Mimi Shodeinde is challenging preconceived ideas about African design. In London, her design and interior architecture studio, Miminat Designs, is developing its own particular language—one characterized by rich material palettes, and based on her intuition. “My intention is to produce design that speaks to my journey as a British Nigerian,” she says. “I want to express my culture in my work.”

Nana Biamah-Ofosu: How do you imagine people living with your work?

Mimi Shodeinde: I want people to feel proud, and for it to afford them a feeling of home as a sanctuary. I appreciate how fortunate I’ve been to have clients who are in the position to spend the amount that they do on my work, and I want them to be fully immersed in the experience of my objects, furniture and spaces.

NBO: What would you say is central to that experience?

MS: History and heritage play a big role in establishing a visual language, but the most important factor is character. That’s what creates beautiful things in this world. It’s central to everything that I do.

NBO: Some of your earlier objects are named in Yoruba. What does it mean to give your work Nigerian names?

MS: Giving a name is a way of ascribing cultural value and representation. Growing up in the UK, I didn’t see many strongly African designs out there that I could pull from, so I take a lot of inspiration from my language and my culture. The Okuta collection is inspired by 14th-century Yoruba stone murals; its name mirrors the solid, robust and bold nature of stone as a material.

NBO: Do you have a favorite material to work with?

MS: I’ve worked with a wide range of timber—oak, zebrano, ash, mahogany and maple. It’s a warm and malleable material that can be manipulated in so many different ways. Timber reminds me of home—of Nigeria and of my grandma, who used to make wooden toys for us when we were younger. 

NBO: How do you create an aesthetic that’s influenced by, but not tied to, African arts and crafts? 

MS: In the beginning, a lot of people didn’t really understand my work—it wasn’t African enough, nor sufficiently European. My work showcases a different side of African design, beyond the caricatured colors and motifs. I’m not trying to create a statement or to enforce a new wave of African design: My work is about me, who I am and how I see the world. I absorb what’s around me. 

NBO: Is it always about what you see?

MS: Sound plays a role in my work through music, which I love. Whenever I’m designing, I think about how the sound that I’m playing is going to interact with that object. When we were casting the Nrin vessels, for example, I was listening to Miles Davis’ Time After Time and was mesmerized by the way the sounds of jazz bounced off the metal. Sound is an interesting concept to play with.