Nasozi Kakembo is a journalist, writer, and Ugandan-American designer passionate about bringing awareness to the beauty of African designers and artisans. Although she has partnered with brands such as Airbnb, Article Furniture, and West Elm, in 2011, she decided to develop her own design practice and import business, xN Studio.
She is also the executive director of the Mukono Foundation, a charitable foundation that supports primary education, art, and culture in Uganda. Now, she’s again expanding her reach by publishing THE AFRICAN DÉCOR EDIT: Collecting and Decorating With Heritage Objects book to educate the masses on African designers’ influence. As Nasozi writes, her intention behind the book is “to fill a gap, offering in-depth, personal stories about the artisans behind African objects. By sharing these makers’ stories alongside diverse global perspectives and thoughtful homes layered with these wares, I aim to show that African décor can inspire and belong to everyone.”
THE AFRICAN DÉCOR EDIT is the definitive book for collecting and decorating with ethically sourced African wares. In it, Nasozi reveals specific African makers and objects, revealing the significance of 16 objects created by African makers in 9 countries. It also offers 28 tips for how to Decorate with African Objects – explore ten thoughtfully decorated homes from Ghana to London, New York to Berlin, and explains ethical collecting and decorating – shows how to source 4 Easy-to-Follow Focus Points ethically.
With a foreword by Justina Blakeney, THE AFRICAN DÉCOR EDIT takes you on an incredible trip with Nasozi as she explores iconic home goods—from Malian mud cloth to Moroccan rugs—at the source and offers thoughtful guidance on collecting and decorating with traditional African treasures.
We spoke with Kakembo about her journey to design and her goals for the book. Read our conversation below.
ESSENCE: Speak about your journey to home décor and interior design.
Nasozi Kakembo: My journey is design. I was born a designer. It’s in my blood. I was born creative and raised around brilliant, artistic, and creative black women. Many of my aunts are visual artists. My mother operated and managed an African art gallery in Georgetown, DC, for most of my childhood. So I grew up around the arts and the black arts and African arts in a very, you know, direct and first-person way. I decided to pursue architecture from the time I was in high school, signed up for an architecture elective, and I always loved making things with my hands, primarily the intersection of utility and design.
My mission was to make things with my hands that beautified space and made our lives easier, whether in wellness or a tactical, practical component.
Why did you create this book?
First and foremost, I wanted a record. I wanted to record and document the experiences of 11 years of my xN Studio studio, brand, and company, as well as the relationships and interactions I had established throughout the Product Development and the artists and engagement. I wanted to build out the profiles and the stories of those artisans because so often, as Black and African people in this world, our stories and profiles and the robustness of our lives are usually diminished, if not completely erased. And I saw that same thing happening in interior design, decor, and product, and I was continually dismayed and frustrated by it.
Then, one day, I gradually realized that I was the one who could write the story. I’m the one who can fill in those supposed gaps. I’m the one who’s going to paint back the pictures and the areas of the images that have been erased, so that’s really what motivated me to do it because I know that we have vibrant stories to tell, which deserve to be said in a caring and meaningful way by a Black and African voice.
What is your intention for this book?
My intention for this book is to get the recognition, the overdue recognition for the artisans who create this work, and in doing so, really reinforce the value of their work and the value of their contributions to the decor industry, to the design industry, and then beyond that, beyond that kind of, beyond that kind of recognition and name, I want them to benefit, continue and increase the economic benefit of their contribution because many times they aren’t getting the total financial compensation that they should. There are so many reasons behind that.
What do you love about Black décor specifically?
I love that no matter our medium, something about our lived experience and experiences always shows up in our work. And I think blackness, first and foremost, is defined by this very close experience. We have familial bonds and cultural pride.
What do you hope readers will gain from this book?
At the very least, I hope they learn something new about an object. I also want them to gain another dimension into the lives of African artisans and African people in that, like artisans, they are not one-dimensional. I would love for the communities to understand and know that we do value their work, and we do value their expertise, and that we’re also working hard to preserve it here and to get things back on track and to make sure that they are the ultimate and largest beneficiaries of their cultural expertise.
Here, you can preorder AFRICAN DÉCOR EDIT: Collecting and Decorating With Heritage Objects.
