An excerpt from an upcoming collection of twelve chairs inspired by historic hair combs from cultures across Africa. The chairs draw inspiration from the combs in terms of form and connectivity. Each chair is distinct in design but is connected to the rest of the collection through the repetition of shape and motifs, creating a collection of cousins instead of twins or siblings. The three chairs shown here draw inspiration primarily from combs made by the Benin and Ashanti people of Nigeria and Ghana; and the care cultivated in designing something so ornate for the maintenance of oneself. I am also inspired by my grandmother’s den which is filled with souvenirs from her travels in West Africa and served as a way for her to connect to an ancestral home. This collection serves as a love letter to my late grandmother as well as a conversation between the artworks and sculptures in her home and the ones I saw in museums during my travels.

These chairs were shown at head hi in May of 2022 as an official part of NYCXDesign Week

This collection of chairs is a work in progress, with plans for the full collection to be shown in 2023.