Morocco Archives – Afri-love

Pins of the Week: Moroccan Rugs, Pillows and Poufs from One Kings Lane

This week I came across some more home decor beauties for my wishlist – from a wide selection of Moroccan goods over at One Kings Lane.

Images from top: lime green pillow sham; green cactus silk rug; kilim pouf; red silk rug; hand loomed wool pillow; Azilal rug

As you know, I 'collect' images over on Pinterest. Come and have a look.

All the best for the week and month ahead!

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Buy African: Who Said Beige Is Boring?

'Beige', as an adjective, often has negative connotations – boring, plain, unimaginative. When we think of African design, we often think of the opposite – a creative kaleidoscope of prints and colours. I thought it would be interesting to find some beautiful design pieces for the home, that prove that beige can indeed delight. It's all about texture!

From top, left to right: Set of 3 Ghanaian baskets from Swahili African Modern; Zig Zag Gris mud cloth pillow from Proud Mary; Ecru Fleur a Joure crochet pillow from Proud Mary; Mali bull mask from Weylandts; ceramic crockery by Imiso; Senegalese sewing basket trio from Swahili African Modern; Moroccan leather pouf from Beyond Marrakech; Slat stool by Dokter and Misses; Magnet lounge chair by Vogel Design; Beni Ouarain carpet from Beyond Marrakech.

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Buy African: Monochrome Home

As much as I love colour in design, black and white can be really interesting too – especially when texture and pattern come into play. Here, some furniture and home decor pieces, in black and white.

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The Best of 2012: Art, Design, Interviews, Commentary & Music

It will be 2013 in under a week and that means it's time for one of those lists summing up the highlights of the year! The following is a selection of posts that you found most interesting (as per the analytics); posts that I most enjoyed creating; exciting discoveries and; some off-blog but on-topic articles.

Art and Design

'African Inspiration on Pinterest' posts (with features on natural hair, product design, accessories and more)
Architecture and interior design inspiration (including Afritecture,Swahili-inspired interior design at Lamu's Baytil Ajaib and Morocco's Ministero Del Gusto among the most popular)
The new Buy African series (including fashion and home decor from Sapelle and Beldi's Moroccan handicraft among the most popular posts of the series)

Interviews

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Buy African: Online Shop Beldi – Celebrating Moroccan Handicraft

Oftentimes the desire to support African design – and production in general – is there but, the products aren't always very accessible. In this new "Buy African" series, I'll be highlighting various outlets to help you turn your intentions into action.

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Inspired by: Architecture, Interior Design and Furniture by Ministero del Gusto

In Marrakech's Medina sits Ministero del Gusto, a showroom for one-off furniture, jewel design and vintage fashion, featuring artists from all over the world . As well as a gallery, Ministero del Gusto is a studio that works on house renovations, interior decoration and house planning projects, creating work that is contemporary with a strong Moroccan influence.

Top image, second image

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Recommended reading:

Morocco Independence Day – A celebration of architecture and interior design
Tunisia Independence Day – Celebrating beauty and design
Afritecture: Exploring Africa's Influence on Contemporary Architecture
The best of 2011: African and African-Inspired Fashion, Interior and Furniture Design

Don't miss an installment – different ways to get your Afri-love delivered. You can also stay up to date by liking the Afri-love Facebook page or following Afri-love (@afrilove) on Twitter.

TGIF! with Diaspora: A Global Mixtape Movement

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Reflections on the Self – Five African Women Photographers

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, and part of the Southbank Centres WOW festival, Reflections of the Self features five contemporary African women photographers whose work deals with women’s narratives, either through self-portraits or portraits of others: Hélène Amouzou (Togo, Belgium); Majida Khattari (Morocco, France); Zanele Muholi (South Africa); Senayt Samuel (Eritrea, UK); Lolo Veleko (South Africa).

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Top picks for the Women of the World (WOW) Festival, Southbank Centre, London

The Southbank Centre annual Women of the World (WOW) Festival starts tomorrow and it's set to be a really great experience. Celebrating the formidable strength and inventiveness of women, it will feature music performances, films, comedy, theatre, poetry, as well as a three-day conference dealing with debates, talks, workshops, networking and mentoring opportunities.

Afri-love Highlights:

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Week in review

I've had a great many interesting conversations this week. Observing the extreme ways in which people respond to ostracization – becoming their best selves or retreating inwards with destructive results. Debating whether seeking numbness is ever positive or healthy. Discussing herd mentality and how several corporate systems (in the widest sense: commercial enterprises, religious institutions etc.) ignore the uniqueness of individuals resulting in missed opportunities and individuals unable to fully realise who they really are. I'll be blogging about more of these subjects soon. In the meantime, here's a round-up of last week's posts, in case you missed anything:

A huge thanks to you for taking the time to read and share comments, facebook appreciation and tweet love. Remember, you can also get updates via facebook, twitter and by subscribing to the Afri-love feed.

Feedback is incredibly useful to me so, please drop me a line with any comments, suggestions, ideas etc.

Next week, look out for:

Quote of the week
A worldwide celebration of thanks…
Design inspiration from a South African illustrator
An interview with a US-based artist with a powerful story (and absolutely beautiful paintings)
Inspiration from that classic book, Africa Adorned
Reflections
TGIF!

Have a fantastic week! Be proud and be inspired.

Images, starting 2nd from top: old-school album art, necklace by Made, still from a Serengeti Studio production, Moroccan inspiration.