopards pillow cover ($175) from Ngala Trading.
Photograph by Sarah Anne Ward for Bloomberg Businessweek
When it comes to home décor, South Africa’s goods don’t get the love from interior designers that, say, Italy’s leather furniture or Japan’s delicate wallpapers do. But after spending 10 years in Johannesburg, New Yorkers Lawson Ricketts and Nick Geimer are determined to change that. Their company, Ngala Trading Co., ethically sources African decor, such as leather chandeliers and kudu-horn lamps, to a degree that wasn’t the norm even a decade ago. “One thing that we try to do is show that African design isn’t always tribal and beaded items,” Ricketts says.
The duo is among a faction of global design tastemakers who are helping revive Africa’s ancient traditions in a variety of modern categories. Bryan Mason, for example, is the co-founder of AphroChic, a company in Brooklyn that sells contemporary interpretations of Moroccan lighting. For him, it’s important to remain true to historical roots while pushing the design envelope. “Africa has so many different nations, cultures, and languages,” he says. “There’s an opportunity to pierce the veil that people have around Africa as a single, coherent place.”