Future Heirlooms, a design collaboration by South African cooperative Always Welcome and the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), is now open at Always Welcome Viewing Rooms in Sandton, Johannesburg. The project, which was initially announced in July 2022, will remain at its current location until November 2022, and will then move to the new Always Welcome Heritage House in Cape Town in January 2023. For this project, a group of seven South African designers from 3 provinces across the country have created a series of works that not only look forward to the future of sustainable design, but also explores their own heritage and the story of South Africa’s rich design legacy.
Created in American red oak by celebrated hardwood furniture designer-manufacturers Houtlander and timber importers BOS Timbers, the seven pieces – by Dokter and Misses, MashT Design Studio, TheUrbanative, Kumsuka, Kalki Ceramics, Joe Paine in partnership with Nathan Gates, and Nøde Studio – are a celebration of material and memory, and ask pertinent questions about our approach to the environment. Under the mentorship of the Always Welcome leadership team, the designers were asked to create an object or a piece of furniture that fully encapsulates the themes of sustainability, longevity and quality.
“We need to end our current throwaway culture and we need to use materials that have a low environmental impact. These issues should affect all our day-to-day decision-making. Designers, especially, have a huge influence on how products are planned and with what materials. This project was the perfect platform for us to work with accomplished South African designers and makers, whilst also helping them to work with an abundant, versatile and beautiful, yet lesser-known American hardwood species,” said Roderick Wiles, AHEC Regional Director.
For the designers, the project has offered a unique opportunity to explore alternative manufacturing methods, and the beauty and versatility of American red oak itself. Commenting on her participation in the project, Thabisa Mjo, founder of award-winning Johannesburg based product and furniture design group MashT Design Studio, said: “The material intrigued me from the outset of Future Heirlooms. I became fascinated by the seemingly endless possibilities of American red oak itself that, coupled with Houtlander’s special ability to work with timber, set my imagination alight and I just had to see what could be made.”
“We’re extremely proud of the work that’s been produced for Future Heirlooms. It’s taken an extraordinary journey to realize the ambitious pieces, many of which would’ve been impossible without the manufacturing expertise and careful eye of our partners Houtlander, and of course the generous support of AHEC and Bos Timbers. It’s our hope as Always Welcome that this project inspires important discussions around sustainability in South African furniture design, and that the persona narratives of each designer imbued in each piece brings joy and delight to visitors of the show during its run,” added Garreth van Niekerk, Director and Co-founder of the Always Welcome collective.
Another incredibly important facet to working with American red oak for Future Heirlooms, is that the lumber for the project arrived at the South African port of Durban carbon negative. This means that there was more CO2 equivalent sequestered inside the delivered lumber than was emitted during all the processes of extraction from the forest, sawmilling, kiln-drying and even shipping. Just about 1.3 cubic meters of American red oak were used to make all seven pieces, with the finished pieces being made up just under 1 cubic meter of wood after manufacturing. For their lifetime, these seven furniture pieces will keep around 1,069 kg of CO2equivalent out of the atmosphere.
“Such is the size of the US hardwood forest resource and so dominant in the forest is red oak at roughly 18 percent of the total resource, that all the red oak lumber used to make the seven designs would have been replaced in the US hardwood forest through natural regeneration in just 1.35 seconds. With the world facing the ever-increasing impacts of climate change and of overconsumption of high-impact materials, the emphasis needs to shift to the environmental merits of making more use of what nature is growing. Through this collaboration, we hope the designers and manufacturer learned a lot about a beautiful and sustainable material whilst also demonstrating the beauty of widely-available, yet under-utilized American hardwood species,” concluded Wiles.
Now Now – Digital grandfather clock and repository for family information and memorabilia
By Joe Paine & Nathan Gates
American red oak; ultra-matte water-based sealer; custom digital timepiece
Two defunct grandfather clocks handed down over generations loomed over the lives of designer Joe Paine and artist Nathan Gates, who have come together to reimagine the grandfather clock as a design, and conceptual marker. Their ‘Now Now’ clock for the Future Heirlooms project looks toward the Memphis movement for design inspiration, and asks what role a grandfather clock would play in contemporary living.
“I have a Grandfather Clock that has been in my family for over 300 years that always had faint voices of the past attached to it,” says Joe. “But we wanted to make a product that would update the typical grandfather clock into the 21st century that could be a safe repository for media such as family information, photos and videos. Our clock will literally have the past speak to you to remind you that death awaits, and to stop wasting time.”
