We are proud to announce that our cushions and bags are now available on 54Kibo, a US-based E-commerce platform with the goal of selling and raising awareness of contemporary African design. As you can imagine, this is music to my ears!
The founder and CEO Nana Quagraine, who was born in Ghana, raised in South Africa, and now resides in New York, always loved the unique contemporary African design items she found on trips to the African continent.
But while African designers often inspire global design, she realised these designer's creations were largely under-represented and hard to access globally.
So she and her team deliberately combed through countless products and designers to share the most beautifully curated selection of high-quality contemporary design items from leading designers across the African diaspora. The company’s name, 54kibo, honours Africa’s 54 countries and its tallest mountain, the snow-capped volcano on top of Mount Kilimanjaro, pronounced “kee-bow.
The 54Kibo team searched for the most striking and uncommon items - items that help your home stand out. The outcome, a selection of cushions, lighting, furniture, wall decor, rugs, kids decor and accessories.
The featured collections originate from inspiring, highly creative and talented design experts, including Akosua Afriyie-Kumi from AAKS, Candice Lawrence from Modern Gesture and Tosin Oshinowo from Ilé Ilà, as well as Eva Sonaike who are shepherding the next wave of Africa’s creative economy.
Nana Quagraine who was recently featured in the Business of Home, the daily media of record and the voice of authority for interior design professionals, in an article named ‘This New E-Commerce Site Is Making Modern African Design More Accessible’ sums it up as “We’re really challenging people to see Africa differently. It’s a continent, it’s not a monolith. … We want to make sure African designers are given the same attention as designers within reach. It’s about enabling that conversation, enabling the rest of the world to learn more.”
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