2 weekends ago I had a long but exciting day exhibition hopping. It was Lagos Design Week and I finally got a chance to attend events.The first exhibition was the Eko Design: Crafted Living. Eko Design is a part of the Eko series held at Ebony Life center. The curator is Tola Akerele of I Design, who is one of the foremost names in design in Nigeria. I’m not sure if the hosting of the exhibition during design week was intentional. I believe it was because it made sense to have both events running and for audiences to be exposed to as much as they were willing to see.
Eko Design’s ethos is to showcase Nigerians using local materials to create unique pieces. I saw the flyer for the event earlier that week and decided to go. The night before the event, I stumbled on photos from a brand exhibiting at the center on Instagram. This brand is quite well loved as they make beautiful pieces with natural materials like cane and jute. They also retail well curated peices. However, they copy a lot of designs straight off Pinterest. This is emblematic of the current design scene in Nigeria. Because of the difficulty and expense of importing products and our refusal to develop product design talent. Product manufacturers exist whose sole purpose is to copy and copy poorly, designs found online without regard for the original designer. It is done under the guise of the constraints we face as designers to source pieces.
However, it is a travesty to display copied designs as originals. I immediately recognized the Hans Wegner Wish Bone Chair and the Pierre Jeanneret Chandigarh chair and Civil bench. I knew I had seen the cabinet and it took a few minutes on Google to pull it up. It was a cabinet designed by Mathieu Gustafsson for Design House Stockholm. I went on a mini rant on my Instagram and people responded in agreement apart from this issue, loved a good number of the brands that exhibited so let’s get into it.
MANUKWA ATELIER
I think it’s a bit poetic that I loved the first thing I saw. I really enjoyed these chairs especially the the Boomerang Chair, the chair on the left. It felt very honest. I really want to see more from Manukwa Atelier
STUDIO LANI
I’ve spoken about Studio Lani on my Instagram previously. But the craftsmanship is astounding. The Sisi Eko light always makes you do a double take. The the metal twists of the light mimic a basket. It’s really functional sculpture. I also really like the form and colour of the Bata stool. I really enjoy seeing playfulness in Nigerian design. It makes me happy.
AGA CONCEPT
Aga Concept is a lifestyle design brand. They also had a design concept store which is really well curated. Their piece at the exhibition was the Mwanwu chair. It’s majestic. It reminds me of a masquerade and the yellow made it stand out. I would love to have it and sit in it and feel like royalty.
Honourable mention to these chairs by i design. I especially like the beaded one.
I also liked the Ifeanyi console by Wodu Craft. It is very raw and even though I’m bored of live edge wood, this is an exception.
Here are some more photos from the event.
I had a great time at this exhibition. It was my first design exhibition and I liked that each design company had individual stalls. Despite the issues with the thieving brand, it was a good experience. I had a little chat with the curator and she did mention that she wasn’t aware until the exhibition was in full swing. I hope Eko Design becomes a yearly occasion.
Before you go, here’s a photo of me at the exhibition.
What do you think of the pieces? See anything you like? Let me know in the comments.
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