The resulting piece is an audiovisual reminder that is not so much designed to tell the time, but to remind you of its imminent passing, and ceaseless cycle. Names echo from the chimes, and the sounds of jackals calling, as the interface references the amount of time left in the day, ticking on, and on.
“The grandfather clock in my family was always displayed but never set up,” Nathan says, “So instead of telling the time, it just served as an elaborate reminder that time was there, passing by. Heirlooms are these functional products that represent the many people who got us here. They are the parts that are left once we die to connect us to the future generation. They can speak to us through stories that are associated with the object, and so we wanted to explore that in the creation of our clock.”
Family Portrait
By Dokter and Misses: Adriaan Hugo and Katy Taplin
American red oak, oil paint
First-time parents Katy Taplin and Adriaan Hugo, co-founders of Dokter and Misses, celebrate the next phase of their lives with a design that brings a family portrait into their line of product and furniture design – a literal interpretation of the Future Heirloom brief that, “…embodies the playfulness and chaos of family life,” Taplin says, adding, “we wanted it to be sculptural and to have fun with it.”
Their cabinet design has been broken into three parts, one for each member of their new family, complete with hidden cabinetry to store treasured items and hand-painted elements that continue their studio’s exploration of pattern and geometry.
“For us an heirloom means family, warmth, belonging, expression, connection and value beyond what you see. We aim to design with the intention that our pieces will become heirlooms and that they will carry stories as they are passed down and treasured. We also think American red oak is underrated and we’re excited to work with it in future.”
Meterage: The Act of Measuring
By MashT Design Studio: Thabisa Mjo
Hand carved American red oak; ebony slow stain; water-based sealer
Thabisa Mjo, founder of MashT Design Studio, looked to Umbhaco materials and garments – the traditional dress worn by the Xhosa people of South Africa – for her interpretation of the Future Heirlooms brief. Her table, which was hand carved by Phillip Hollander (the cofounder of the Houtlander studio), is entitled Meterage: The Act of Measuring. In a literal sense the design approach considers measuring itself, asking how much fabric one needs to make the Umbhaco garment. But in another sense, and with an eye toward sustainable furniture production, asks what the measure is of an object itself as Phillip carves the wood to ‘reveal’ the Umbhaco hidden within the wood.
“In measuring which part is fitting to take or leave behind, it’s as though whatever is taken with you in the design process actually becomes the heirloom,” Mjo says. “The reason I designed a table, subtly, explains why I chose Umbhaco as my heirloom. Tables are utilitarian, and they’re diverse; round, oblong, square, for working, for eating, for displaying etc. So tables become objects we tend to gather around for fellowshipping and exchanging ideas with one another. Those ideas influence
the stories we tell ourselves and each other and those stories inform what we consider worthy of being heirlooms in our lives, and in our homes.”
Fulani Chair
By The Urbanative: Mpho Vackier
Charred American red oak; water-based sealer
Designed to form an extension of TheUrbanative’s 2018 African Crowns Collection, The Fulani Chair in American red oak was initially launched and manufactured in steel, and so Mpho Vackier, founder of the studio, set out to, “…simply have fun with the material aspect of the brief,” she says, and reimagine an already existing design.
The lines of TheUrbanative’s Fulani chair design are inspired by the forms of the traditional Fulani braids and coiffures worn by the Fulani or Fula people, who make up the ethnic group in the Sahel and West Africa. The textures of the braided Fulani hairstyles further inspired the weaving detail and the ombre effect in the chair’s finishing, achieved by charring the timber in an ‘ombre’ affect and sealing the chair to preserve the wood.
“We aspire to be a brand that not only celebrates stories but one that respects the way in which we tell those stories,” says Vackier. “But I think more than anything the exploration of a new material is always exciting for me. My approach to most of my work is always guided by the chosen material, the properties and limits thereof, and letting the material have a say in the final piece. So using materials like American red oak that are truly sustainable is not only logical but very necessary for us to do justice to the authentic essence of those stories.”
Ukhamba Table
By Kumsuka: Siyanda Mazibuko
Charred American red oak; ebony slow stain; water-based sealer
For Kumsuka founder Siyanda Mazibuko, whose previous design in thermally-modified American red oak for AHEC and Wallpaper Magazine’s Discovered project was recently exhibited at the Milan Triennial, the Future Heirlooms brief presented another opportunity to consider how good design can bring people together. Mazibuko’s new Ukhamba table takes inspiration from Zulu Ukhamba drinking vessels, that are shared between friends and family at Zulu gatherings. From their highly burnished surfaces to the actual firing process, the Ukhamba table has been charred and stained to bring the traditions of the vessels to life in the design of the furniture piece itself.
