Hand Printed Damask

Textiles are a wonderful way to change the look of a room with a simple change of accessories.

Throw pillows, table linens, curtains, duvets, etc., made with the right choice of fabric, will add color and texture to any space and should be chosen to enhance existing furniture.

Contemporary African Home's textile collection features premium table linens, runners, and pillows all made in the hand block-print transfer technique.

In hand block-printing, a wooded plate is created with the artist's design pattern. The design is then perfected and color themes are selected. Fabric is then secured onto a table where the design is transferred by applying the dye or pigment (in the form of a thickened paste) onto the plate, which is then evenly stamped onto the fabric.

The block stamping process is repeated until the entire fabric design (dimension dependent) is complete. Pigments are then fixed and lastly, excess dye is removed by washing. If the pattern is complex or involves multiple colors, the fabric is then pinned or waxed, and secondary colors applied.

Contemporary African Home's Artists create hand block printed textiles on damask. Damask is known for its wonderful sheen created in the double weave which is reminiscent of silk, yet requires the simplified care of cotton. Our damasks include 100% cotton, cotton-polyester blends and 100% silk.

Making the table

Many West and Central African countries can boast highly skilled craftsmen in the home and decor sectors. These men and women use the most rigorous processes and the best materials: mortis-and-tenon joint fittings, engineered solid woods (laminated wood as opposed to press board), bronze molds using the lost wax casting technique (used most famously by the Italian Rennaisance artist Michelangelo), hand-block printed textiles, etc.

These items have centuries of technique in each detail resulting furniture and accessories created for beauty and timeless longevity.

The Side Table: Simple, yet beautifully complex

Occassional tables, aka the side table, can add a layer of complex beauty and artfulness to a room. The idea of the side table is to make a statement in your room in a very simple way.















A great occasional table should really anchor a room and showcase the personality of the residents. Lines and color should be taken into consideration in light of the users. For example, you probably don't want super sharp edges and lots of glass if you have young children or if like me, you tend to bump into things.

Rather than relegating the side table to a sad lonely function of "place for magazine or ....fill in the blank," we believe the side table can have the value of a work of art - functional art - in your favorite room.

Getting Picked up by retailers: Sacramento Street, San Francisco

I started this posting writing about the challenges of selling high-end furniture in today's economic climate. Then I realized that I, personally, don't need to slather on more bad news, so I changed my mind and decided to share the good news.

Today, Contemporary African Home got another win! Select accessories are at Wynne Alex a beautiful retail store on Sacramento street, in the heart of San Francisco's high-end retail district. In addition to beautiful and quite affordable furniture, accessories, pillows, notebooks, candles, etc. owner Wynne Alex offers interior design services and custom work. Besides, our product selection works, it just works.

The ceramic items shown here are hand thrown on a hand/foot controlled wheel and then fired in a wood-fired kiln with applications of Italian glazing. The artist, Samuel Eseka Ndjon lives in Cameroon where he comes from a family of potters. His training included time at the Mbalmayo Arts School where he mastered multiple styles of ceramic art and various glazing. Since these items are hand-made, no two works are exactly alike. Contact us for more information.


The Sacramento Street shopping district is located along the border of the very well-heeled neighborhoods of Presidio Heights and Pacific Heights, from Spruce Street to Broderick streets. The stores along Sacramento Street have something for everybody: designer clothing, consignment stores, home furnishings and accessories, carpets (check out Boga Carpets), children's clothing, toys & books, etc., interior designers, art galleries,.... The list goes on and on.

So, we're happy that while we're not yet selling furniture at the scale that we'd like, we're building great relationships and getting into great stores.

 

 

In August 1995, I made my way to Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa, to "Study" African Art and History with some incredible people. Leading the group were Jerry Vogel and Phil Peeks. Jerome Vogel, along with Susan Vogel, founded the Museum for African Art in 1984. The MAA's original location, Broadway and Houston, NYC, was the of the universe - for my collegiate eyes at least. Phil Peek, professor of Anthropology and chair of that department at Drew University, is a specialist in Arts and culture of West Africa.

We were roughly 30 participants on this trip: from art students and art historians like myself, to teachers, retirees, and others who simple had a desire to travel to Africa. We came from all walks of life, and had equally varying expectations of this trip. Those differences and expectations were given less and less attention as each day passed and we climbed into cramped minivans for caravan rides from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro to Bouake to Khorogo and back to Abidjan.

For many of us, this was the first trip to Africa, and the experience was eye-opening. We spent time with filmmakers (Idrissa Diabate), writers, historians, painters (of note, the late Gerard Santoni), world class potters, bronze casters, iron smelters, textile weavers, etc.

At each stop, there was new information to absorb, talent to appreciate, product to buy (or haggle over).

At the time, I couldn't figure out why seasoned travelers such as Jerry and Phil would even tolerate the nuisance of 30 travellers tagging along (need I mention the complaints, stomach ailments, frustrations with money, language, etc). But I was surely grateful. The Ivoirienne people showed us not only the best of hospitality, kindness, generosity of time, but also shared priceless history on craft and living arts (textiles, sculpture, decor) which, though passed on among generations by practice and oral history, are often missing from written record.

While traditional the African Arts (performance masks and such - a few of which, we saw (randomly in the streets!!) and during organized group performances) have been fairly well recorded and traded for global consumption, contemporary African art and design are sorely underrepresented in the western marketplace.

For the first time, I realized that African Art, film making, craftsmanship, etc goes well beyond the traditional to the very contemporary.

I've since travelled to over 10 African countries and lived in one, Cameroon, for nearly 3 years. After a very long journey since that first trip in 1995, I've come full circle (I think) to launch Contemporary African Home. Our mission is to feature modern African aesthetics in a way that elevates the cache of African goods in the global marketplace: from decorative or traditional to modern masterpiece.

So the outcome is contemporary, premium-quality furniture and case goods made by craftsmen in Sub-Saharan Africa.

I'll be sharing our stories, old and new, as we evolve.