“As a designer it’s extremely important to me create meaningful pieces that relate to people far beyond a functional piece of furniture, and this is the very backbone of this project,” Mazibuko says. “The thinking behind my table was to create an experience of gathering around Ukhamba and making something that allowed for sharing moments and creating memories. When families gather there is usually also more than one Ukhamba being shared, which informed the design of the two parts of the table, that separate from each other to be placed elsewhere in a space.”
DIVISIØN
By NØDE: Charles Haupt & Gerrit Giebel
Fumed American red oak; water-based sealer
The opportunity to work with a new material, and the specialized machinery that allows for it to be manipulated at the Houtlander workshop, created a new approach to the brief for NØDE studio, who specialize in working primarily with aluminum. The DIVISIØN screen they’ve created for Future Heirlooms embraces technology to craft a surface that emulates the studio’s celebrated aluminum carvings through parametric drilling that references the style of the carvings. Featuring hand-made aluminum hinges, and a unique fumigation treatment to the surface of the wood, the piece brings together separate mediums in a uniquely realized, technology-focused design.
“While we normally work with aluminum and other metals, we still have a high appreciation for authentic and natural materials,” says Gerrit Giebel, co-founder of NØDE studio. “The American red oak itself has a beautiful tone with interesting attributes like its high porousness – something we wanted to explore with literal holes through the screen. Adding to this the benefit of the carbon negative footprint of the material you have an amazing reason to use the material again, one we
are definitely considering for future projects.”
The Boomslang
By Kalki Ceramics: Nindya Bucktowar and Nikhil Tricam
American red oak; hand-fired ceramic tiles; water-based sealer
Kwazulu-Natal based architects and ceramicists Nindya Bucktowar and Nikhil Tricam of Kalki Ceramics take their inspiration for their piece, named The Boomslang, from the rhythm and color of the scales of the South African tree snake, known locally as the Boomslang. The layers of the piece, with their timber and handmade ceramic ‘scales’, take their form from the coil of the Boomslang around a branch – an animal the duo celebrate as an, “embodiment of existing in a visual harmony with one’s surroundings, while remaining simultaneously camouflaged – a tribute to a striking, exceptional creature, that made it a natural fit for the piece,” they say.
“For us, an heirloom is something that operates in our three dimensions, existing as an item of desirability and beauty, while also managing to operate in the fourth, temporal dimension. It will bridge time, by accumulating and retaining significance through each successive generation of ownership. In this, while the aesthetics are timeless, the value truly comes from the passing of time. We feel that by using a truly sustainable material we are able to communicate that further value is added to an heirloom when its creation is in harmony with the planet, and not exploitative of it. With care and craft, value is created. And with the right materials and principles, that value is cemented.”
About AHEC
The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) is the leading international trade association for the U.S. hardwood industry, representing the committed exporters among U.S. hardwood companies and all the major U.S. hardwood production trade associations. AHEC runs a worldwide programme to promote American hardwoods in over 50 export markets, concentrating on providing architects, specifiers, designers and end-users with technical information on the range of species, products and
sources of supply. In addition, AHEC also produces a full range of technical publications. For more information, please visit: www.americanhardwood.org. Please also follow us on @ahec_india.
About Always Welcome
Always Welcome is a multi-brand cooperative retailer of Southern Africa’s leading designer-maker studios with a flagship store in Johannesburg and an extensive online marketplace. Founded in 2020, the pioneering cooperative’s unique diversity of designers, celebrated artistic voices, and creative campaigning has set the benchmark for design in the country, bringing both industry and the public together, and forming a vital locus point for the development of Southern Africa’s evolving design industry. For more information, please visit: www.alwayswelcome.store. Please also follow us on @always_welcome_store.
About Houtlander
Founded by designer-makers Phillip Hollander and Stephen Wilson, the multi-award-winning Johannesburg-based Houtlander studio embrace traditional forms but find inspiration in technology to create their furniture – now found in many of the world’s most beautiful homes, hospitality environments and special collections. For more information, please visit: www.houtlander.co.za. Please also follow us on @houtlander.
About BOS Timbers
BOS Timbers is a timber wholesaler and manufacturing group based in Johannesburg, South Africa, specialising in the wholesale of exotic hardwoods from across the globe, with a particular focus on hardwoods from the United States. Trading since 2013, BOS Timbers have developed into a diverse timber company that offers its own line of manufactured items that include mouldings, laminating and CNC routing. For more information, please visit: www.bostimbers.co.za.